Introducing a cuisine unfamiliar with Evansville-area diners was a risk, but Sagar Tamang believed authentic Himalayan food would find an audience. He was right, and not just about the first location of Yak & Yeti, which opened on South Green River Road in 2019. Others followed in Fishers, Indiana, in 2023 and Owensboro, Kentucky, this July.
Tamang hails from central Nepal and moved to Anchorage, Alaska, in 2009 before joining his uncle, Pash, in the River City in 2016. The family owns and operates two area convenience stores, both of which sell Crazy Bob’s Cajun Chicken. “A couple years later, I look around, and there’s no Himalayan food,” he says.
Encouraged to start his own restaurant, Tamang partnered with restaurant industry vet Krishna Shahi to open Yak & Yeti. In seven years, the restaurant, with a name inspired by a popular regional animal and local folklore, has grown into a staple of area dining. Tamang says peach coloring on the walls is similar to the color found in many restaurants in Nepal, and he’s also decorated with red furniture and added art from the South Asian country. A six-month expansion just wrapped, allowing up to 150 to visit the daily lunch and dinner buffets or order entree specials.
“When you come in here, you feel like you don’t find anywhere else. There’s Himalayan music and documentaries on. You feel cozy here with enough space for a birthday or a gathering of 20 to 30 people. No loud music,” Tamang says.
While common dishes such as chicken tikka masala, butter chicken, curry, and naan are available, adventurous diners are welcome to an experience with meals featuring yak and goat meat. It’s one of the few places in the Tri-State where diners can enjoy Himalayan delicacies served on copper dishware. “We have northern Indian food, too … but the way of cooking, of putting all the ingredients together is different,” Tamang explains.
Perhaps another surprise is the lack of hot spices, and Tamang recommends not adding any to a majority of the dishes. When he brings family and guests into town, he starts them off with a staple and one of his favorites: Traditional Nepali Momo, similar to steamed dumplings but eaten without chopsticks, is prepared with ground chicken, onions, ginger, garlic, and Himalayan spices, and dipped in jhol, a tangy tomato and sesame seed broth. Yak & Yeti offers 15 varieties of momo, including yak meat and vegetarian options. Momo can be steamed or fried, served in the jhol broth, or sautéed in a chili sauce with onions and bell peppers.
One rule of Himalayan cooking: “If you invite people over, you have to serve goat,” Tamang says. There are four versions of bone-in goat curry, including potato and vinegar or onion and cream blends, as well as a curry cooked in a kadai pan — similar to a wok — with onions and bell peppers. The curry menu section introduces heat: diners ordering chicken, seafood, lamb, and vegetable curry can select from 10 spice levels. “Right now, foods like momo, butter chicken, and all the curries are very popular,” Tamang says.
Yak & Yeti also offers classic South Asian dishes with a twist. Biryani is baked in a warm naan covering that steams the ingredients; the scent wafts into the air as it’s broken open, then eaten. Boneless chicken tikka is cooked in a clay oven and wrapped in tinfoil and surrounded by pieces of onion and green peppers. Can’t pick one dish? A thali packs several cuisines onto a round plate, including curry, rice, lentil dal, and the cauliflower-and-potato alu gobhi. Thirsty? A small bar area offers a selection of draft beer and wine. Diners also can try a hot Himalayan Masala Tea, a caffeinated black tea-based drink that promotes focus and calm.
Tamang hopes for further expansion but is concentrating on his current three locations. He plans to hire a chef from Nepal to elevate the menu with more traditional Himalayan dishes.
“There is strong support we have, which is why we were excited to open a second and third location, as well as expand at this location,” Tamang says. “Now, we are very comfortable. We see a lot of groups coming to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.”
