The Yak Restaurant (also known as Yak Hotel Restaurant) is the most established traveller-friendly place in Shigatse, set in a courtyard in the old quarter near the monastery road. The menu covers standard Tibetan fare — yak butter tea, tsampa, thukpa noodle soup, steamed and fried momos, and yak meat dishes — alongside some basic Chinese options and a few Western staples for those who have been on the road too long.
The atmosphere is unpretentious: wooden tables, butter lamps in the evening, and a steady mix of Tibetan pilgrims, Chinese tour groups, and overland travellers in various stages of altitude adjustment. The butter tea is real — made with churned yak butter and salt, not the sweetened approximation you get elsewhere. The momo soup is honest and filling.
Prices are reasonable by any standard. The restaurant is also a useful information hub — staff can advise on road conditions toward Nepal and can often connect travellers with drivers heading west.