At the start of this year we had the pleasure of visiting Yorkshire Wildlife Park in winter. You can read all about my family day trip on my latest blog post:

Whilst visiting we knew we’d need to stop somewhere for lunch and so we booked a table at Evolution the immersive restaurant. Located on-site at Yorkshire Hive, you only need to come out of the entry gates to visit.

I’ve been to a couple of immersive restaurants before but only abroad. Rainforest Cafe in the United States and found on Disney property like Disneyland Paris is renowned for it’s immersive experience. You sit right in the middle of a rainforest and even experience your own indoor thunderstorms!

Well, Evolution in Yorkshire is the next best thing if you want something a little closer to home! From the moment we walked in we were sucked into the story line and engrossed by the decor.

As we entered the restaurant itself we were faced with a jungle of trees and tables all placed around a giant ship. The bar looked so good!

The lights and sound effects really make these places what they are and our 1 year old was completely entertained by watching the birds flying past every few minutes!

Every so often the tiki heads would move position completely and for a while we didn’t even notice this because it was so unique. For children the place is so exciting and we were caught up with all the things to watch whilst dining.

The menu was varied and there was plenty of choice for the family. I always appreciate restaurants that have a good cocktail menu too and this place did not disappoint! I ordered a Dragon’s Fury which was delicious.

We visited on a Saturday but prebooking for a 12pm slot meant we were guaranteed a table and we were lucky that it was pretty quiet being off season. This meant we were able to wander around whilst waiting for our food.

We visited all the dinosaurs hiding about the place then explored the other land where we found dragons lurking!

We really enjoyed our visit as it’s great to do something a little different every now and again. Eating out these days is so expensive and we prefer to spend our money on physical activities rather than food we can make at home. Therefore I always appreciate it when you get a little more bang for your buck. I don’t think the prices are any different to usual restaurants so to be able to give your kids an experience at the same time is an extra treat! When we first visited our daughter was 18 months old and just a baby, she had no idea what was going on but it probably blew her tiny mind watching all the animals.

Fast forward nearly a year and we revisited again this month.

We booked a table for 4pm, right before our slot for the Winter Illuminations getting us all excited for Christmas. This time we were visiting in busy season so we expected it wouldn’t be as quiet as last time.

Despite it being right before the illuminations, the restaurant was still pleasant. It was very busy but not too noisy. I’m glad we booked a table in advance or we wouldn’t have got in! Brownie points go to me for my planning there.

The place had altered slightly with a few of the decorations dressed up festively.

This time I ordered the Wagyu beefburger and my husband had the Chargrilled Chicken. My meal was underwhelming to look at but tasted great. For the price, I would say it wasn’t the best value, but worth it for the setting. My husband’s meal was more expensive and extremely disappointing for the price paid.

Whilst the food wasn’t brilliant this time around, I did appreciate that the restaurant has it’s own sauce serving station which I didn’t spot last time. That means I could help myself to the wide array of spicy sauces and variants of mayonnaise. Trust me, this is a major win factor for me! I love sauce and spice and I often feel it can make or break a meal! I was happy.

I didn’t go for a cocktail this time but instead a bottomless fountain drink. At £3.50 with the choice of Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Vimto, Fanta and even Ginger Beer! I felt this was really good value and brilliant variety too.

This time our daughter was 2.5 and she was much more aware of her surroundings. At first she was a little scared of the fire breathing dragon but after getting settled in and used to the noise she was happy watching everything that was going on. She particularly enjoyed the fact they put some colouring pens and paper on the table. She also said hello to the dinosaur just like last time.

It’s clear this place is great to visit anytime of the year and i’m sure we will continue to visit every time we head to Yorkshire Wildlife Park. I can only hope the food improves a little in time for our next visit but all in all it’s an exciting adventure!