We went today after a college tour. While the place was slightly crowded, there was plenty of waitstaff. Everything started out great with our order taken promptly. We waited about 40 minutes (possibly longer) for 4 sandwiches, some fries and 1/4 rack of ribs. We watched people who came in after us eat and leave while we sat patiently drinking our water. When the food finally arrived, the ribs were dry and tasteless. The brisket sandwich was Ok and the pork BBQ was eh.....We left just as hungry as when we came in. I would not recommend this place unless it was your last ditch effort for a meal. read more

Backyard Ale House has by far the best burgers I have ever tried. This in combination with their many craft beers on tap with their EXCEPTIONALLY HUGE bottle list. How could you go wrong! All the employees are fantastic, attentive, and knowledgeable in knowing their food and beer menus both forwards and backwards. If I could come in here everyday without going broke. I'd do it. And more than once a day. People, please come here and experience one the best food + craft beer establishments you'll ever witness. I promise you will not regret a single thing. read more

Was only in town for a night and came here for the beer list. It's unstoppable - they've got stuff that's not even in production anymore and it's reasonably priced. Food menu was exactly what it should be for a beer bar like this - tasted great and friendly service. But here's how they shined... My friend and I kept getting badgered (flirted with?) by a middle-aged woman who wasn't all there (might have been drugs, likely just a few too many to drink). Not only did the bartenders help try and distract her from us, they didn't serve her because it was obvious booze was the last thing she needed. That's a sign of a pro and a great manager. She was persistent, but after about two hours, the doorkeeps escorted her out. Management thanked my friend and I for putting up with her with a few complimentary drinks on the house. Amber - you were outstanding and patient. You kept the waters coming with my beers, so super props for that. Phil (I think it was Phil?) - the athletic younger manager, you ran this place right. Keep it up. If we're ever in Scranton again, hope to see you both. Thanks for showing the world how a bar should be run. read more

Me and my fiancé stopped in here after looking at a venue and doing a little shopping. We found this place on trip advisor and seemed like a cool place to go. We are both 25 yrs young. It was a Sunday around 5-5:30, the place wasn't that busy but being a head chef and in the restaurant business for over 8 years I can understand slow days especially with Christmas coming up and the cold weather hitting hard. We walked in and was told to sit anywhere, it must've taken a few minutes before I got up to ask for some menus. I think it might've been a miscommunication on who takes tables/ bartends. Anyways we got our menus and the menu style and look of it was a perfect fit to match the style. It was comfort homey food that everyone loves, a lot of cool things such as "social starters" and great looking sandwiches. We both shared the artichoke dip which was recommended and you can easily tell it was house made, cream cheese fresh spinach not that frozen chopped crap. It was a little bland but the tri-color tortillas chips that were served with it picked up the lack of salt so it was a nice balance. We both had a couple beers, the beer selection is huge! About 15 beers on tap+ and a small booklet of bottled beer. For our dinner my fiancé had the pulled pork which I think was called the banjo pig, served on a nice ciabatta panini. Clever name, and I had the hangover cure burger which had a beautiful sunny side up egg right on top and bacon. Served on a toasted English muffin! Really clever. There was a football game in which I don't mind at all except it was a little loud, but that's football I didn't mind it too much. We were relaxed the whole time and although the service was a little slow it was alrght because we were in no rush. That's really that only thing there is was that all they really need is one good server and to Focus on the tables and that place will be a five star location. The decor fit the theme, the colors and everything hanging on the wall was cool to look at. They had a back area which was closed in and heated with another bat and three more tv's. Great spot to watch football have some brews and watch the game, or a little date night without spending over 100$ to go to a fancy place. Will be back when in the area! read more

The Ale House is a decent bar. If you're looking for the college bar scene, try here. It's right next to U of Scranton. If you've never been here, you probably wouldn't know there's a huge patio in the back. Even if it rains, there's a portion of the patio that's covered so you can still have a good time outdoors. If I was closer to the Scranton area, I would come back. read more

Food was fast and very well done. Staff is great. Bar was full and went out of the way to get another spot for me. Treated me like I was a regular despite never having set foot in the place before. Loved experiencing this place on my work trip to n Scranton. read more

We are moving back to NY in a month after a year and a half of Scranton and Backyard Ale House, we will miss you the most. I've never had a bad meal/experience. I will try and re-create the Dip, most likely unsuccessfully. Whether it is brunch, a simple sandwich or my favorite salmon gyro; everything is always delicious. Best beer selection in Scranton, too. The staff is always super friendly and attentive, as . Even when it's busy! Favorite restaurant during out short stay in the area, thanks guys! read more

Backyard is still really struggling with being a bar that is also trying to be a restaurant. Went to the advertised brunch today and probably the only things that saved the experience was a seriously fantastic Bloody Mary and some killin' omelettes. For three people to have three omelets and a single drink it took well over an hour. Read that again. It took 15 minutes after seating for someone to take our drink order, another 10 minutes for 2 drafts to be brought out, and yet another 10-15 minutes for someone to bring my drink and take our order. OVER THIRTY minutes before we placed our food order. Then, about 20 minutes later when our food finally came the home fries were cold and soggy. Clearly they sat around. Like I said, at least the omelettes were perfect. This review would have probably been 1 star without them. read more

Not bad, pretty redundant beer selection for an ale house. Appetizer came out cold. Not bad, not great. Edit: to the owner, great customer service comes with a reliable repeatable process. Rather than putting the onus on customers to correct your staff, encourage your manager to ensure the hot food is hot. I'm aware that because I think something, others may think something else. It's just like... My opinion man. However, claiming you have x amount of beer selections available... And of those there are a limited amount of styles... You are limited in your selection. Personally, I don't go to an ale house for a bottle. But again, dude quote holds up here. Disclaimer: if I were you I'd carry the beers that sold... And I don't see your sales reports so if that's what drives draft spots, keep the lights on. Good on you for caring, most don't. Unsolicited advice: lose the part where you "wish I would have said something." Id go more with, "my bad, we'll use it to get better." Nice place you have, very nice staff too. -Guy F read more

Awesome food here. I read positive remarks about this being a nightlife spot- plan to check it out. All the food I have tried has been on point. read more

This is my favorite bar in downtown scranton. The bartenders are welcoming and friendly. Can't beat their deals of half off selected appetizers from 5-7 Monday-Friday and same goes for drafts on tap to go along with the apps. Also late night happy hour Thurs-Sat are $2 bud lights and some kind of mixer special. Good vibes in the place. Love the heaters when it's cold. read more

A beer magistrates Xanadu. What a selection of bottled beers and drafts. Seriously, the bottle list is pages upon pages long with small font. The prices won't leave you buzzed and the interior of this place has all the energy of the Scranton streets on the exterior. read more

If I could not give them any stars I would. I have highly disappointed in this bar/restaurant. We were in town for the night and were told by two different people to check this place out. EVERY person who worked there that night was rude and not helpful. We waited at the bar to just order drinks for about 15 mins with two female bartenders just standing and talking to each other. We called a male worker (I think the bar back) over and ordered but never got our drinks. Finally a table opened and we moved over, however one of us waited at the bar for drinks (at least another 10 mins). NO ONE came over to take our food order. We decided that we would not stay and when we were ready to leave a waitress came over and asked if we needed another drink. I was so angry and told her we were leaving (food menus still out on the table). I would never go back here or recommend this place!!!!!!! read more

The backyard patio is great. I had a very good long chicken salad with lettuce and four slices of cucumber. The sherry vinaigrette was a mistake, but that's my fault. There is a very long beer list but just don't ask for the 40 beers on there that they don't have. They just don't have 'em. The abbreviated history of the sweet potato fries is fascinating. Apparently, they were on the specials list for some time and people kept asking for them so they put them on the menu. They are delicious. Especially with guac. Very very nice friendly staff. Well at least the one waiter we had. Don't know about everyone else. I didn't meet them. Great patio. Butt dark, but really good. read more

Great atmosphere on the outside courtyard / deck and great selection of beers reasonibly priced. Food was standard bar food, nothing really gourmet on apps or sandwiches . We started out with the nachos, nothing really impressive here, basic plain nachos. Bland salsa, guacamole was soupy and canned japapenos. We decided not to eat here, so we moved on. I would definitely come back for the beer choices but would like to see the menu get upgraded somewhat to make it a true dining destination to go out with friends. read more

I am give this one star because the food is fine. The service was pathetic. I understand in the midst of covid this is a challenge for everyone but please treat patrons with respect. They take care of their people that obviously are locals and that's fine however I don't have time for that. Very disrespectful staff. Very rude and will not be going back. read more

So this review is based on 3 recent visits. I've sat both inside and outside and both times the service was excellent, friendly & attentive. They have my beer, Guinness and my only complaint is that a few times I had a quick pour and for a "beer place" this shouldn't happen once. Last night the outdoor patio crew was excellent as they all seem to share the workload, and that means I could always count on service, which to us is big. The wings I had last night were delicious (hot) which aren't too hot and my fiancé enjoyed her Burger but the potato chips were bland. The only other point, they need to get better Vodka, Absolut Citron for the ladies and Tito's just because. Overall though, I plan to continue to enjoy this place, nice job! read more

This has become a regular lunch/happy hour spot. Service is pretty good, LOVE the food (despite forthcoming contradictory criticism), and it's a bar where you're not going to be overrun with students (more faculty and staff enjoying a beer than anything). I think the menu could be expanded a little. Had the nachos one time, they were totally ON POINT! However, I haven't seen em on the menu since. Maybe something in the a chicken finger basket or pretzels with cheese family would be an improvement. Don't get me wrong, it's an A-/B+ restaurant and worth the fairly reasonable prices! read more

Holy beer selection Bat Man! Great location and even better vibe makes this place a must visit in Scranton. If my nick name was Frank the tank them I would of made a bigger dent in trying all of the beer on tap. For lunch I had a great Cuban sandwich that hit the spot. I was also impressed with the daily specials that looked amazing. read more

Awesome place with AMAZING beer selection....apparently they just added a food menu, definitely a good idea. Their food was really good and the waiter had great ideas of what we should get to eat. Definitely will stop back here next time I'm in the area!!!!!! read more

Backyard Ale House - Ommegangs and amazing food. Can't go wrong - Bars Near Me - Scranton, Pennsylvania

God awful will never return. They don't understand the difference between medium rare and well done. All 5 of us ordered medium rare burger and all of the burgers came out at well done burnt to hell. Waited 45 minutes for our food to arrive. We were also served by 4-5 different servers in one sitting. Terrible experience! read more

Excellent home made pretzels. Service was great. Nice outdoor seating. We'll definitely come back.

Great space, lots of beer good decor, owner appears to be a Notre Dame fan. What else could you ask for? Out group's meals were all great, from the meatball to the burgers, and all the other assorted foodstuffs. The actual 'backyard' looked great but we were all a little tired from shredding some epic Montage powder, otherwise we probably would have hung out there longer. I understand this place is new - it's great now and will only improve, I'm sure. read more

I didn't like it here at first, but now I'm a convert! ( I drink beer now, so I think it helps. ) I love the French fries with cheddar sauce! There are other things I want to try, too. The service is really nice, it is clean and nice inside, and the beer selection kicks many butts. Thank you for being another place I can enjoy in Scranton! read more

So much open space! Being from NYC, we don't get to see bars of this size and this friendliness. What's more, we don't see bars this empty on a Sunday either. I think it was just because of the crappy weather on that gloomy Sunday. Lots of good beer choices are here and the food service is fast paired with fair prices. One of the more enjoyable eating spots in Scranton, for sure. read more

Backyard Ale House - Pork rice bowl with sunny eggs - Bars Near Me - Scranton, Pennsylvania

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This has become the standard place to hang out and gather up old friends whenever I pop into town for the past year or so. 9 out of 10 times, I've was here during the happy hour times. And, its been a much more pleasant experience than any of the other local joints. So, keep it up BAH!!! read more

One of my favorite places to grab drinks as an upper classman at the University of Scranton. They have tons of great beers on tap and I always enjoyed trying new ones. Always keep a look out for the events they have going on. They have beer tastings on Tuesdays, live music on the weekends, and they have an Oktoberfest beer tasting in the fall. While I wasn't able to try out much of their food, I did have the burger and it was pretty awesome. Wish I got to try other dishes they had to offer read more

This is a good place to find a variety of good beers on tap and in bottle when you're in downtown Scranton. There are two bars, one inside and one outside - the one outside unfortunately allows smoking, so that's one to avoid if you're like me and detest all forms of tobacco. That aside, the variety of brews is pretty awesome and prices are comparable for the area (i.e., cheap). read more

Some young blonde with glasses serving outside came Over to us and threw the menus down. I said "hi" and she walked away. We were stunned. Went inside and a sweet girl took care of us! read more

I was driving north along interstate 81 towards the Cortland NY Sitcom Convention, with special guest star Ron Howard's cousin, located in the ball room of the Best Western near the dairy queen, when I passed through Wilkes Barre, a town more fitting to be explored by a gang of teenagers and their anthropomorphic dog than an overweight balding man in his mid thirties alone in a rented Kia Sorrento. However, when I saw the sign for Scranton Pa I new I had to stop, as I am a huge fan of the x files. Driving into the city and seeing the sign and clock tower of the Pennsylvania Paper supply, I felt just like I was in my favorite sitcom, and could almost hear the music start to play and the words play inside my head "whatever happened to predictability?" I wondered, the "milkman, the paper boy, and the evening tv". The words of the Full House theme song, a show famously set in Scranton, have meant more and more to me as I have aged, and I have needed to turn to the tv shows of my youth just to have something solid to hold onto. As I had started my very long drive starting in Mascot Tn, where I had partied at the triple a minor league baseball mascot associations trade show the night before, I knew I needed a cup of coffee and as much as I wanted to stop at monks cafe, I realized it was too far up town, and so I decided to settle for central perk instead. After a quick cup, I turned to my favorite food review site urban-spoon to find a bite to eat (it would be yelp but somehow I'm still not considered a power user despite the fact that I can name every guest star on the simpsons between the years 1994 and 1996) and I found the Backyard Ale House. It was listed as the best restaurant in Scranton, and I can't say that I disagree, regardless of the fact that it is the only place I have eaten in Scranton other than the backseat of my car, where I shoveled potato chips and Mountain Dew in my mouth while humming the theme tune to my favorite sitcom set in a Pennsylvania city, its always sunny in Philadelphia. The patio was crowded yet still inviting and intimate, and I can imagine it really being a place where everybody knows my name. I ordered the "just-a-burger" and fries which was quite reasonably priced, and tasted exactly as I imagine a Krabby Patty would, my favorite fictitious restaurant in Scranton, the Krusty Krab. Unfortunately I incurred several parking tickets during my meal, as I suspect there is a reboot of the show Parking Wars filming in the area, but luckily I saw a billboard for plasma donations, which were overseen by doctor Doogie Howser himself, and after which I had enough funds to pay for the rest of my trip. Driving away from the city I considered that it is possible that it is more important to actually review the restaurant in question than it is to obsessively reference tv shows from the nineties and two thousand, you know which one I am talking about, but that's not important right now. In conclusion the restaurant is pretty good and I don't know how to talk to people so I just force references to outdated tv shows into every conversation so that people might think I have a personality. read more

Overwhelming beer selection. They really had something for everyone. We got there at a weird time (around 9pm on Friday) where they stopped table service so we had to order at the bar, but it wasn't a big deal. However, around 10pm or 10:30pm, the college crowd came in and the music really started bumping. Half expected the bartenders to rip off their shirts and take out the glow sticks. If that's not your scene, then best to stop by at a different time. Unless you're just there for the beer. Then really, this place is pretty good any time. read more

Their loaded potatoes are amazing. The combination of fried potatoes, delicious chili, and cheese was perfect. Also the beer selection was phenomenal. read more

Backyard Ale House - Bars Near Me - Scranton, Pennsylvania

Great food in a fun atmosphere. We stepped in around 8:00 on a Friday night. It was understandably busy. There is no hostess, so you may have to shark for a seat. Simple no fuss service. When the food arrived there was little to say as everyone was busy enjoying their meal. I had a steak and mushroom flatbread that was on special. It was fantastic, the mushrooms were extremely flavorful. Others with us had burgers which they said were terrific. The buns looked excellent. While we did not drink while we were there, it looked like a popular watering hole. There were some drink specials that looked interesting in a good way. If you're looking for somewhere quiet look elsewhere. But, if you're looking for good food and drinks in an upbeat atmosphere then give it a go. read more

Great food and drinks! You definitely need to make a reservation. They had a lot of food selections. Added bonus- bathroom had mouth wash dispenser. read more

My friends and I used to frequent this bar every weekend when we were in college just up the road. It's super casual and super laid back. The backyard is a cute private area to hang out in and the nice thing is it's one of those bars where people go to relax and isn't fully of crazy drunk creeps trying to hit on you every second. Since I've graduated they've added food - I've eaten there twice now and I can definitely say it's nice for a quick bite too! read more

The pretzels are pretty good. The public mustard and the cheese are amazing. I'm usually not impressed with meatloaf at restaurants, but the Ma Meatloaf sandwich is pretty damn tasty. The homemade chips are really good too. The Banjo Pig was also very delicious. Prices are pretty reasonable. The meatloaf sandwich was even better the next morning after getting to meld with everything. read more

We only ate here once on a whim just walking around Scranton. Met friendly people at the bar who told us all about fun things to do here. Beer was colder than your ex's heart, food was delicious and server Jeff K was very friendly and helpful with recommendations. This was exactly what we were looking for midway thru a so far perfect day. What else you got Scranton?? read more

Meh. Great beer selection but prices are a bit high(I know you're thinking I'm cheap but fuck you, I'll pay whatever for a good beer as long as it's fair) and the bartenders aren't all that knowledgeable about craft beers. I was there one afternoon and asked the bartender to recommend a good hoppy beer and he recommended Leinenkugels Summer Shandy(fucking Lemon Pledge tasting swill, FYI)! Anyway, the outdoor area is definitely a good spot for some day drinking when the weather's nice. UPDATE 8/2/2014 I've eaten here twice since my original review and the menu and the food are both great. Changing my score from 3 to 4 stars. read more

Zach gave us the absolute best service. The restaurant was completely mobbed because of a marathon and convention, yet we waited for nothing. The food is excellent but the service is always on point. The beer is amazing too. All of their service staff is friendly and helpful. Best place in Scranton, by far. read more

It's a good bar with great food. I have no idea how many different bottled beers they have but they usually have around 30 on tap. They rotate their taps often so the selection is fresh and there's usually a new brew worth trying out. They have a good happy hour and specials on different days of the week. They also fill growlers at a good price. The food is consistently high quality. The kitchen puts out a daily menu with new items in addition to the regular menu. The only inconsistency is with the service. It seems they rarely have one person dedicated to the main bar in front. So it sometimes takes awhile to place food orders and get refills, even when it's not very busy. read more