Okay, so... this place used to be Fitzwilly's, many years ago, and that was our place. So when it was sold and completely redone, we had trouble... since it wasn't Fitzwilly's. At all. Period. While I still mourn Fitzwilly's and its old College Station charm, The Backyard has grown on me. Yes, the giant backyard with games concept is cool. No, the original food was not great. Yes, the food trucks while we were there were good - well, the taco truck we gave our money to was. And the drink specials... oh my... You want good ol college days fun cheap drink in hand? Get a well bucket for $7. Their well drink selection is definitely better than the norm. My bourbon and diet was yummy and a steal at $7. Staff was great as well - memorable. We'll be back. Hope either the same food trucks are there or that they always have good ones. Good times - get some. read more

This was honestly one of the worst bar experiences I've ever had. The bouncer straight up told me my ID was fake even though it's real and valid, and I've been using it for years at bars, clubs, and literally everywhere else with zero issues. They then tried to keep my ID, which is crazy because it's a real government ID and they're not even allowed to do that. They argued with me forever and wouldn't give it back until I said I was going to walk over and get a police officer. The second I said that, they magically decided to return it and let me in. The whole thing was embarrassing, stressful, and honestly scary because losing your real ID is a huge deal. It felt like they had no idea what they were doing and just doubled down instead of admitting they were wrong. If you go here, be careful. No bar should be treating people like this or trying to take their real ID. I definitely won't be going back read more

Good view for projector outside but no fans for cooling, rude service and expensive food/drink (food trucks). Not a good standard for a bar let alone comfortable environment to eat and be in. read more

The Backyard - Outside seating - American Near Me - College Station, Texas

I came here over the ND-Texas A&M game weekend (Go Irish!). The Backyard has a great outdoor space where you can hangout, drink some beer, and watch some sports. They also have a couple food trucks onsite. I will say, I do have some beef because many years ago despite Texas not being a 21+ state they thought that my 19 year-old ID was fake which is preposterous. I had a great time this time, but I don't forget. read more

Terrible experience here. Watch your credit card statement very carefully after going here. They like to add a few bucks to your tip. Highly recommend just using cash. Aside from that, the service was poor and drinks were watered down. read more

Huge screens & outdoor games, big fans keep the air moving, wonderful outdoor bar w/ great drinks, fun bartenders & yummy taco trucks! Could use more table umbrellas but other than that it's a win! read more

The cost of the drinks is not really transparent. I ordered (2) double cocktails and (2) beers, which costs $42! I am wondering if I was overcharged or if the bartenders snuck in an extra tip? read more

Charged my card more than I payed. Also good luck getting bar service unless you're a women.

we had happy dads here and had so much fun. such a fun environment and place to hangout with friends.

I'd give this place a 0 if I could. Trent the bouncer made me feel very uncomfortable and was so rude. Other staff was also rude and not helpful to Trent's mania. They confiscated my real ID and would not give it back. Might sue. I am very upset. read more

Got kicked out for tripping over my boot. I was completely sober. They have an "image" they like to uphold and have a very arrogant attitude. God forbid you go against their stereotypical look or vibe, apparently it gets you removed from the premises. I was also kicked out another time for no good reason--I had a few drinks and was asked to leave and when I asked why a reason was still not provided. Overpriced, music is mid, and bouncers have a horrible attitude. read more

These people took my REAL ID and refused to give it back to me. They stole my identity and claimed to give it to the police meanwhile the police had no record of getting my ID absolutely terrible. The place is stealing people identities and probably selling them for all I know. This place is absolutely horrible. read more

This place was super fun. I'm a bit old for places like this, and most of the people here are teenagers or in their early 20s, but it's a good time. read more

Exceptional service! First time here in College Station... thx JD for lighting the fire pit and makin us feel at home! read more

The Backyard - Exceptional service... first time in College Station... thx JD for lighting up the fire pit and making us feel at home! - American Near Me - College Station, Texas

We came down to A&M all last year to visit our son. We always frequented the Chicken or somewhere like the Rebel. We never went to the Backyard because it seems like a much younger crowd and we are in our forties. We moved down a few months ago and bought a house not too far. We had friends come in town and went back to the North Gate area. While down we heard about the free crawfish at Backyard. Again, not our type of music but what the heck. We had a few college kids but mainly 6 parents. I grabbed a table and ordered over 100 dollars of drinks while my wife and the others got crawfish. One of the husbands asked the GM (we found out who he was later), too grab two pounds and pointed at me. They had just started so I had clearly not been up there. He said no, he must walk up after looking my way. I switched with him and since my wife all of our friends were at the place to grab the food. I got beside them and went to grab the next pound. The GM pulls the food away and says "you are just going to cut in front of all of these people, really" and gives me a shity look. He said this in front of everyone who then said he is with us. What a JERK. How can you have this guy as your GM. We won't be back. I'm sure you don't care but I am ok telling every parent and student not to as well. Hire people who treat others with respect. read more

I've never had an issue with The Backyard before tonight. I was with a group of 8 people and we all had our hand stamped at the front entrance. The photo shows the qualify of the stamps. My group and I were kicked out because we did not have stamps that were identifiable. We waited in line for 20 minutes to be kicked out of the bar. :( read more

The Backyard - Low quality stamp that got my group and I kicked out after waiting. - American Near Me - College Station, Texas

Best place to club dance on northgate! Also, the taco truck is amazing, definitely try it if you go.

They charge a cover to go in and get to the taco truck. Stupid way to run an establishment if you're going to offer food and then make you pay to get in. Shitty manager or dumber doorman. Not sure which it is but would not recommend. read more

On a spring break Friday night, when most of the town is pretty quiet, the only person in our 15-ish-person group who wasn't let in was the one black guy. The bouncer said it was due to his out-of-state ID, but all the other people with out-of-state IDs (from further away) got in just fine. Really? He was a paying customer and they couldn't even fault him for violating their "dress code," which also apparently exists. None of us were drunk, and nobody was making a scene - it was a pretty tame group of grad students, and we all moved on as soon as this happened. I've enjoyed backyard in the past, but there's nothing special here. It's clear this isn't something that comes from individual bouncers. Management has a problem, and I won't be back again. read more

bartenders are rude and childish, prices suck. ghetto as hell and only play songs from 2006

Been going to the backyard couple years on and off trying to give it second chances but every time we go seems a bartender is rude, over charged my card and will randomly pick guys in group to remove because getting a little busy and need more space for girls. Bad service just isn't worth the amenities. read more

Good place to hang out but the bartender can be a little rude and so can the bouncers to enter the place.

Just missed the Turtle Races, dadgummit. Oh well, maybe another Thursday night. Even though we went for the turtle races, we stayed for awhile. Great outdoor atmosphere. Everyone had a good time either playing Giant Beer Pong, Cornhole or Washers. read more

The Backyard - Turtles resting after their race - American Near Me - College Station, Texas

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Sadly I can't give 0 stars as this place is the definition of poor customer service, management, and bad vibes

My tab had 4 poorly mixed drinks and my total was $47. Will not return and do not recommend.

If I could give this place negative stars, I would. Let me give you an executive summary of what happened... My friend and I were dropped off at the Backyard by our Uber. Up to this point, we haven't consumed a single drop of alcohol. The bouncer at Backyard wouldn't let us in because he concluded we were too drunk. I soon realized the situation. I've never experienced this kind of treatment in Aggie Land so I was a little shocked. I tried to pull my friend away so we can go to a different establishment but he felt compelled to convince the bouncer that we had not had any alcohol. He soon realized the situation too when the bouncer said, "listen to your spic friend and leave". read more

Awesome music !!! Awesome people !!! Great staff !!! Super cool second dancing floor !!!

My bartender Abbi was AMAZING couldn't recommend her enough! Made the most amazing drinks and was so friendly and personable! I'll be back to see her! read more

This is a great location. I like how you can play games there. The music is great. I love this place.

The Backyard is weird. It has weird seating arrangements, a millions TVs (a totem pole going through the middle of the place), plays really crappy music, doesn't have a great selection of beer, and isn't a really pleasant place to hang out for an extended period of time. But I still manage to come up here almost every weekend for tacos. It's sort of the go to hungover after a show on an early Sunday afternoon sort of place that we take all our friends to when they stay in town, or go to when I don't feel like cooking. It's only a 7-10 minute walk from my house behind Northgate, and it's always pretty quiet in the early (weekend) afternoons, unless there's some A&M event going in - in which case, you should probably avoid it. They have some Karbach, and St Arnold I think, but not really anything interesting as far as beers go. They'll make you a mimosa to go with your breakfast taco, but they're pricey and it's iffy whether or not you'll get an acceptable amount of champagne given who's pouring it. Breakfast tacos are tasty and huge, but my standby is the cheapskate since I don't eat meats and don't want my arteries to rock everytime I eat a taco. The verde sauce is totally awesome, and they don't have half-assed refried beans. It's especially tasty if you order it with some cheese fries that you split with a friend, because they you can take one of those cheesy waffles fries and chiles and put them on your taco. They also use really tasty sweet wheat or brioche-like buns on all of their sandwiches. The food ideas are neat enough, and vastly superior to the greasy, fried no-brainers Fitwilly's used to serve. I think the worst part (as someone who uses this as a food place instead of a booze place) is the staff and their complete lack of consistency. If you order a breakfast burrito, sometimes they'll tell you it comes with everything - chorizo, potatos, and bacon. Other times, they'll say you have to choose one. And whichever they say, you'll get the wrong thing when you grab your food. The garnish and sauce on it will probably be different from what's on the menu or what you had last time, too. Make sure they understand what you're saying. I'd recommend it for the food, since everything I've had there has been genuinely tasty, and beats the greasy spoon it used to be, but for hanging out and having beers, try somewhere else. While the Backyard is consistently on my don't want to drive or cook but want to eat list, it's never on my want to drink/hang out away from home list. Also, bloody mary salsa! Ask for it, make sure you get it, it's gooood. read more

***i have to edit this post because I called up and spoke to a Manager and She was wonderful and fixed the whole situation in the best way! Thank you! We are being reimbursed by the bouncer. Can't wait to go back and finally get to experience The Backyard!!! So if you had the same experience, fear not!! Go try it again! Thank you Lauren!!*** Worst experience. We had a group of about 10 or more people, all of us paid to get in, however we never entered the bar. The bouncer let in everyone who was with us and asked no questions about their IDs, we all have Texas IDs. My friend who turned 21 in November handed the bouncer her Texas State ID and he asked her to pull up her Facebook profile on her phone to verify her State ID.....We are standing outside in the cold and rain while this man is forcing her to pull up her SOCIAL MEDIA account to enter a bar...there was no reception so her phone wouldn't load, our other friend was able to load the facebook page and went to show the bouncer and his response was "it doesn't work that way" and continued to wait for my friends phone to load her facebook. The bouncer ended up calling another bouncer over who escorted my friend off the property and around a corner where we could no longer see her. I handed the man my ID and asked where the other man took my friend and he said "i don't know" and asked me for $10. The bouncer got called an asshole by my friend and after he handed me our change he said "get the f*** out" So after all of us had just paid to get in we left to spread out to find our friend who was taken by the other bouncer. When we found her, the bouncer had taken her down the street to the other side of the bars and handed her Texas ID to a bike cop and the bouncer left her there alone. After we found her I went back to the bouncer and calmly asked for the money back that he took from us, he said "no, your friend was being a bitch" We ended up going to another bar where we ran into people who HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE with the SAME BOUNCER. Apparently this man has pocketed other peoples money as well. read more

literally the worst ever. two mins until they closed and they wouldn't let me get a taco. they are the worst and have nasty bathroom!

The food was fair. I had the happy hour Wednesday special, the cheeseburger cheddar melt. It's what I didn't expect. It was ok but I wouldn't order it again. read more

The Backyard - The cheeseburger cheddar melt. - American Near Me - College Station, Texas

Love this place! Good, affordable drinks, GREAT service, and do yourself a favor and get you a Big Lebowski burger (add bacon). Ken the manager is so welcoming, and his staff follows suit. I can honestly say I've never had a bad experience here. Always fun, with a huge patio filled with social games, from washers to horseshoes to giant beer pong. Pet friendly, social, with good people and lots of TVs for sports. This is a really fun place, and they do all kinds of fun stuff like turtle racing and tournaments. Good beer selection for a good price. Definitely a fan, and DEFINITELY my favorite place on Northgate hands down! read more

This dj sucks. He remix's so many songs then plays his remix it's so bad. Better off going to the Dixie chicken next door and listen to old people song sweet Caroline. read more

When a place has to have bouncers, you know it's...well, a certain kind of place. What the hell, it's Northgate, and Northgate is a sewer, and the Backyard fits right in. Shortly after they opened I had a salmon filet sandwich with house made slaw that was honestly damn good. Since then the food, and everything else has gone downhill. The drinks and food selection are indistinguishable from any other Northgate bar, for better or worse. They do a Sunday brunch whose claim to fame is that it's cheap. It's cheap for a reason. Go to West End, BWD, or Hullabaloo. Unless you're cheap. Like really cheap. I've always found the staff friendly and nice. They're the only thing I really like about the place. If you're drunk and want diabetes to be your next BFF, grab one of the three lb slices of pizza from Mighty Slice that shares this space. read more

I would like to say the manager, bartender, and bouncers were great at this establishment. The problem was only with the DJ. I went up to a bouncer to ask about an altercation with a friend of mine. He was very professional and friendly. All the sudden the dj got involved and started screaming in my face. I asked him to back up and was honestly really intimidated by his response. I was there on Saint Patrick's and just excited to have fun! He was yelling at me and started calling me a bitch when I asked him to back up. He yelled for the bouncers even though I had yet to say anything. The bouncers apologized as I left and said they would investigate as did the manager. I hope they do because as we left they yelled over the microphone"flat ass white bitches get the fuck out" which was obviously not the customer experience that we wanted. I've never had an issue with anyone here but this dj. I hope they let him go or explain to him how to appropriately talk to young women. read more

Last night was my first night at the Backyard. It soon became apparent that there was a click there and that other 'bar workers' were there. You would imagine a certain unwelcome feeling...3rd wheel-ish. Not at all. Chris educated me on the game of washers. There wasn't a single person there in the 3hr span that I was there, that was rude or unfriendly. The Backyard went from a click-ish Fitzwilleys to an open and welcoming environment, I am a bit of a mess due to an auto accident, and not once did I feel unwelcome. read more

Terrible customer service. They don't know how to talk to customers and I felt as if I was disrespected. I will not be back in attendance, Chimys is the way to go people! Always a good time and lots of nice people at chimys, I will be back there. Don't go here, unless you want to have a bad time! read more

I left the same review elsewhere, but I needed to let people know how this place is. I went to enjoy a night out this past weekend with some old friends. This place is now terrible. It has a very bad vibe; all the bartenders and bouncers are very rude. I had just spent over $100.00 in this bar. As the night is coming to a close, one of the bouncers proceeds to give me a shove. I asked him to not touch me as I was on my way out of the door and being very cooperative with the announcement that the bar was closing. After asking him not to touch me, he proceeds to violently shove me and then is joined by 3 other door men. They all violently removed my friend and I just because I asked someone not to unnecessarily put their hands on me. Upon forcing us out physically with no reason to, they proceed to curse and scream at us at the door. I attempted to let someone know only to be shunned away. Sad to say I will no longer be visiting this bar, and I wouldn't recommend it as these door guys go by their own rules and can forcibly remove you for no reason whatsoever. read more