Shocked and disappointed by our 1st experience last Friday night. I'll start with it was not busy, the vibe of the location was fun, the staff was welcoming. 4 couples - 8 people in our party and none of us had been there before. We were all excited to try it out after a long work week. We wanted to wind down with a couple of cocktails and fun food in a relaxed enviornment. We wanted to love it. I don't write reviews hardly ever but this time I feel compelled to for both the owners and for the consumer. My goal is not to hurt the restaurant but to shake them up so they change their management, food, and service. If every night was like Fri night they will be out of business fast and that is not what I want for them. We need good thriving vital restaurants in the area! However, for the cost of eating out it must be quality! This was not at all.
Service - Albeit our server was sweet and nice she never brought us plates or silverware for the 5 appetizers we ordered. We were having to put chewed up wings on a napkin on the table during appetizers. When my entree came I finally asked for silverware and she brought only to me - no one else. That is the basic item when eating out. She would be gone long periods of time before checking in on us. She came back and was very patient and understanding with our issues.
Cocktails - HORRIFIC! The person who made the drinks was not a bartender and didn't even try to follow a recipe. We ordered 3 margaritas and sent them all back. Nothing but club soda and lime. I literally told our server they sucked. I'm not going to pay for Casamigo tequila and get served water. No mix, no nothing was in the drink. They did comp those. Then a sangria was ordered - it was an old bottle of chardonnay poured with some fruit in the bottom. It was not drank as it was worse than the margartitas. This does not qualify as a Sangria as I know how to make them. Their cocktails are a total waste of money.
Appetizers - Tuna with mango in wonton cups - HARD NO! They cooked the tuna which should have been served tar tar (rare or uncooked). Visually you have this gray cubed meat in a cup. Flavor was there but it is not how you prepare or serve tuna. Not appetizing and they were not eaten only tasted.
Wings - The appetizers that came out were good according to everyone. The entree for one person came out slimy and undercooked once you lifted the skin so much so that several of us had our stomach's turned and couldn't really eat our entrees.
Burgers - FAIR at best! The yard burger is nothing special - super basic and even it was a little pink in the middle. It's not hand patted out or mixed, it was a frozen patty thawed and cooked. Toppings were minimal. Fries kept us alive.
Timing of Service - It took 2 1/2 hrs for the entire meal experience from when we sat down to when we left. This is all handheld food, not specialty entrees. Reubens, Wings, Burgers, etc... The undercooked wings came out 10 mins prior to other entrees. His food sat and cooled down waiting on others to get their meals and even those trickled out to the point we had to eat in shifts. It was NOT busy! No one was managing the kitchen or overseeing how food was prepped and timing.
Manager - Came out and spoke with us. She was kind but a little flippant to our issues (more so trying to make light of the mood rather than truly concerned) and offered to make new drinks and new wings as a consolation prize. Uh no - don't make us a repeat. Comp our meal at least half for everything we have just gone through.
Seats - yes this is worth mentioning. They are small wooden wedding chairs at the farmhouse tables. They were not comfortable nor did they feel stable really - inside dining room.
It was an awful experience unfortunately to the point the next day I was still pretty mad about it as were a few others in our group. We spent $125 for 2 burgers, 3 appetizers we personally shared with the table. We were not satisfied with quantity or quality of food or drinks or service. We will not be back.
Consumer beware!
Management - fix your restaurant from top to bottom. Your sister companies are reputable and high quality, that same expectation was placed on The Yard but it under performed grossly. read more