Yard House

I've been to The Yardhouse at Merrick Park a number of times and my experience has been quite varied.\r \r The Yardhouse is in the Merrick Park square of mostly luxurious stores (Tiffany's, Jimmy Choo, La Perla etc), and my personal favorite restaurant there is Il Villaggio - I'll write about that another time.\r \r However there's times, like when Il Villaggio has been bursting at the seams with business at lunchtime, that I've ended up at The Yardhouse. My experiences at The Yardhouse have been like this;\r \r 1. Late one night I ended up there with a bunch of friends and bizarrely it was Happy Hour. They have two a day during weekdays. We loved the appetizers we chose, mine was rice with tuna and guacamole on top. Very filling.\r \r 2. The second time I went alone, sat at the bar, the bar man wasn't too friendly, I ordered the same appetizer as before, it wasn't too filling so I ordered the Shitake Mushroom Noodles too - delicious. So with two orders I had enough to eat. I hate having to order multiple courses to feel full. It's OK when you're eating mezze, say, or going out for a more formal meal. But generally during the middle of the day I like to order one course.\r \r 3. This was the bummer. Lousy bar staff and a lunchtime special (asian chicken) salad which very wasn't filling. A really unsatisfactory experience, I complained to customer service and management and I have to say their response was admirable, an oasis of caring in Miami where, strangely enough, a lot of businesses act like they don't want your business at all. Really.\r \r 4. Yesterday. Mixed.\r \r My friend and her two kids and I went to The Yardhouse early Sat. afternoon at my suggestion. Alex and I ordered martinis immediately - she had a lemon drop, I ordered an expresstini, a coffee flavored martini, as The Yardhouse don't make my favorite which is chocolate martinis. Nice drinks, but my glass definitely could have been more full. Next round my friend was seduced into having the expresstini too, she liked it. I had the same again.\r \r Our waiter was very charming, and patient with our slowness at ordering and our two rambuctious kids ( Yolanda, 4, and Richard, 7). This was our order;\r \r Richard - hot dog with fries plus pepperoni pizza off the kids' menu. Yes really, two meals. He ate a lot of it and he's a skinny kid.\r \r Yolanda - her perennial favorite, macaroni cheese.\r \r They both drank milk with that.\r \r Mummy Alex had tortilla chicken soup for a starter, then a seared tuna salad.\r \r I had a turkey cobb salad.\r \r We all enjoyed our food, no complaints there. If the hot dog came with saukercraut on the adults menu I would definitely order that another time. It was big and very meaty looking.\r \r The kids chose off the kids' menu, a very enjoyable affair of a paper kids coloring book with the kids' menu printed on the back and on the front, which surprised me, it wasn't The Yardhouse brand which was really pushed but the fact that it was an ecological booklet. Along with the booklet came a small package of crayons which had 'The Yardhouse' on the front of it.\r \r Such solicitude in serving kids was a surprise to us - we had wondered if The Yardhouse would even be happy about us taking kids there. It is an adult-looking place with lots of dark wood, TV screens that show sports and an impressive variety of beer. The Yardhouse is known for it's huge selection of beers.\r \r So imagine my surprise when I took Yolanda to the bathroom and I had to lift her to be able to reach across the huge metal trough which was the sink in the women's bathroom so that she could wash her hands. A big disconnection in purpose there. What're they thinking, they're going to get giant kids? But of course they're not thinking.\r \r The last decisive element was the price. Our bill came to $126 - I gave them $150 with tip. OK Alex and I also downed huge yards of delicious beer too, but still it felt like an expensive bill for a place that doesn't feel like a traditional restaurant, unlike it's competitor Il Villagio across the way.\r \r So $150 for four of us it felt expensive, which is exactly what Alex's expectation had been of the place; 'Hmmm, I heard it's nice but expensive.'.\r \r $150 for a nice lunch with two kids felt like too much, despite we had a few drinks.\r \r Right afterwards I took Alex to Il Villaggio and we had chocolate martinis for $4 less each than the martinis we'd had at The Yardhouse. Cheaper and I have to say they tasted better and with more alcohol too.\r \r So - The Yardhouse is fun, enjoyable. It just usually ends up costing more than you would expect it to be. Also beware the 'goblets' that choice beers are often served in. They look like wine glasses and in no way compare to a pint glass!\r \r CORAL GABLES\r VILLAGE OF MERRICK PARK\r \r 320 San Lorenzo Avenue | Coral Gables, FL 33146 | 305-447-9273 more

i love this place. everything about it. They have great specials which make it a great place for a date on a week night. But if they keep raising their prices they are gonna price me out. 14 dollars for an appetizer in this econ? really? keep up the good work tho. more

Great taste, price and quality of food! Recomend! more

Usually love this place but had a so-so experience last time I was there. The food took forever and then came out cold. We sent it back and had to wait another 30 minutes..... Nothing worse than bad service. I will give it one more chance...... more

The orange peel gardien was tasty and fresh. My server was pleasant ant attentive. I really enjoyed my visit. more

absolutely love their Tuna appetizer! more

got food poisoning. Dirty kitchen, Germs, germs...\r \r These guys are your typical clueless Miami servers.. They must have a union in that joint. \r \r Food:\r Bugers are dry and Not fresh, beers come in these shamefully small glasses. In some cases if the beer is more than 5% they will pour half the beer and serve it in a whiskey snifter! lol.. What a joke. Seriously, if you're an American and take your food and beer seriously Don't go here! \r \r Service:\r \r **Only the level of service, it's one of those places that multiple people are sent to serve you, so the server takes the order, a kitchen Hench brings your beer and makes one person at the table hand them out, then two kitchen monkey's bring your food and stand at the table while you still have your app and plates there.. They look at you as if you need to somehow create space on the table. Bring your Frommer's and a translator. more

Fun place in the Gables to hang out, drink beer and eat. Their Bernaise Burger is the bomb. more

I have not tried the food but they have a lot of beers on tab which is better than food, the price per pint is mostly around $6 which given the location is excellent. the decoration is really nice, very cozy warm place to enjoy a beer with good company. more

The Yard House has a very ecclectic menu. From burgers, to Italian, to Asian food, it's all very good. Service is always fast and friendly. They have a very good lunch menu with smaller portions and prices and get you in and out fast.\r \r They have a lot of beers too! more

The first time I had ever heard or tried the yard house was on my honeymoon, and I was hooked immediately. Needless to say when the one here opened, I had to be there! Its a great place to unwind after work, or watch a game, or even a family dinner. Must haves: Poke Stack- for those of you into seafood and sushi, Surf and Turf burger, chicken pot pie- its enormous but delish, Mac and cheese, Asian noodles, I can go on and on.. Do yourself a favor and try it yourself! more

I really like the Happy Hour they have at Yard House. \r \r The Happy Hour food menu is awesome. Their cheese pizza, boneless wings, baby back ribs, seared ahi, and Korean beef are all fantastic. Happy Hour food is really reasonably priced.\r \r BBQ Chicken pizza, burgers, sweet potato fries, French fries, and the California roll are ok, but not great. more

There's nothing I like more than my top 10 favorite beers available on tap every day. Yard House is a great place to go for happy hour with a big group, celebratory dinner, or even a first date. more

As the wait time to get in this pub will try even the most seasoned of footsies.\r \r The food is exceedingly pedestrian, but there are two amazing reasons to come back to Yard House in toney Merrick Park: first, the selection of speciality draught beers is staggering, simply staggering. At over 100, they bowl all their competitors away. And then there's David, the best waiter I've had in Miami in years. His knowledge of the beers on tap is phenomenal, being a self-described beer snob, as is his solicitude as a server.\r \r The names of the beers are a hoot. They sound as if a disgruntled co-worker or an ex named them in a fit of pique: Stone Arrogant Bastard ale, Grand Teton Bitch Creek, Hollywood Blonde, Old Speckled Hen.\r \r There is no one on God's green earth that will pass up having a sip of a Stone Arrogant Bastard. Highly recommended. more

I think this is one of my favorite spots in the Gables. I forget about it sometimes because its tucked away in Merrick Park. But the food it good and fun. The (mac+cheese)2 is awesome, as well as all the tuna apps (yes, we ate alot of tuna that day). But the best part, is all the beers!!! Its over a hundred, I think. I love to travel and they have beers that I thought I would never be able to find again, like ones I drank in the Bavarian Alps. Awesome spot! more

Contaminated my gluten free food.. Then tried to charge me twice for it. BECAREFUL! more

Great Turkey Burgers and Steamed Veggies!! Good service too more

WORST BAR/ RESTAURANT EVER!!!! Terrible customer sevice ever. Managers are a bunch of Robots and staff are afraid 2 make a mistake cause they will get fired on site. Worst experience ever. BEWARE OF THE BALD MANAGER!!! The place was good when i first went, then since the staff all left that provided good customer service, it seems going there now is more of an annoying inconvenience because there customer service doesnt exist and they dont care about return customers nor having any customers at that. I will never go again, i just went for happy hour at 10 PM and they are open till 1am and was told i couldn't sit anywhere but ither the bar or some tables because there staff had left, and while i ws there my waiter got fired after i ordered and then no body came to the table untill after 25 mins i was wondering about the order i placed and i was told that my server had been fired. How unprofessional. Then when i wanted to complain about the service the BALD MANAGER and Some Lady manager came and told me that it was okay that they would bring out my food and drinks and then i waited another 15 mins, for nothing to come again. at that point i walked up to the manager and told him that the customer service was horrible and i was leaving with my wife and he told me " Two less people dont matter to me".. WOW NEVER WILL I OR ANY1 SHOULD DEAL EVER HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE WORST MANAGERS AND SERVICE IN HISTORY. more

Outstanding! more

Great late-night place to go, whether it be with a date or with a group of friends. Take advantage of their late-night happy hour, which starts past 10 pm. Also take advantage of their excellent and ridiculously large selection of beers. A warning to the underaged: they are very serious about carding.\r \r I've had the Lobster, Crab, and Artichoke Dip, the Fried Calamari, and the Blue Crab Cakes. All have been delicious, and even better after a few drinks :)\r \r Also, make sure you try the Youngberry Chocolate, a blend of Young's Double Chocolate Stout with a framboise. Unique, interesting, and delicious! more