Fresno landed a hugely successful restaurant when Yard House opened this Sunday. Not only did it bring several hundred jobs to the valley, it also brought over 118 beers on tap (this number includes the American light beers which I don’t recognize as beer, so the number is less in my mind). Honestly, I wasn’t that excited when I first heard they were coming. Call it pessimism or a loathing of chain restaurants, but I just didn’t think much of it.
Photo courtesy of @JohnisAmazing20
Nevertheless I asked for an invite to the launch party Saturday. Cut me some slack. Food blogging isn’t cheap when you focus on eating out. For the party they served samples of select dishes served by an endless amount of servers. It sort-of reminded me of Costco but they brought the sample to you. I kept wondering if the server would tell me that I had already had a sample, just like Costco. Confess people. We’ve all been there.
I realized, even though they were small samples served on plasticware, the quality of the food was several notches above the other sports bars in town, even one in the same shopping center. Not only was it better tasting, it was more creative and fresher. One of the corporate trainers that served us explained just how much of their food is made from scratch on a daily basis (pizza dough, sauces, sushi rolls, burgers, etc). That was nice to hear and proved to me that I can’t paint chain restaurants with such a broad brush all the time.
Was the food worth the impending wait that the restaurant will have for the next year? Definitely not on it’s own, at least for me. But with an endless beer list and an upper-scale atmosphere, I can imagine most people won’t care about the wait.
Speaking of beer, I stuck with Hefeweizen for the evening. I don’t expect you to be able to pronounce the names but they sure were good.
Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier
I contend that you have to order a beer with the name “Dunkel”, just because it’s cool.
Yard House beer list is here.
Dear Mr. Bites,
It appears this establishment provides good food and a wide variety of adult beverages. I found your review very informative on the most important attributes, but one-the social environment. Perhaps the ambiance of this establish would render it a fine location to engage in conversation with the opposite sex. Also what age groups do you think would be most likely attracted to this spot?
Thank you for review, my time is quite valuable when I am in Fresno and I need to use it wisely!
Paula,
Thanks for reading and thanks for the comment. It was pretty dark in there so unfortunately I didn’t get any shots. However, this place is right up your alley. In addition to the beer list they also have a wine list. There are plenty of booths which tend to allow for extended sitting (to talk to your date). I say next time you’re in Fresno head their way.
Wow! I cannot wait to try this place. I’ve heard good things about it. Thanks for the review.
It’s a pretty cool place Corrie. Make sure to write a review too. I’d like to hear your opinion.
I definitely will blog about my experience! I’ve passed by a Yard House in Riverside, but it’s far from where I live, so I’ll just go when I go home this month!