Yard House Portland

I am a proponent of visiting local taprooms and breweries and drinking local beers. This philosophy extends both to when I’m in my home city, or when I’m traveling for pleasure or work. But, I am also a big fan of The Yard House – and I have been for many years. It is a national chain – I’ll disclose that upfront, and owned by Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze) – restaurants you may recognize from suburban retail and tourist areas. However, there is still a place for it, even for a craft beer lover. Here is a look at why and what you can expect from Yard House and Yard House Portland.

The Yard House was founded more then 20 years ago in 1996 in Southern California, and since then the national chain has expanded to more than 66 restaurants and 23 states. Before I moved to Portland, Yard House was a major gateway for me to try beers besides the buckets of Bud and Corona of my college years, and for that I am still grateful. Plus, I know that for many just dipping their toes into craft beer, Yard House still serves that purpose of being an introduction to what is available in beer flavors, and that is something craft beer aficionados should give Yard House credit for, it’s nothing to sniff at.

There are 5 big things you can expect from every The Yard House experience, and which you’ll see some examples of from our local Yard House, Yard House Portland located on the first floor of Pioneer Place Mall (entrance is on on SW 5th and Taylor, a few yards away from the street level shiny Apple Store).

Beer

Beer – lots of it. This is likely the most taps you will ever see in one place – an average of 130 at each location. Yard House Portland offers 130 taps with a keg room holding over 5000 gallons of beer. Each and every Yard House has its own unique beer list because each always has a number of taps reserved for local and regional brewers and additionally, in their rotating “Chalkboard Series” a selection of seasonal and small-batch beers (displayed at a digital chalkboard at the bar – or ask your server if you are seated at a booth away from the bar). So while Yard House is a corporate entity, it also has it’s individuality for every location.

The Yard House beer menu is large, but not intimidating. As a UX designer, I have to admire how they have done an admirable job in making a beer list this size approachable for the average consumer as well as beer geeks by dividing it up into flavors like malty, sour, floral, hoppy, spiced, strong, crisp, etc. For a beer lover like me, I also can see where the beer is from and specific style and ABV.

The staff is also well educated and very friendly in explaining the beer flavors to guests and comparing or recommending beers. Not every beer tasting room can do this with its beer menu and it’s staff. At many, it’s up to you to figure out beer flavors from the beer names given by the brewery and styles. And where it’s ordering at the bar, you don’t always feel like you can have a lot of questions or conversations because you’re holding up the line while at Yard House you always feel like you can take that time and everyone is approachable. Not at Yard House. Here at Yard House you can get all beers in multiple sizes, including putting together any beer in your own sampler tray, again more flexible than many beer bars and brewery tasting rooms.

Yard House Portland offers 44 local Oregon beers, and 52 total from the Pacific Northwest, not including the 5 Chalkboard Series that they change out the first Tuesday of every month and the 5 Seasonals that they rotate every three months.

When they change beers, they flush their line between each keg change with a fresh water system to assure clean tasting beer with each new keg that is tapped in. When you are dining in the downstairs area, just look up: those metal cylinders carry six lines each, from the refrigerated keg room to the tap.

You can get a peek through the windows by the booths on the side of the stairs of the impressively organized and stocked keg room.

Not only is there a large beer menu, but you can give feedback on what you’d like to see on the beer menu. The Yard House beer list goes under quarterly review which includes getting suggestions of beers from staff as the front line of guest experiences but also members of Yard House’s eClub and directly from you via surveys and social media. I know I participated and asked for more sour or barrel aged beers! The beer list was updated this past spring, and 40% of the beers being offered at Yard House are being offered for the first time in the restaurant’s 20 year history based on that feedback, with each location adding 25 to 30 new beers when Beer Review is completed.

So for the craft beer lover when you are traveling, especially if you are staying in suburban locations where your office or customers’ offices are, Yard House is a great way to get in some sampling of local beers from a variety of local brewers. It would the equivalent of visiting several beer taprooms – but all in one stop. Just focus on the locations listed from the large beer menu when you sit down. Or, sometimes all I want is a good craft beer of a certain style (let’s say a sour beer, or barrel aged beer) and the local area does not have a lot of local breweries making that style (or do it well…) – a visit to Yard House is assurance I can quench my thirst craving.

One of my secret (I guess not now that I’m telling you and the internet) indulgences is to stop here for a lambic framboise (a raspberry beer that is very fruity!!) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Full Bar

The Yard House also offers a full bar with half a dozen different martinis, half a dozen margaritas/palomas/mojitos, a couple sangrias, a couple mules, and and more cocktails that feature vodka, rum, gin, or bourbon or whisky. Recently they added new cocktails, such as the new Black Barrel Paloma with hornitos black barrel tequila, solerno blood orange liqueur, citrus agave, ruby red grapefruit juice, fresh lime.

There are multiple cider options and gluten free beers for the gluten-free. They also have wine, and non-alcoholic drinks including fun ones like a Mango Berry Soda, or a Cucumber Berry Soda, or Blackberry Iced Tea. Or if you need an energy boost energy drinks or Lavazza coffee and espresso drinks.

This is another big plus when you have a group that has some who are really into beer (like me) but others who are not beer drinkers by taste or because of other diet restrictions. Going to Yard House means everyone can find something to drink.

Food for Everyone

Not only can everyone drink whatever they wish, but everyone can eat too. The Yard House menu is all American, with classics like burgers, pizzas, entree sized salads, tacos, steaks, seafood or staples like Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes, Fish and Chips, Roast Beef Dip, and Mac and Cheese.

They offer a few gourmet options like Poke Nachos with marinated raw ahi, avocado, serranos, sriracha aïoli on crispy wontons, a Truffle Cheeseburger with house made truffle cheese and tomato bacon onion jam (I get cravings for this burger sometimes), or their Vampire Taco, a special street taco wrapped in a grilled, crispy cheese-crusted flour tortilla shell, among others. You can Vampire Taco style up any of the tacos with fillings, not just the default version with carnitas, bacon chorizo, chipotle, cumin crema, guacamole, roasted garlic, and cilantro.

Yard House Portland used to be my fix on the West Side for Wisconsin Fried Cheese Curds, but my new fixation is their new menu item the Fried Mac and Cheese with organic tomato bisque and porcini cream sauce. What can I say, I love cheese, and beer and cheese are a classic combination of yum.

The Curds or the Fried Mac and Cheese are $7 during happy hour (Monday – Friday 3-6 PM and Sunday – Wednesday 9 PM – Close) and are enough for 4-6 people. Honestly all their appetizers are big enough to be entrees for two meals!

They even offer lots of vegetarian and vegan options, from crispy brussels sprouts or their shitake garlic noodles (this was my first menu addiction before I moved onto fried cheese) to a whole Gardein section of their menu offering a dozen option.

If you haven’t heard of Gardein, it’s a chicken substitute made from soy, wheat, pea proteins, vegetables and ancient grains. So whether you are a vegan or vegetarian or omnivore, you won’t even miss the meat with your own version of Gardein Wings (F’s usual order) with choice of Buffalo, Jerk, or Firecracker Wings. Or as seen below, try the Gardein™ Blackened Chicken Torta with pepper jack, cheddar, cabbage, crushed avocado, chipotle mayo, cumin crema, and fries. Many menu items are also available with the Gardein substitution to make a dish vegetarian so you don’t have to just order from this menu section either. The Gardein Wings are in the happy hour menu.

OK, I probably highlighted all delicious but not healthy options – which is the only thing I could possibly ding them for. While tasty, many items are pretty high calorie and large portioned, so you need to control yourself to eat only part of it by sharing or taking it home. I do appreciate that they are upfront about sharing nutritional information though so they give you the ability to make your choices. Seriously the portions here are hue, there are times we just order the snacks or appetizers with our beers and leave full.

Seriously, there’s more than 100 things listed on the menu here – there definitely will be something for everyone no matter whatever the dietary preference or restriction. You could even just come here for dessert.

Entertainment

Yard House is a family friendly restaurant (the kids menu alone offers almost a dozen options), but also succeeds as a sports bar like atmosphere. For instance Yard House Portland I think has about 30 TVs scattered throughout the restaurant. However, it’s also easy to have a conversation because all the TVs have sound turned off so you can both watch the game and have decent volume for talking to all your friends whether you are watching the game or not. If you’re looking for an air conditioned getaway to watch the game with your friends with good food and beer – here you are.

Great for Groups

Boasting enough seats for 400+, unlike most beer bars or restaurants that may be stretched with a group of 6-8, Yard House has no problem – they offer more than 50-some 6 top tables. I’ve easily brought co-workers and customers or friends numbering a dozen or more and we all got to sit at high top tables together. This alone sometimes brings Yard House to be my first choice with some outings – can accommodate all of the group, and food and drink for everyone? And can take reservations? Done!

Have you ever been to a Yard House before? How do you remember first learning and trying your first craft beer?

Disclosure: Some photos on this post were from a dinner I attended where the meal was complimentary, but I also visited The Yardhouse multiple times before that dinner and have also visited after the dinner, all on my own dime. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.