Backyard Kitchen & Tap

This was a basic bar… TILL THEY PIPED IT UP!
Nice spot with indoor and outdoor area. Two bars and servers so it’s never too hard to get a CIROC Apple
Big dance floor for dabbin

Ordered a burger and a beer. Beer was great had tons of good choices but the burger was really poor. Ordered it medium the meat was so damn hot and overcooked it had to have been microwaved. No way to achieve the temp it was without a quick 45 in the old nuker.

Great place to have some drinks!!! Not so great food… At 1 pm on Saturday afternoon they mostly offer breakfast items. The outdoor space is very cute and the bar drinks are fabulous but if you’re looking for a good lunch this is not the place… I got the cheese flatbread it’s ok but extremely cheesy.

I am giving 4 stars because while I thought the food, service and drinks were great. My meal just didn’t do it for me. I had the bison burger and it was amazing the first few bites then the hit the main part of the blu cheese. I think this burger just has too much blu cheese on it. My wife had the buffalo devil eggs and she loved them which is saying something since she is not a fan of hot and or spicy food.

Had a great experience sitting at the back bar. It was a bit more quiet and our bartender, JJ, was awesome! He was super friendly & accommodating & gave us excellent suggestions. 5 stars for customer service.

Friday evening + great people + awesome price + good food = successful SD Restaurant Week!
$ 30 prix fixe? Let’s do this! Came here with 3 others. Reserved via Opentable for 8 pm– super quick and simple! (They even give you a call day-​of to double check your reservation!)
Each person had a 3 course meal, so we ended up getting:
Drinks: *not part of the prix fixe*
–1 backyard mint mojito /​/​Refreshing! It was an interesting mint– more like mint leaves instead of toothpaste mint. Makes sense? Not really, since I’m typing this as I finished my meal just less than an hour ago…
–1 backyard old fashion /​/​All the whiskey is on the bottom so first hit is pretty strong. Just a tad too much ice for me so near the end I was drinking water instead.
–1 spicy melon-​rita /​/​It was really strong for my friends and had the seeds of the jalepenos inside (which she accidentally consumed). Not my type of drink, since spicy drinks just don’t make sense to me.
–1 cool as a cucumber /​/​Yum! Definitely a cute, light drink that is a crowd please.
Appetizers:
–2 Baja Shrimp Cocktail /​/​YUM! Plump shrimps and well worth the price! Each portion was perfect to share and we got at least 6 – 7 pieces of shrimp EACH! A bit on the spicy side but had an awesome kick to it! The chips were still warm and went really well with the shrimp + sauce! MUST GET.
–1 Backyard meatballs /​/​I was expecting a few more pieces. but it was just a platter with two pieces. It’s topped off with some cheese (ricotto?) that looked more like sour cream/​whip, but was the perfect touch. I love that the bottom was flooded with pomodoro sauce. The meatballs were pretty lean and not super oily, so I appreciated that.
–1 calamari frito misto /​/​YES! Worth it. I LOVE that the calamari was FRESH (still chewy and soft) and that it was breaded very lightly to get more of the seafood. Sauce was okay but great portion size! We were reaching for more and I felt bad for eating it all… MUST GET.
Entrees:
–2 smoked brisket platter /​/​Contemplated REALLY hard on this, and asked the server which one had more meat. She said the brisket did (even though ribs are more expensive) so the platter it was! Definitely DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Meat was piping hot and tender, plating was beautiful… I LOVE the baked beans (as the side)! Perfect texture, great sauce, and it was yummy to dip with the extra chips. WELL WORTH THE PRICE! Highly recommend to my carnivore friends!
–2 steak frites /​/​Herb butter flavor was very strong and the meat was very flavorful! It even tasted sweet at one point. The portion size was pretty small but good amount of fries. Not so beautifully plated, which is kind of surprising for steak frites. My friends were pretty surprised too and seemed a bit disheartened at the portion.
Dessert:
–4 Apple cobbler /​/​APPLES ON APPLES ON APPLES! I wish it was a bit warmer or crispier, but I really like that they use real apple chunks. You couldn’t escape each bite without a piece of apple… ice cream was good on top! Great addition and perfect portion size too. Tasted a bit doughy on the bottom but overall, still pretty good.
Pros:
–Great atmosphere. We were having a blast and I loved that you can talk as loud as you want. (That’s what bars are for, no?)
–Good food! Pleasantly surprised. Meat + drinks = who can resist?
–Great pricing. Would not hesitate to dine here again if in the area for some good portion sized food!
Cons:
–Meh service. Server was slow, and they seemed inexperienced. We were constantly caught off rhythm — when we wanted to order, no one was around. When we were eating, they were always around. When we wanted to pay… PLEASE TAKE OUR MONEY?!
–Lighting is weird. The light above us kept going on and off. and eventually it turned off all together. Made it hard to see what I was eating! ARGH! And photo taking!
Tips/​Observations:
–Parking lot right next to it is for Denny’s! But many people zoom by the front of Backyard when there is ample parking (sometimes).
–SIT OUTSIDE! SO NICE. We got this randomly long table meant for 8… and it was just obnoxiously loud with the guys behind us.
I’m sure many wandering souls will walk by Backyard at one point in another when in PB… and this was the perfect chance to give it a shot! Most people come here for drinks because of the architecture of this place, but sometimes good drinks needs to be paired with good food!

I came in to backyard for a drink while me and a couple friends waited to be called for the new ramen place across the street (JINYA), so this review is solely on a quick visit.
The décor was very nice and it has both indoor and outdoor seating.
I ordered a Tiger Lemonade (I believe that’s what it was called) which was very good, although not too strong, and came up to $ 11.
Drinks were all in the $ 11-​$ 14 range which can add up quick.
Still, waitress was very nice and knowledgeable when it came to the drink menu.

Party of 7: 6 girls get in and 1 guy gets held up for VIP to get in first.
Come here if you want rude bouncers and staff who tell you to move and practically mandatory tipping the bathroom attendant for pumping out soap for you.
Watch out for cover charges too.
1 star experience all three times I’ve been here.

I’ve been coming here off and on for about three months now and I am becoming less of a fan of this place every time I come. Mainly because of service.
The last time I went in was during the day, the bartender was this Asian girl who could barely speak English and did not know anything about beer. My friend had a question and she just kept pointing at the menu. I’ve been a bartender, and to see how this woman has a job bartending blows my mind.
About a week ago I was there at night with some friends and we were waiting for drinks (bar was busy) the female bartender approached us, and me and my friend were gonna order beers together for us and some friends and split the ticket. As she got the drinks, I went into my purse and had forgot that I didnt have any cash. I asked her nicely to split it up, and she comes back very rudely and says «so you lied to me?» Lol how rude. I tried explaining to her and she didn’t care. I did not tip her (and I never do that)
The best part is I checked my credit card statement the next day THE RUDE CHICK PUT A $ 5.00 TIP ON MY CARD! She is lucky I didn’t call the police because I believe karma.
So watch out for poor, rude, and fraudulent service here friends!

We had the Maple Bacon & Fudge Donuts as an appetizer. They looked great, but they were only ok in taste. They were beautiful but very dry.
The Masa Pork Chile Verde Hollandaise was very good. The poached eggs were cooked perfectly and the Hollandaise was very good… The masa was formed into a sopa shaped cake, thick and crunchy on the edges but chewy in the middle.

Great place to catch NFL football in PB and probably the only gr8 place to catch a game since these peeps actually show allll the games and not one game of one team on EVERY TV!!! wtf is that??? Why is that a thing in PB? Seriously, who the fuck thought that is a good business idea? Walked in several empty bars only playing one team. Those businesses are fucking nutz!
The TV’s here are the only great thing. The food I ordered was not correct and the bfast potatoes were wacko. I sat at a long table as I was waiting for others and they almost kicked me off the table cuz they didn’t want one person sitting there. One dude walked up and was like «um, anything I can do for you?» I said yeah… get me a menu. And that’s when he was like. um. this table is usually for more than 1 and that’s when I explained my crew was showing up soon. They could’ve done a far better job at that exchange but whatev. The TV setup is niiiiiiiiiiiice! It took a while to get drinks though, eventually I started tagging girls to get me drinks but next time I think I’ll just walk the two feet and get some at the bar.

Stopped by on a Saturday night, no line for a table. Security will check IDs as alcohol is served throughout. The front bar area is loud and crowded. Luckily, they seated us in the back, in a quieter corner which was much appreciated. We tried their Brisket Burger and sea salt fries which were quite decent; their ranch dipping sauce was so good. We did check out the bar up front and sat for a bit watching sports on some of their many TVs. Definitely not preferred dining in the back to the noisy front bar though.

Live music, flavorful dishes and great service.
We stuck with appetizers here and ordered the watermelon arugula salad, bbq drumsticks and charcuterie spread.
The salad was good but I wanted more watermelon and less arugula. I craved more balsamic dressing too. These foods all go well together as the peppery arugula pairs well with sweet chunks of watermelon and sweet balsamic, so I can see this being a great dish, I think the portions were just off a little.
The drumsticks were delicious! Perfectly tender drum lollipops with a homemade tangy sweet bbq sauce. I also loved the macaroni salad they were served with. A great backyard bbq on a plate dish!
Our favorite menu item was the charcuterie spread. It was served with crusty bread, pickled vegetables, fig spread, whole grain mustard, soft and hard cheeses and salami and prosciutto. We loved all the flavor combinations and healthy portion sizes.
The restaurant has a huge bar, tons of tvs for sport game watching and a fun menu. Our server was really attentive and we were able to enjoy some live music as well.

We came here for drinks only. It was a typical sports bar… loud and noisy TVs
Very limited selections of beer, overpriced, $ 7 for a Stella Artois, and it took forever to get a drink
Probably won’t come back unless I want to watch a game here

I’ve been to The Backyard both during the day for brunch and at night for dinner and the nightlife. It’s an extremely versatile restaurant/​bar. It’s the newest spot in PB so it’s extremely popular at the moment with a young crowd.
The pros: the food is good. The salads are fresh and crisp. The dinner entrees are rich and satisfying. The cocktails are always well made. The layout and design of the restaurant is refreshing with an open ceiling. It’s got a fun vibe and a party atmosphere.
The cons: Service is mediocre at best, not the bubbly friendliness you hope to come across. I’ve found many servers to be absent minded and forgetful. The hostesses I’ve encountered are lackluster and clearly not trying to impress anyone. If you arrive past 10:30, the line to get in the door can discourage you from going, even the industry line.
If you’re looking for a fun day/​night out with friends, you’re in the right place. The Backyard has a lot to offer, they just have a few things to iron out. I wouldn’t recommend it for an intimate date night. Enjoy!

Came to the Backyard today for lunch with an old friend. The place is beautiful inside, which I really wasn’t expecting. I started with a nice cold Goose Island IPA. It was crisp and delicious! My friends ordered the «Backyard favorite» Three Meat Mac N’ Cheese (andouille sausage, tasso ham, rigatoni, white cheddar cream and a parmesan crust) for $ 13.96 and the other ordered fish tacos with a corn side dish.
I ordered the Fig plate: (Poached Figs, Balsamic Onions, Goat’s Milk Cheese, Crème Fraiche, Fried Sage) for $ 15.00 as well as the corn pudding on the side. The food was delicious! If you have never had corn pudding please make that a part of your list of something that you have to try. The service was great and the ambiance was wonderful. I would totally come back here again. This is a diamond in the rough!

Come for the drinks, not for the food. Okay, maybe a couple of the food items, but the menu just doesn’t speak to me. Cam and I decided to walk over here after a long day of work, looking for a new restaurant to try out. I was a little excited as our first attempt resulted in an hour wait, so this being our second attempt, we were pleased to be seated immediately. As usual for PB, all parking is street parking, so keep that in mind if you’re not walking over.
Our drinks came out quickly, but it took quite a while for our salad to come out, after which our main entrees came out almost immediately. I would have preferred it to be more even, as a salad shouldn’t take that long to prepare, but I could be mistaken as the salad seemed a bit complicated (see below). Our waitress also forgot to leave a pen, which was a little confusing (I don’t think that’s ever happened to me before), but not a big deal.
There was live music today, which was pretty awesome. The musician was definitely talented and gave a much better ambiance to the entire restaurant.
Red Sangria. This is probably one of the best restaurant sangrias I’ve had in San Diego (homemade is always better). There is plenty of fresh fruit and if you drink it fast enough, the ice won’t melt too much to dilute the drink. Unfortunately, I let half of my sangria sit too long waiting for the food that it melted a bit.
Baby Gem Caesar. As far as salads go, there are at least two parties with opinions on presentation. Some like a «deconstructed» salad because it looks pretty (Cam) and others like their salad to be chopped up so you don’t need a knife to eat it (me). Obviously Cam and I had mixed feelings about the presentation this salad, but we both agreed that the dressing wasn’t tangy as described, but creamy. I found it difficult to eat, which made me really annoyed, and prefer romaine for my salads, not the butter leaf lettuce (which would have been perfect for my burger).
Herb Pesto Linguine. Cam ordered this dish and liked it enough, but he would, «probably never order it again.» I thought that the toasted pine nuts were great, but didn’t like the grilled onions (that’s weird) and the whole basil leaves (also weird). I thought the pesto also needed some salt to help some of the flavors pop out. The dish also came with a cheese stuffed zucchini flower, which Cam really enjoyed.
BKYD Brisket Burger & Sea Salt Fries. I really didn’t enjoy my burger as much as I wanted to. Although the fried egg was a great addition, I feel like burgers need to balance the heavy meats with fresh vegetables (I recommend requesting some lettuce and tomato to add to the burger). As is, the burger is okay — the tomato jam is pretty unique, but also heavy, and the chef forgot my cheese (not a big loss for me). The fries were pretty great to snack on — I definitely would have enjoyed these with a beer.
Overall, the food was just okay, but my sangria was great. I’d rate this a 3.5 star experience, but I left feeling like I wish I had eaten elsewhere, so I rounded down. I may bring some friends back to enjoy some of the drink specials (50% off a bottle of wine on Wednesdays!), but I’ll probably eat elsewhere.

Backyard for brunch
We had nice Fourth of July brunch at Backyard. We were a little early arriving at 10:30am but within an hour the place filled up. It turned out to be the perfect place to have brunch.
The drinks were affordable and delicious. They had specials on all the classic brunch drinks. I also had a cup of coffee.
The food was good. I liked the croissant sandwich, but I had to eat it with a knife and a fork. The potatoes were really good.
Our server was very nice and the drinks were made well. They have a good bartender.
The atmosphere is also perfect for brunch. The décor is trendy but attractive. The patio was great and some people had their dogs with them.
I would come back to have brunch at Backyard again and I would recommend it to my friends.

I’m torn between a 3 and 5 star rating.
At night, this place is definitely a 5! After Ale House burned and the Local crowd moved over, Backyard has become the place to be (but we all know that that can quickly change in PB). It’s fun and spacious! There’s a great dance floor with DJ but also awesome cabana seating areas. It’s always crowded so expect a line pat 9:30 pm but it’s worth it. So much fun!
The 3 star rating would come only because of the food service. The food is pretty good. I really like the grilled chicken sandwich for dinner and they have a great chicken and waffle meal for brunch. But service can be slow, especially in the morning. It took our group about 45 minutes after ordering to get our food.
Overall, this is a fun place! Great bar scene and place to grab a drink. The food is tasty but can take a while. Definitely a welcome new restaurant in PB!

It’s a little weird eating at a place that still smells a bit like Moondoggies. The stench of drunken nights and bad decision will linger here forever. If only walls could talk! Ok so I digressed… on to the review.
I went in with high hopes, but was unfortunately pretty disappointed. The interior is very spacious (another reminder of Moondoggies). It feels a little more open then your typical restaurant. Maybe this place is better late at night for bar patrons, but as a restaurant it just felt a bit awkward.
The service was great! Our waitress was nice and attentive and came by several times to check up on us.
As for the food. It was really pretty subpar. I ordered the Hamachi Crudo, Pork Ribs, and Lobster Crab roll.
The Crudo was the best of the bunch. The crunchy garlic and chili added a bit of a kick and some interesting texture in combination with the fish. All together it made for a pretty good bite. As an appetizer this is a good choice, but don’t expect it to fill you up.
Next up was the Pork Ribs. They were drenched in a hoisin sauce that was decent, but laid on so thick as to cover up the pork itself which didn’t taste very good. The meat was dry and a bit tough. Definitely not your fall off the bone rib meat that you expect at a good BBQ joint. Definitely not worth the money.
When the Lobster Crab Roll arrived, I was excited. It looked really good with lots of meat and a nicely toasted roll. But that’s where the excitement ended. It tasted like a poorly put together tuna salad sandwich on toasted bread. Not sure if we got the mid-​week batch of seafood, but it definitely had that fishy taste that you get from seafood that has been sitting for a day or two. Or worse yet, seafood that has been previously frozen! Gasp! Either way, this was by far the worst dish and at 15 bucks a pop, definitely NOT worth it.
Happy hour ended at 6pm so can’t really comment on that. Probably a good place to meet up with friends before a crazy night in PB, but if you’re looking for a good meal, look elsewhere.