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Writer's pictureJohn Boccellari

THE YARD HOUSE - WHERE ARE ALL THE BARTENDERS?


I chose to have lunch today at the The Yard House in the Palisades Mall in West Nyack, New York today. I have been here a few times and I have always enjoyed sitting at the bar to enjoy there wide variety of beer and delicious menu selections. I have never had an issue with service....until today. We will get to service later on though as I would like to talk about what I did eat and drink.

I started my experience with the Old Rasputin from North Coast Brewery out of Fort Bragg, CA. This is an Imperial Stout with a 9.0%ABV. Think Guinness but better. This was my first time tasting this beer and wow was I pleasantly surprised.

Next I ordered the Crispy Duck Wings for my appetizer. I know what you're thinking. Duck Wings, that doesn't look like a Duck Wing. Well you're right, they aren't. They are actually fried Duck Legs with a maple soy glaze, sesame seeds, red onion and serrano chiles. These are fantastic. I love duck and Crispy Duck with a delicious sauce on it is so amazing. I asked them to put buffalo sauce on them and guess what?; They were even more fantastic!

This is usually where I would talk about an entree followed by a dessert. But I can't. If you caught the title of this article I ask " where are the bartenders?" Service wise was horrible. I told the bartenders in the beginning of my experience that I would keep my menu because I did not decide what I wanted for my entree. This apparently fell on deaf ears due to the fact that the two bartenders working never came back to me. They didn't even come to ask how my Duck Wings were. There was no check back. I sat for 20 minutes with an empty plate and empty Glass before I finally decided that I did not want to wait anymore and I put my debit card on the bar top to end my experience. But that did nothing as I acted for another 10 minutes for them to notice.

Now as a restaurant manager, I would reprimand my staff for being so careless with a guest, build the sales, do not lose them. There was the possibly that I could have easily spent an addition $30 on my meal plus the bigger tip, but they missed out by not being aware of the guest's needs. All you need to do as a server/bartender is lift your head and look at your guest. You will not make money by keeping your eyes on the floor or being distracted.

Service ruined my experience at The Yard House. Will I go back? I don't know. Notice that I didn't mention speaking to a manager. That is because I never asked for one. In fact, the bartenders were not even aware that I despised their service so much. I am personally like most guests out there and I will not say anything. I will just leave and never back. There is no restaurant in the world that can afford to lose business no matter how successful they are, eventually it will catch up to them and they will close.

Please Yard House, get your act together. You are better than this.

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