The Barnyard Crafthouse & Eatery — Restaurant in Arizona

I've been to the Barnyard at least a couple of dozen times over the course of the past few years, mostly during the cooler months. It has historically been a solid 4/5 restaurant, but I have to say my most recent experience wasn't great and I'm very irritated by the credit card convenience charge that is now being added. As if tipping culture wasn't bad enough, Barnyard is now among the first restaurants in Tanque Verde adding extra "convenience" fees.

The Barnyard has a wonderful piece of property and a nice location in the northeast part of Tanque Verde. The patio is great during cooler nights/seasons and there is plenty of space for kids to run around and play with walls around most of the common areas. When it is a reasonably busy (but not too crazy) night and the weather out is mild and kids are running around, it is a truly amazing place to find yourself. Service is usually very good.

They frequently remind customers that it is a "scratch kitchen" and "everything is made in-house". I appreciate variety so I've tried nearly everything on the menu including the various boards and while everything is definitely visually appealing and of high quality, nothing blows me away as far as flavor goes. I wouldn't go so far as to call it bland, but it sure isn't exciting. I'm always far more excited about the atmosphere and beer than the food at the Barnyard. The 505 burger has hatch chiles, pepper jack, chipotle aioli, and caramelized onions... that should be an absolute flavor explosion! It isn't. I tried it on at least two different occasions to make sure it wasn't a fluke.

Their sides are a sore spot for me. Pig tail fries, Pig tail fries with some garlic dusting on them, a side salad, beans, and a bunch of other stuff that is less sides and more dips. Boring. While on the subject, are we sure those pig tail fries are really made from scratch? Maybe they have an industrial-size pig tail fry making machine in the back and don't have the wherewithal to offer other sides? I'm kidding, of course - my point is their sides are substandard and this should have occurred to management/chefs a long time ago.

Finally, the pricing. The Barnyard isn't cheap. A trip to the Barnyard is usually around 100$ for this family of 2 adults and 1 child, including tip. That doesn't bother me and I think it is justified. What I don't think is justified is getting my check, giving them my card, and then getting a check back with an entirely different value on it. Apparently they've started charging a "Credit Card convenience fee", which was never mentioned to me, nor did I see that documented anywhere while I was there. In looking at the website it appears as though the charge is described in small text at the bottom of one side of the menu, but the waitress didn't mention it. Anyway the last thing I'm looking for is an unwelcome surprise right before I leave. I also haven't been to any other restaurants in Tanque Verde that have the nerve to add that charge. The waitress also failed to mention the $1.50 upcharge for pepperoni on the kid's pizza (although it was worth it!), and then there's the ongoing undocumented and fluctuating price of beers on the bar menu. Does this business think people are carrying 100$+, and credit card usage is a "convenience" as opposed to a "necessity"? I think maybe Barnyard can mask this so-called convenience fee from the customer when they're charging $8 for each of my 2 beers at 5 PM on a Wednesday.

It wouldn't take much to right this ship. Instead of the recent boring menu update to change the french dip to a short rib french dip (if there was any notable difference aside from an excuse to increase the price it was too subtle for me!), maybe add some more interesting sides. Implement some transparent pricing when it comes to drinks and stop nickel-and-diming folks with "convenience" fees on checks like some kind of scuzzy Californian nightclub. Barnyard could get me to 4/5 or even 5/5 without too...

We always look at the worst reviews on YELP and GOOGLE before we dine at restaurants. We decided to try Barnyard Crafthouse & Eatery because they are on our side of town and most reviews were 5+ Stars. Plus, we always try to give the benefit of the doubt to the restaurant, as we feel that they are trying to do their best in serving the public. Today we decided to eat lunch at the Barnyard for the first time. We were there at opening time, and the gates came open promptly at 11 am. We were one of the first ones there for lunch and decided to eat inside since it was breezy outside. We were greeted nicely and seated. Within minutes, our very nice waitress gave us our menus and water, and was quickly back to take our drink orders, followed by taking our orders -- chicken sandwich and ceviche. Our drinks came while we waited for our orders. During that time, about 25 other customers came and were seated....one party of 10-12 inside. Our wonderful food was served within 15 to 20 minutes, however we were not asked if we needed other condiments like a sauce/or ketchup for the pig tail fries, pepper or salt for the salad (which we decided was OK), but we would have appreciated being asked if we needed anything else. The food was really good -- the portions extraordinary.

Just a few comments though, which, in our opinion, would help with the diner's experience.

Please come back shortly after serving to see if anything else is needed like condiments or (in our instance) a steak knife to cut the sandwich with as it could not be cut with a butter knife.

Pepper, Salt

We would have liked another drink (which would have been a $24.00 sale, plus a tip to the waitress of 20 - 25%, but that was not offered until we were done with our lunch. We were ready to leave.

A gentleman who sat close to us (got his water) but fell asleep before he was offered to put his order in. We noticed that he sent his salad back when he got it (we don't know why), but noticed that after his salad was served, the waitress brought back a plate with 2 or 3 more servings of dressing. The restaurant was not busy --- we figured that for a large salad, a small portion of dressing was not enough for him.

There were few customers on the porch and a party of about 12 inside plus us, so timing of service was very slow.

We did notice that servers were standing around talking with one another -- you don't see this in other restaurants where customers, profit and tips are the most important aspects of making a restaurant great.

When we left the restaurant, we encountered a lady who was trying to meet her friends at the restaurant. She asked us if this the "the place" as she couldn't see a sign outside on the road which identified the restaurant (after the gates are opened, it's impossible to identify the restaurant unless you have Google Map app.)

Don't get us wrong here, the venue with all its truly lovely grounds and ambience is fabulous. The food is totally plentiful and delicious and I will eat here again. I do see in the reviews that time waits for seating and eating are not so great, so I can't comment on dinner -- just lunch.

I only hope that the management of Barnyard and their servers will take in consideration what I have commented on. I would love to see this restaurant be successful...

Barnyard Fail. I get frustrated when people post negatively without first speaking to the restaurant. In this case, however, my experience was so incredibly terrible, and the response from the numerous employees I reached out to for help was so bad I feel the need to share. This afternoon, I agreed to meet my parents and their friends at The Barnyard on Tanque Verde. They are regulars, but I had never been as I live on the west side of town, and it is a 45 min drive. I have two young children (1 and 3). My Dad insisted that they cater to children and it would be a great environment to play outside. We agreed to meet at 4pm for an early dinner (the kids need to eat early). We arrived and sat at a wood picnic table on the SE side of their “yard” near where they have children’s toys. We went to order drinks at the bar and were told that they started table service out there at 5. I asked if I could order food “to go” and eat outside, and we were told no - wait until 5. Ok, we decided to all have a drink and let the kids eat some goldfish. At 5:05, we requested a server and were then told we could not be served at the table we had been waiting at and now needed to put our name on a long list. We did that, and I asked if I could order some food for the kids - I got a snippy NO. At about 5:30, I could tell the kids needed to eat, and honestly, we were all hungry. I spoke to the greeter and explained we had been there since 4, and as there had been some misunderstanding, is there anything that could be done. I was told quite rudely that “they have rules- no food at that table.” I went back to my family and explained that I was going to have to leave with the kids just as we were informed that we could be seated at another outdoor table near the bar. We packed everything up and moved to the new table. As we were getting seated, my full beer somehow was splashed all over me. I’m still not sure how and it might have been my kids, but it was chaos. The waiter or busser stood there waiting to put waters out. No offer to help or apologies. I am now soaked in my full beer that I was unable to enjoy with two kids about to lose it. I asked the waiter how long it was going to be to get food, and he said at least 35 minutes because they were busy. I very politely gave him the quick story of my experience and frustration. He was honestly the most empathetic person I spoke to but simply said “sorry- we just do what the owners tell us”. I apologized to my family and left with my kids as it was now after 6 pm. My family elected to leave just after me without ordering. After enduring a 45-minute drive home with a screaming toddler who could not understand why he didn’t get the pizza he was promised, I tried to call and provide some constructive feedback. I called and asked to speak to a manager. I did not get a name, but I explained my evening and let her know very politely that it was honestly a horrible experience and they should try to improve. The only answer I got was “I’m sorry you had that experience. Next time you should order chips. You can eat those outside” There will not be...