Yardy Rum Bar — Restaurant in Eugene

For me, Yardy was an overpriced and thoroughly underwhelming experience. The evening started poorly, with my group huddled in the cramped entrance area standing and looking over the menus. Orders are made at the front station, which was a bit difficult with the relatively large group I came with. Water is self service as well. When we got to our table the plates were stacked up in the center, with silverware collected in a large mason jar. We set the table, served ourselves water, and waited for the food. My friend pinched her leg on the cracked upholstery of her chair and had to switch it out. It's a small thing, but it's just one more small thing in a long list of issues. Why are the upstairs chairs in such bad shape? It's bewildering. As far as the food, I'll say I came away from this meal hungry. I had cornbread and the chicken and waffle. For nearly $25 altogether it was a disappointing amount of food. While the food is undoubtedly good, it's certainly not the best chicken I've had in Eugene even if it is the most expensive. Highlight of the meal was the very impressive hot sauce which I do highly recommend. That wasn't the most overpriced thing though. Another at our table paid $16 for 3 pork ribs on a bed of greens. I was incredulous, at these prices I expected to be more impressed with the quality of the food. In summary: at Yardy I experienced food truck service, at restaurant prices, for fine dining serving sizes. This restaurant seems to aspire to greatness, but this aspiration is undercut at every corner by puzzling decisions. I feel like I accidentally went to a different restaurant than the one I keep seeing such great reviews for. I wrote this review the night of, but delayed posting it initially because I felt like perhaps I was making mountains out of molehills in the moment. But the general consensus with my dining party remains broadly unfavourable, and my own feelings are unchanged. I'm hoping this place improves so I can revisit this review...

Outstanding food • Fried chicken. My co-eater broke SIX YEARS of being a vegetarian to eat this chicken- no lie- bc it looked so good & as a former chicken lover he was compelled to try it. He pronounced it “the best friend chicken I’ve ever eaten. “ I have to say, I do not eat the meat anymore, but my sister used to make the world’s best and this looks like the real deal. (The cast iron matters bc it’s HARD to make good fried chicken- the depth & heat of the oil factored with the density of the meat and bones, etc.. It is not an easy feat. I could never do it but I’ve had some amazing versions and I’m taking my co-eater’s word here.) NOTE: Good fried chicken takes time - this is not a taco, it's gonna be a minute. • The vegan beet salad was a work of sincere love. The beets, the lettuce, the jicama, the dressing- none of that came from a package or a bottle. These are primo ingredients prepared with attention. • Doubles! - A beautiful expression of the culinary mix up that is the unique Caribbean flavor way- a bit spicy a bit sweet and the right kind of scotch bonnet based HOT sauce- yes! ( I’m lucky enough to have some Trini’s cook for me and these are good. Flavorful, well executed, do yourself a favor and get you some.) • The grits- dang. See other reviews, they are superior and obviously also home made. • The Cornbread- also well described but I’ll echo- not your average cornbread. Moist, well flavored, delicate crumb.

Don't forget to go get a delicious CF beer to wash it down, I think the Pilsner goes well.

Thanks, Isaiah, for bringing your gifts to the people. We are so happy you got a truck and we now know where...

This is one of the only Jamaican food spots I seen around me and that already puts the rating high. I got doubles and jerk chicken with beans and rice. The beans had amazing flavor and rice were very good, the rice felt a bit left out with the crunchiness on parts of rice that was exposed to air for too long but it was great still. The chana (barely could taste that bean flavor you get from chana👍🏽) was perfectly cooked and the taste was amazing also the spicy was there so I loved it. The flatbread was good too very tender and soft (I like mine a bit crispy but that's personal preference). The only thing I felt that didn't deliver was the jerk chicken itself, I've never had jerk chicken like that. I like the chicken to be cooked a little bit more and the marinade might not have had enough browning or soya because the meat was looking slightly pale and there was a cinnamon-esque spice that was overpowering the flavor of the chicken and smoke. The way it was cooked only the meat was pull apart tender but tendons and feathers and the gelatin/collagen wasnt broken down enough and made it a bit crunchy in certain areas of the chicken. Other than that and the fact you can't get a side of plantains 😔 I give it 3/5 for taste and a 4.3/5 overall. The staff was great and the food smelled nice would love to try other...