Yellow Dog Cafe — Restaurant in Malabar

I visited yellowdog several times and every time it amazes me so much. I wanted to write a full review so you can have a chance to visit this restaurant and enjoy it as much as i do. Starting from the environment, it looks awsome (as in the pictures i attached) and if you come for lunch you will see a beautiful view from the river. The restaurant has a private long pier as well, which you can walk on it and enjoy the dolphins nearby. It is lighted in the evening so it would give you better vision. It has a private gazebo as well for people that wants to stay and relax a bit. They have inside and outside seating (RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR WEEKENDS !!!) which you can see the pictures for more details.

As far as the parking, they have valets for lunch and dinner shifts which will take care of your car and it is free of charge (Tips are optional). The self park is across the street. The staff inside are the nicest people on earth. The managers and servers are friendly, welcoming and constantly smiling. I am not naming them here since all of them are great.

The food is on another level, seriously !!! Their seafood service is awesome, such as Chilean sea bass, potato crusted Salmon, Mahi Mahi and shrimp Louisiana (the menu is in the pictures). If you are not into seafood, they have amazing Filet and Wagyu rib eye. Even their burgers are amazing (i am showing a picture of the Barking dog - Grilled chicken). This is a classy restaurant, so their prices are a bit higher than other places but cheaper than restaurant comparable to them. All sandwiches served on house made roll with colse slaw and choice of potato puffs or potato chips. Everyday they have a signature soup (crab Bisque 🦀) and everyday soup which is amazing as well. They have variety of different drinks, a full menu of those, which can help you have a great night 🌙! The jewls of the yellowdog restaurant is their dessert tray. The moment you think you are full and they show you the tray you will leave all your diets and order as much as you can, believe me !!! Dogs are not allowed here in this place and only service dogs are allowed.

One of the features that separate yellowdog from other places, is the presence of an elevator. This device is right in the corner of the entrance and it leads you to the downstairs which you can enjoy the view from there.

The last thing i want to mention is their safety about COVID-19. Starting from Valets, they wear masks and gloves and sanitize their hand before getting inside your car. The staff wear masks all the time and sanitize your table before you seat there. All together i would really recommend this place 🤘👍. Hope you enjoy my...

I have been reading about this place, and stopped in on a whim. My review has it's ups and downs. Valet service was nice, no extra charge. GM needs a holiday. He told us that we were the 10th people to arrive (that day) with no reservations. BUT, he would work us in. We were immediately sat, outside table, beautiful location. The views are beautiful. Server took a good minute, but was a peach. My biggest issue- we ordered everything at one time (on purpose) we felt really bad about coming in with no reservation, so we honestly just wanted to eat and leave. We got there at 5pm. Place was about 30% full, most of the people being part of a wedding group. It did fill up as the night went on. The time between each course was excruciating long. TOO LONG! We had to wait 20-30 minutes between each course. It was the same for all the tables that ordered apps and drinks. If you just ordered dinner, you were in and out in approx 75 mins. Think about it, we ordered drinks, 15 minutes they arrived. Ordered entire meal, apps, salads, main course. 25 minutes later, we received our apps. The meatballs were spot on, but the corn fritters were very bland. Once completed, we ordered our next round of drinks and waited for our salads and soup. 20 minutes later, we got soup/salad and 2nd set of drinks. The crab bisque was really, really good. The caprese salad was not worth the extra $10 upcharge. Finished that, set for another 20 mins. Finally, was able to order 3rd set of drinks. 20 minutes later only 1 drink came. The other arrived about 10 mins later. Right at the 2 hour mark, our entrees came. I had the risotto with scallops. My man toy had the catch of the day (Sea bass) I paid $56.00 for my scallops and his sea bass was close to $50.00. I received 4 small scallops, about the size of a quarter, a scoop of risotto, and 3 spears of asparagus. WAY OVER PRICED! His sea bass dish looked fine, but was extremely bland. Not a drop of salt. In my opinion, they are charging for the view. They have some great things going for them. Valet, servers, views, drinks, bisque, meatballs. Areas of improvement, GM needs an attitude change, (since he is leading the pack), pricing, time of overall wait, flavor on main dishes. For reference, went to Scott's on 5th for Valentines Day. Had drinks, apps, lobster and filet for dinner, AND dessert. Was in and out in 2 hours, everything was perfect, and I paid...

Yellow Dog Cafe- Malabar, FL- 4 Stars

Nestled up to the Indian River in Malabar sits the local icon, Yellow Dog Cafe. A staple of the Malabar area for 23 years and counting. One has to wonder what these walls would say if they could talk. I have been here before but wanted to do a post-Covid redo to see how they pulled through the lockdown.

Upon entering I noticed it was still the same cheerful place with stunning views all around. After being lead to a table and given menus, I continued to be in awe of the view and realized I had been lax in perusing the menu and so got right to work. As one can see from the pictures, it certainly had great depth for a lunch menu. Our server soon appeared and introduced herself as Shalli. Remember what I said recently about wait staff with sour attitudes (you want to eat there)? Well, Shalli certainly had “I don't want to be here” airs coming off as she took our order.

I placed an order for the Homemade Potato Chips Appetizer along with one of the Escargot variety and the Lunch Special of the day, the Beef Tenderloin. The unsweetened tea was from a fountain, so that was a hard pass from me. We are in Florida, people. Make fresh tea!

The Potato chips were made fresh to order and came with a delectably luscious bleu cheese dip that was both creamy and tangy. The Escargot was in a homemade pastry puff that was a delight on the palate while the Escargot were tender, lemony and buttery.

I am always hesitant to order specials as I assume the protein is leftover from the previous evening. As soon as Shalli set it down and I took one glance at it I just knew it wasn't going to be good. Well, as we all know, looks can be deceiving and this was amazingly flavorful and well seasoned. The beef was firm and coarse as it rumbled around my palate. This was more comfort food than “fine” dining, and that's OK in my book.

The Escargot was hands down the best I ever had and while the potato chips were 5 stars I found the entree to be only 3 stars, hence the 4-star overall rating. Stuart and Nancy Borton are the owners here and they have never, ever skimped on quality. I may have had a 4-star experience today, but I know this is a 5 -star all-day everyday kind of place.

The Big Boy says, “For spectacular river views and mouthwatering eats, stop in the Yellow Dog Cafe. Your taste buds will thank you!” #iamthebigboy...