Backyard Brewery and Kitchen — Restaurant in Manchester

I visited this place for the first and last time on Saturday. What started off as a good impression with the helpfulness and patience of our first server, it quickly took a turn for the worst unexpectedly due to the lack of respect and dishonesty from the bar manager. Spending time with friends watching football, talking, and having a drink on a pace of about 1 drink per hour, no staff person, hostess or posted sign in the venue said there is a requirement to purchase food if you will be there for long periods of time. If you are following science (a quick google search will tell you that 3 drinks taken within an hour for a 100 lb. person to reach .08% BAC) Oddly enough we ordered appetizers (2 to be exact) and because we wanted to listen to the live music being played was about to order more food, when our server arrived with the check that wasn’t requested, saying we have been asked to leave. Clueless as to why, we asked the server, and she said it was because we’ve been here too long and haven’t order enough food and only been drinking. As bizarre as that sounds we said Okay and thought nothing much of it until, one of my friends went to the restroom and walked by the bar manager (who we didn’t know at the time was the bar manager) and staff discussing how to get us to leave. Due to that conversation another one of us went to speak with our server and essentially was given more untruths, which lead to the request of manager. The manager then came over to speak to us and begin to lie through his teeth, he said he never said what the server told us, it was a miscommunication, he said it’s the state licensing law (which I could not find on their website) and they based it on food on the ticket, asked if that were the case why were we not informed prior to being seated or while we were seated as a simple courtesy, he had no answer. Asked how he knew we didn’t eat prior to attending (which we did); he says he didn’t but has seen people have 8 drinks (double what we had) and be fine. Noting the subjective in that response, I asked what behaviors he has seen of us within our time here to suggest that anyone is intoxicated he said he didn’t see anything. So to now see the owner on a reply to these series of events say that we were intoxicated, which is a lie, and if this were the case (which it was not, see the science reference above) they allow intoxicated people to leave their venue and get into their cars and drive away, after your server said you will be liable if that were the case, makes no sense what so ever and only leads me to think this is a case of discrimination. The fact that one of us in our party was nursing appropriately and within her rights to do so or the fact that I, myself, the only African American in the venue, who knows, but consistent lies and untruths from bar manager and now the owner, are disgusting and would lead any rational person to that conclusion therefore, this venue is not worth any of my money ever again nor...

I cannot say enough about this restaurant. Starting from the beginning, a friend tagged me on social media showing me a recent post from @backyardbrewerynh that showed their current special: Dill Pickle Pizza. Being the pickle aficionado that I am, I immediately commented saying that we needed to make plans to take the 1 hour trip (one way) to visit the restaurant. I DMd the person who runs the account to ask if they accept reservations to ensure we would be seated if we showed up and Marcus assured us that we would be seated and if there was a wait, we would be taken care of. SUPERB customer service before we even got to the restaurant.

We arrived to the restaurant around 7:30pm on Friday, January 15 and were seated immediately. First impressions walking in were “Wow, this place has an amazing vibe.” Walls are filled with incredible decor, the lighting and colors make it feel very intimate while also being in a friendly environment surrounded by others (socially distanced of course.) Once seated, we were immediately greeted by our server Maitlyn who was kind, attentive, and prompt. The four of us ordered a plethora of food beginning with the pickle pizza, fried pickles, and Buffalo chicken dip for appetizers. The food came out quickly and was absolutely delicious. For our meals, we ordered “Cow Tipping” steak tips, the Burger with Benefits, Notorious PIG Tacos, and the Drunk Cobbler salad. When ordering the burger, I was most notably surprised when provided with the option to choose which pickles I wanted - sweet or dill. I have never been to a restaurant where this was an option and needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. All of the food came out promptly as we were finishing the appetizers and was delicious! Make sure you try the sriracha fries - the flavor and spice was perfect.

In terms of the environment- was also very calming with the inclusion of a live musician playing. Sometimes when you go to restaurants, the live performances take away from the atmosphere by being too loud, too soft, or just plain bad. This was not the case as the artist was playing well and the music provided a nice background where we could still engage in conversation.

Prior to receiving our bill, I asked to speak to a manager to provide some praise and spoke with Joe, who was extremely kind and very receptive to hearing the great review about our experience. This two hour round trip drive was WELL WORTH the time and gas. We will undoubtedly be visiting again soon and bringing some friends to try some of the ridiculously cheap (in price) beers that they serve.

A big thank you to all of the staff who was very welcoming,...

Pros & Cons - We May Consider a Second Visit...

What we liked:

Server was pleasant and helpful Setting was acceptable. Menu was varied and covered most of the bases. Some dishes were a bit unique for us (e.g. the smoked wings). Beer offerings were nicely varied. Beer listings included IBUs (International Bitterness Units) - a stat often and disappointingly missing from so many other micro brewery offerings. I'll never understand why. Some of the food was tasty. Prices were mostly not unreasonable.

What we wished was better:

No cask was offered. Surprising and disappointing. Further, the server did not know what a cask was. This is not her fault of course as even if it was not offered, her training should have referenced it. A brew pub in our opinion should always have at least one cask offering available at all times. Those who appreciate fresh beer and understand the value of a cask, may always expect it.

Booth seats felt worn and non-supportive. We sank down into our seats as if little foam or supportive materials were present. Uncomfortable.

Some dishes could have been a bit less crudely prepared. For example, sprinkling "Fritos" on a smoked meatloaf is clearly a detraction, not an enhancement. "Fruity Pebbles" sprinkled on a dessert may be a disappointment as well. Both approaches seem to demean a dish with potential.

Water was served in plastic cups - another somewhat crude approach which "cheapened" a meal which was ultimately somewhat pricey.

We will reserve judgment on the beer. Those we tried were decent but not particularly memorable.

And on that note, we hope to give them another try and order different beer offerings and menu items from those we tried on our first visit.

Some reviewers give a preponderance of “excellent” ratings and seem to love almost every place they visit. We may not be as lucky as they or we may simply be a bit more discriminating. Nor do have the need to rave (or whine) about every place we visit. Rather, we try to develop balanced, objective reviews which we hope may be of some use to other prospective customers and establishment owners.

We hope that the Owners will take our opinions in the constructive context with which they were written and consider changes where appropriate.

As always, these are just our opinions based upon our single, personal experience. More exposure may change our opinion one way or another and in any case, may not reflect the opinions of others.

We ask that readers of this opinion statement visit the place and form their own opinion.

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