NIDO's BackYard — Restaurant in Oakland

NO RESPONSE

Nido's Management,

I wanted to reach out to you because of the love I have for your restaurants and the incredible experiences I have previously had with you in terms of delicious food, incredible cocktails and wonderful service. I have eaten at both Nido's and the Backyard several times and I was totally shocked by the experience I had yesterday while having lunch. In the hope of helping you continue your business successfully I wanted to take the time to describe my experience.

Firstly, being encouraged by your website to make reservations for such a large space seemed a waste of time considering the amount of tables available. The reservation process is cumbersome and Resy now requires a credit card charge in order to process a reservation. Why encourage people to make a reservation when so much space is available?

Second, when we arrived during a hot day, a large amount of shaded space was cordoned off and we were forced to choose between several unshaded tables. The hostess was helpful, but moved us to a shaded space within the storage container walls that blocked most air flow. Why block off shaded seats in favor of unshaded seats on a hot day?

Third, we asked for paper menus as I have had poor experiences with the security of QR code systems and the data they share with the platforms that provide them. While there were three of us at the table, the server that brought us water to the table only returned with a single paper menu. He immediately then turned around so fast that we were unable to get his attention again. After several minutes we were able to flag down another server and ask for menus for all of us. However, she returned with only a single menu and just as swiftly as her colleague disappeared. Why not provide paper menus to everyone at the table when requested?

Fourth,  I have never seen such tunnel vision in a restaurant by service staff. We had to constantly ask for water during our meal in the hot sun. What is the point of asking patrons to add a tip onto their bill before any service is provided? How does this incentivize good service?

Fifth, the food was horrible. Horrible. I am shocked. I've eaten with you over a dozen times and love your food. The burritos were oily and we got physically sick for hours after. We spent $100 for a couple burritos, a couple margaritas, a small salad and some appetizers for food that is dropped off at the table and then not bused? We sat for over an hour at the table with flies buzzing about. What is going on over there?

I'd appreciate you using this information to bring your standards back up to the Nido's experience that we love. I realize that these are difficult times, but your pricing does not reflect the value of the experience you are delivering. I am happy to discuss this experience further and answer any of your questions if it helps.

Please get it together over there. Your bartenders are standing behind the bar and your "servers" are standing in front of the kitchen doing practically nothing. It breaks my heart to...

Nice space and beverage menu. The food is good (just don't get the ceviche!!). The organization and service of this space is unpleasant. The staff is cool but the tiers of service are unsettlingly confusing. When I go out, I'd like to be taken care of and not think about every step of service or have to go track someone down for help for things that should be obvious. If you sit on the front patio you have to wait in a bar line to order and then recieve a number on a stick that will not stand up if it is windy (even my beer can blew over because of the wind on this waterfront location). If you order a guacamole/salsa apperizer and a queso dip appetizer and ask the food runner for more chips (because you have plenty extra dips but no more chips) they will tell you to go back to the bar line to ask for more chips and by the time you go through this process your queso will be dead cold and not worth eating anymore. It can be pretty chilly and windy on the water line, even on a sunny day, and there are no heat lamps on the front patio. I'm not sure why we couldn't sit in the back patio where the bar was and recieve regular table service but this was another confusing element that the host did not make clear enough. When you wait in the bar line to order there is a sense of pressure and timeliness that I do not seek when looking to go out and relax and be taken care of. I had to set my own table with plates, flatware, napkins, water, wait in a line five separate times to get what I would expect anywhere else to provide table side, and bus. The food is excessively expensive for the level of service and quality being provided. The ceviche was $26 and the worst I've had in my life. I will again highlight that the bar and beverage program is pretty fun and worth visiting. The radical casualness of the place alongside the menu pricing is definitely hilarious though. I know for next time to eat somewhere else before coming out to their bar either a casual mexican place that charges accordingly or a place that charges these prices and provides attentive table service. Sometimes they have comedy but you can't get direct information on this through their website. They also have an extensive mezcal selection but have no spirits menu.. so, that's cool. Shout out to all the bartenders who seem to be holding this place together FOH wise and were forced into spending an unnecessary amount of time talking to me about spirits selection and pricing - a PRINTED spirits menu would really help them and guests (because there is also not digital one even if you want to be staring at your phone...

Food was AWESOME!! Oakland, Bay Area, Jack London Square Restaurant. Its all patio seating with umbrellas, shade structures & seating in the sun if you want that too. I prefer shade & we were in the shade so that made me happy!! Its a fun bright cheerful atmosphere. Authentic Mexican Food. I had crispy fish tacos with the salsas & sauces on the side so that I could control the heat & amounts (that's just how I like my food & they were able to do that for me!) There is a Security watched & regulated parking lot that is specifically for the restaurant customers, it is a $5 parking fee for the private parking lot & totally worth it! Bay Area parking on the street in general can get tricky & expensive. So the fact that they have a secure $5 parking lot is great!! Just watch out crossing the street because the crosswalk is on a curve in the road & there are no flashing lights, "go walk signs, stop signs or signals to slow down the drivers on the street right before that crosswalk from the parking lot to the restaurant entrance. My cousin who is familiar with the bay area. Said it's a fairly new set up for the parking so they are probably working on installing pedestrian lights. There is a crosswalk so the city might still be working on permits for installing something to slow traffic down on that curve in the road. Flashing pedestrian lights or some other type of pedestrian stop signal in that cross walk would be good. However the cross walk vs traffic comment still didn't change my experience or overall for the restaurant!! AGAIN The customer service, restaurant atmosphere was fantastic & so was the food! I also couldn't do a rating on the restrooms because I didn't have to use the the restroom during my visit. No one in my party of 9 people said anything negative about the restrooms. I had 2 people in my group who would have commented if the restrooms needed any type of attention. Plus 2 people in my group also use walking canes. They managed just fine while using the restroom. Unsure about wheelchair access to the restroom but, No complaints from anyone in my group! For food it is also a kid friendly restaurant. My 4 year old nephew is going through a picky stage & he was able to eat here as well. We were there celebrating my mom's 80th birthday & had a wonderful experience! Thanks to the entire staff at Nido's Back Yard it was a wonderful place to eat & celebrate her...