Yard House — Restaurant in Washington

I went to the Yard House location at 812 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001 for dinner with my friend last night. Now this is not my first time visiting this particular Yard House. I have visited this Yard House frequently over the past 6 years since it's right down the street from my apartment. Every visit I've ever had has gone well, with the exception of my visit on last night.

I ordered the Whiskey burger. The waitress asked me if I wanted one of the four sides the burger came with. She told me that I could choose fries, onion rings and two other sides. I told her that I wanted onion rings. she didn't tell me that there would be an up charge of $2 for the onion rings. I ate the meal. When I got the bill, I noticed the $2 charge for the onion rings. I told her that she never said there would be an up charge for the onion rings. I asked to speak to her manager because she acted as if there was nothing she could do about it.

Hector, the manager, came out. His demeanor and disposition was very off. He aggressively stated, "No we can't take the $2 off because it says there's an up charge on the menu." I explained to him that I told the waitress I wanted the whiskey burger. she asked me what sides I wanted, but never mentioned there would be an up charge. He said, "No we can't take it off." I told him thank you and he walked off.

I could pay the $2, but when I feel that something is not fair, I have to stand up for what is right. The problem is not that I can't pay the $2, it's the principle behind it. I'm an easy going person and I don't cause a lot of problems wherever I go. A lot of times it's not what you say to people, it's how you say it. I didn't appreciate how Hector dealt with me as a customer.

I would give this visit one star based on Hector's interaction with me, but I'm giving it 2 stars because when I expressed how I felt about the situation to China, my waitress; Ada; Justin; and Jaimi, the other manager, they were all very kind to me and understood where I was coming from. Hector on the hand, was very nasty.

Anyway, Jaimi, the other manager, gave me back my $2 and she offered me a $10 gift card. I explained to her that I didn't need the $10 gift card because I wouldn't...

My husband and I stopped in here while we are DC and it did not disappoint. We got Miguel’s queso with chips and tortillas as an appetizer with the added ground beef. The chips were your standard store bought tortilla chips, but the tortillas provided were absolutely phenomenal & heated to perfection to use with the queso dip! The queso dip itself was large, I don’t feel they give you enough chips or tortillas for the amount of dip they give you. For an entree, my husband and I shared the whiskey glazed salmon, parm mashed potatoes and carrots (we opted out of the broccoli). The salmon was cooked to perfection, the whiskey glaze was light on top which I preferred since it was sweet (and good!). My husband likes the extra sweetness so it was nice that they brought it out with extra glaze on the side. The parm mashed potatoes weren’t anything special, just basic mashed potatoes, but still very good. The carrots had good flavor, but were very thick and not cooked all the way through to be soft, it was kind of like half eating roasted carrots and half eating raw carrots. I do wish they were cooked all the way through. For dessert we got the Oreo brookie with ice cream. That was delicious. Our drinks were on point, the food was decent, and service was great. I think the biggest reason I gave 4 stars was due to us sitting very close to the patio door on a below freezing evening and a lot of customers were using that door as an exit and it made the draft hit us directly multiple times and it was so cold. It wasn’t until we were about to leave that they blocked off that door, but it was too late at that point because that side of the restaurant struggled to stay warm after so many people going in and out.

All in all, great music,...

Unfortunately, my recent visit to Yard House on 7th Street in DC left me deeply disappointed—not because of the food or drink quality, but because of the inexcusable lapse in service.

When I first arrived, I was actually seated and served promptly. The bartender took my drink and food order without issue, and for a brief moment, things seemed promising. But that changed quickly.

After receiving my initial drink and placing my food order, I was completely ignored for over an hour. My glass sat empty. No one checked in. No one offered a refill, an update, or even basic acknowledgment. Meanwhile, I watched other patrons—some of whom arrived after me—get regular attention from the bar staff.

I tried to signal politely, made eye contact, even shifted in my seat to indicate I needed something. Nothing. Multiple bartenders were present, yet not one seemed aware—or concerned—that I hadn’t been helped in over 60 minutes.

There’s no excuse for that kind of oversight, especially in a venue with this level of foot traffic and pricing. It wasn’t a slammed Friday night; it was standard dinner rush, and staff simply failed to do the bare minimum.

What makes it worse is that Yard House has the potential to deliver a solid experience—great beer selection, fun ambiance, and a menu built for casual nights out. But when the service collapses after the first five minutes, everything else becomes background noise.

Final Thoughts: • Atmosphere: Good energy, but the vibe gets soured when guests are forgotten. • Drink/Food: Decent, but hard to enjoy with a dry glass and no updates. • Service: Severely lacking after the initial interaction. • Would I return? Not to this location. The inconsistency in service is too glaring...