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The Backyard: Restaurant Reviews

6566 Front Street, Forestville, CA
1+707 820-8445
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Cuisines: American
Dining options: Reservations
Most recent review
- Feb 16, 2013
Restaurant details
Dining options: Reservations
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12 reviews from our community

58% Recommend
    1
    6
    4
    1
    0
Rating summary
    Food
    Service
    Value
    Atmosphere
Date Rating
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Santa Rosa, California
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
3 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“Excellent”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed February 16, 2013

Went there for dinner with a group. Wonderfully tasty locally-sourced food. Service was excellent. Good wine list, although we took our own and corkage was reasonable. Flatbread appetizer was excellent. Our group's choices ranged from a hearty soup to fresh fish, chicken pot pie, steak and fresh pastas. Everyone loved their choices. Desserts were light and tasty, served in jelly jars. The restaurant is small and decor is spartan, but the food, company, service and other diners created a warm, inviting dining experience on a chilly evening.

  • Visited February 2013
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
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Ask Jand2e about The Backyard
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Sebastopol
Senior Contributor
21 reviews 21 reviews
15 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 10 cities Reviews in 10 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
“We'll go back”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed February 10, 2013

We were there for breakfast. I had a cheese, egg, mushroom, sourdough dish I would call a variation on eggs benedict without the hollandaise. Yummy but a little hard to cut into without letting the egg soften up the bread first. Next time I'm going use the bread to just scoop the whole thing up. My husband had the chicken and waffle. He raved about the chicken but, unfortunately, the waffle was cold. Ate everything any way. Rounded out the meal with the coffee press. Hot and strong the way we like it but the cups were cold.. Shame, shame, shame....hot beverages should be served in a warmed cup. Maybe that was part of the problem with the waffle....a cold plate. Just sucked out whatever warmth there was. "Cold" was a bit of an overall theme. The room was cold despite the space heater at one end of the dining room. I do want to go back but will wait until the spring/summer when it's warmer and also sitting outside will be an option.

  • Visited January 2013
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Food
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Ask spadehome about The Backyard
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Santa Rosa, California
Senior Contributor
26 reviews 26 reviews
16 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
“Well worth a visit...something new in Forestville”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed December 31, 2012

What a nice addition to the town of Forestville. The Backyard was recommended and we were not disappointed. On the plus side, we found the wait staff to be on top of their game…this may have been an issue when they first opened from what I read in earlier reviews. The menu presents enough options to make for a fun selection among a group of four. The beef soup was hot and wholesome. The sausage flatbread was hot and just spicy enough to not overpower the flavors. The buttermilk battered onion rings were a nice touch as a side dish. They were hot bite size rings and not greasy. The pork chop was excellent…smokey and cooked perfectly and served on a bed of smooth whipped-like polenta. The Chicken Pot Pie was delivered right out of the oven to the table and the steam rose to the ceiling throughout most of the meal. The wine list is limited but covers the bases…most expensive was $80 for a Dehlinger Cabernet. Corkage is $15. The only negative during our visit was the room temperature of the restaurant. There were three strategically placed portable heaters that struggled to warm the air. We arrived at 7:00 and stayed while talking and sipping wine until after 10:00. The tables around us turned over a couple of times but no one had to wait…not yet. Give it a few more weeks and reservations might become a must. We will return…for sure.

  • Visited December 2012
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
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Ask Bill95403 about The Backyard
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Lafayette, California
Contributor
17 reviews 17 reviews
12 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
11 helpful votes 11 helpful votes
“Locals know best”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed November 13, 2012

Stopped in for lunch after a little wine tasting in the area - it had only recently opened but contrary to another posting, we found service to be good (it was on a Friday at lunch). The restaurant is quite spartan so if it's decor you are looking for, this won't be it.

Menu very good for both carnivores and vegetarians. I had fish sandwich which was deep fried in a very light batter and served with purple potato chips & a quinoa salad - all excellent. Wife had a flatbread with pears / cheese which she also found excellent. They had a great wine selection - they did not have sodas but did have a ginger beer which was very refreshing. Wish we lived closer to it.

  • Visited November 2012
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
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Ask jra1341 about The Backyard
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Forestville, California
Contributor
17 reviews 17 reviews
15 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 11 cities Reviews in 11 cities
5 helpful votes 5 helpful votes
“New in Forestville, CA”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed November 8, 2012

They just opened so I'm going to offer constructive criticism. Totally disappointed in the wait staff - one would think they would be top shelf on the opening weekend- they need some attentiveness training now.
I'm giving 3 stars because the hamburger I ordered was great and served on a delicious Nightingale bun. It was served with pickled onions which were interesting but not as good as grilled onions. BTW: the word nightingale was misspelled on the menu.

  • Visited November 2012
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 2 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Food
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Ask jeanne d about The Backyard
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

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