If you’re like us, you’re often looking for the perfect spot to pregame before a game or event at the Capital One Arena that has good food, good drink, good happy hour deals, and room for all your friends. Places that check all those boxes are few and far between, but a SoCal transplant, new to DC, has got you covered. The Yard House, home to one of the largest selections of draft beers in the DMV and an expansive menu of WAY above average bar food. We got a chance to sample a few of their dishes, and were quite impressed.
You may not associate perfectly executed tacos with a beer/sports bar, but you should. Yard House has an extensive taco menu that is diverse enough to please any palate.
Our personal favorite of the tacos was the vampire taco. You can get it with a variety of fillings, but what makes it special, is its normal flour tortilla is wrapped in a crispy cheesy shell. We had the carnitas version (A+), but you can get any of their taco offerings “vampire style.”
You also might not expect to find a selection of authentically Italian pasta dishes at a beer bar either. But you’d be wrong.
And of course, they’ve got some more traditional beer bar foods for you traditionalists out there.
Also be aware that many of the fan favorite at The Yard House are available on happy hour, making them half price between 3-6 and late night happy hour from 10pm – close!
And don’t forget about dessert…
The s’mores brownies were a highlight for the group. Not only are you getting a perfectly cooked brownie top with epicly big marshmallows, you are getting probably one of the best marshmallow pull boomerang opportunities in town.
If this seems like a lot, it’s only a small, small portion of the menu. The Yard House has something for every taste bud. And, no, it’s not one of those places that does so much that they don’t do anything well. Everything that we had the chance to try was executed well with good flavor profiles and could double at almost any other restaurant in town. Another exciting thing from The Yard House – since they are a California-based company, they have a soft spot for the vegans and vegetarians. Anything on the menu that has meat can be made with a vegan meat substitute called Gardein. We tried it in a few of the dishes, and it has almost the exact same mouth feel and flavor as chicken. If you had given me a street taco with Gardein and told me it was a grilled chicken taco, I would have believed you. In fact, even as an avid meat eater, I might order the Gardein dishes over some of the other ones because it’s just that good.
Next time you find yourself in Chinatown looking for a big cold beer and/or a snack, head over to The Yard House. You’ll probably find me there elbow deep in the beer list and a heap of Gardein tacos.