Back A Yard
| Address: | 1189 Willow Rd, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA |
| Phone: | +1 650-323-4244 |
| Site: | backayard.net |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Working: | 11AM–3PM 11AM–3PM 11AM–3PM 11AM–3PM 11AM–9PM 12–8PM Closed |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 11
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Kristin C.
Hands down the best Jamaican food in the bay area. Its owned by the same family that runs Coconuts in Downtown Palo Alto and the newer Back A Yard location in downtown San Jose. This Menlo Park location is right near the Willow and 101 exit on the east side of the freeway and has that true hole-in-the wall feeling you get from local joints. There is limited seating inside, probably about 8-10 small tables that can seat 2-4 people and 3 tables with plastic chairs outside the door.If youre dining with a large group, Id recommend take-out. Now, for the food. My favorites are still the oxtail dinner plate - cooked to tender perfection with the meat falling off the bone. Oxtail gravy drizzled over traditional rice and peas and plantains, Im starting to drool just thinking about the food. Just like the downtown SJ location, they have the saltfish and akee on Saturdays. During my most recent visit, my friend ordered the Jerk Chicken wrap (a steal at ~$6) which was tasty and filling. If youre looking for a quick bite or appetizer, try the patties. Parking is scarce and its ALL parallel parking on the curb. There is 15 minute parking in front (denoted by a green line) so dont get too happy when you see space available directly in front of the restaurant.
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Misha Metrikin
First things first the young cashier who greeted me was a good dude. He was friendly and chatted a bit about their offering, offering some recommendations on popular items. I chose the stake. Boy was this a stake. The meat itself had some attractive grill marks but there was no solid sear on the steak. What truly stood out was the spice mixture which permeated every-bite. It tasted like if pepper married some citrus and coriander and then joined forces with a piece of fresh leather to create this rich, smoky, meaty mildly sweet, zesty flavor which transitioned perfectly into the clean buttery taste of the meat. Why isnt all meat flavored this way? It is a conspiracy I tell you. On my way out I also noticed some people eating their deeply spiced chicken and thought it looked delicious as well. Will try that next time...
EL
Elson Liu
I had dinner here on a Friday evening with friends. I had the curry goat & jerk chicken combo, which is a weekend special (Th/F/Sat). The curry goat was spicy and fall-off-the-bone tender. The jerk chicken was tender and a bit milder than the curry. Sides were rice & beans, fried plantains, and a salad/cole slaw with a very salty vinaigrette on the side. Everything was delicious, although I wish I had gone lighter with the vinaigrette or mixed it better with the salad. The portions were also very generous--I was definitely full afterwards! Other notes: - Staff were very friendly. - Parking is limited. You will probably end up parking on the street. - There is both indoor and outdoor seating, but its also pretty limited.
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Craig Foster
I had never had jerk chicken before and I wasnt quite sure I could handle the spice, but I learned spice is different than spicy. The flavors were so rich and vibrant but it wasnt traditional curry or pepper spicy at all. After the first hesitant bite, I was all in until the bones were bare. The portions were more than enough and I was left very satisfied. The mac and cheese was almost too cheesy for me if I had one complaint. There is no parking lot you just have to find a spot on the street I believe, but I only had to park about half a block away. I saw lots of Facebook and Google employees come and get take out while I ate. Its definitely authentic, popular and delicious.
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David Renfro
Horrible service! 2 hours late with the delivery. When they arrive there were no plates forks or spoons. Call the supervisor several times and only told to wait. left a message for the lead supervisor to call me back and she never returned the call. our bill was nearly $400 and we were never given the money back for the food and drink that were not delivered. Since they were two hours late for the half of the group that was there for the luncheon had to leave. This cost a lot of money and work hours for lost work hours. Very disappointing and never received a response I will never ever order from this place again as I have ordered from them many many times!
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Michael Xing
This place is the definition of hole-in-the-wall, but theres really no better location for excellent jerk-spiced dishes. The chicken jerk meal is the real star, and is moist, juicy, and packed with flavor. It comes along with a few salad greens, Jamaican rice and peas (which are actually beans), and fried plantains. Portions are generous and prices are very reasonable. Given how small the actual dining room is, you might have some difficulty sitting down, but the restaurants does take orders to go over the phone. If youre feeling extra hungry, the side dishes (and particularly the "corn festival") make for great accompaniments to a main meal.
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Trinya Smith
BackAYard made me miss my favorite Jamaican place in Baltimore. I had the Tuesday night special, curry chicken, and it was on point. Could be a little spicier, a little more curried but overall it was great. The corn festivals were the bomb, lighter and with a little more flour than Ive had before. I thought they were awesome. The portions are big (I took half my meal home) so I gave them a 4 for the good points, I would give them a 5 but the flavor was perfect for their market ( lots of Stanford folks there when I went, a Tuesday evening) and not as authentic as I would like for it be. Will def return!
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Tyler Richendollar
Great food at a decent price (especially for what you get!). Definitely a spot to visit at least once a month, especially with teammates. Get almost anything and you will enjoy it a lot. I have had the curried goat, and man oh man is it satisfying. The rice and beans are steeped in coconut-richness that are my world when I eat there. Great plantains, too. My colleagues have had everything from the jerk chicken to curries and fish dishes-- only platitudes, no criticisms. Be careful-- its a small place that fills quickly. However, turnover is fast as food comes out pretty fast.
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B Breuil
Authentic Caribbean food (and drink--they even have Ting!). Seating is limited--almost impossible if you arrive between 11:45 and 12:30. Lots of people do take-out, and that is the way to go if you cant do an early or late lunch. Parking out front is also unlikely, so look for spots a block or so away. There are four types of jerk: pork, chicken, steak and salmon (they recently added jerk curry goat...not bad). The best is still--by far--the Jerk Pork plate: it comes with salad, plantains, brown rice and beans.
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Neo Oneblaze
They had the other normal means oxtail, jerk chicken, curry chicken etc but with the absence of food. Now to the real questions and answers. If you are a real Jamaican like I you may have your slight towards this place as they offer no FOOD.. only a real yardi know what we mean when we seh food. For all the foreigners food refers to cooked banana, white yam-- yellow yam, dumplings, cook plaintain. Soup. chicken foot soup. Goat head soup. I will stop there for now. For now they are decent and well recommended.
DA
David Liang
Food: 4 Decor: 2 Service: 2 Came here for dinner with a friend, and the place was more than half empty. The place is pretty ghetto, and I parked in the lot across the street. Opted for the jerk chicken and pork combo, $12. It comes with a small salad, and everything was quite good. I liked the plantains since they were still soft like bananas, not fried. However, several pieces of my pork were very badly burnt. Service is non-existent. My glass of water remained empty until I asked for a refill.
