Flanked by the rugged beauty of the north Yorkshire moors, the upmarket spa town they call Ilkley is most famous for its rustic charm, Victorian architecture and impressive 1930’s lido. It’s also home to a handful of super-posh restaurants and some mighty fine traditional boozers.
It was, however, sorely missing a more lively casual nightlife spot where younger locals (and young at heart) can let their hair down. Enter The Yard, which reopened as a sports bar back in February after a two-year hiatus due to you know what.
With a strong focus on booze, food, gaming (pool, shuffleboard and darts so far) and the biggest and best live sporting events, it was more-or-less guaranteed a ready-made audience and appears to have its target audience hooked.
Team H&N dropped in on a dreary late-summer Thursday evening for a much-needed catch-up (2 years plus since our last group got together) to be greeted with the warmest of welcomes by the friendly and rather amusing team.
Our mission was to seek out the finest eats from their extremely sexy new menu, which had us all drooling long before we’d arrived. Like many sports bars, the food offering is heavy on the US influence, however, they’ve done it with tons more flair and imagination than your average cookie cutter joint.
This is a menu clearly put together by someone who loves their dirty food and amen to that. One look at the Crazy Creations menu for example, which includes Bacon Biscoff, the Fluff Screamer and Bacon and Blue Oreo burger creations, and you know that chef must have been smoking something. Or perhaps he just has a sweet tooth, who knows – I digress.
On paper, the menu rocks and so we were delighted to find it exceeded our expectations. And we’re a tough crowd to please when it comes to fatty treats. I had more or less starved myself all day in preparation for this meal and what a wise move that was.
One look at those Cheeseburger Nachos and I knew we were in for something special. Crumbled with smashed burger, American cheese, salsa and possibly the chunkiest pickles you’ll find in the north, this winning dish is an instant classic.
The wings are crisp, meaty, perfectly seasoned, and complemented with some darn tasty sauces. We went with Korean BBQ and Buffalo, and a side of the allegedly super-hot Viper sauce. It wasn’t especially spicy in my opinion, but they certainly made up for that later (We’ll get there).
The Swine Fries are well worth a look too, and come loaded with deliciously sweet and tender Cola braised BBQ pork and crispy onions. A highlight from the mains menu is most definitely the Burgers & Birds. This towering burger is a truly masterful example of juicy beefy goodness, with the added bonus of a Yard fried chicken fillet, cheese and Linford’s burger sauce. Outstanding stuff. A knife and fork are highly recommended.
For those looking for something a little lighter, you’re probably in the wrong place, but the Clucking Hell comes closest to beach-bod-ready food – if you opt for the grilled chicken. Of course, we didn’t and enjoyed this one in all its Cajun buttermilk and lime mayo glory.
It’s also worth noting that we visited on quiz night, which we somehow managed to play relatively competently whilst stuffing our faces. We certainly didn’t win (this quiz is tough), but then how could we when we were up against a team who were most likely on Mastermind circa 2009.
Great fun though, and we did win the bag of crisps booby prize (which we were all too stuffed to eat). Despite being ready to roll out the door, we gave in to the temptation of the Firecracker Brownie, which according to the menu is ‘laced with chilli and popping candy.’
Well, it should have come with a warning sign because this sauce was hotter than Liz Truss’s iPhone right now, and I consider myself something of a heat hound. Don’t get me wrong, I took one for the team and ate the lot, but that was only to show off (my insides were quite literally melting).
The brownie was indeed gooey and delicious, but they need to knock the sauce a fair few Scoville’s down. And, if that’s the only complaint then it’s safe to say The Yard is a smasher.
Final verdict:
The Yard is essential for both Ilkley residents and visitors. The staff are an absolute blast, the vibe is fun and laidback and the local beers and wine are fantastic. The food is gloriously calorific and messy as hell (just ask my t-shirt), but well worth taking your belt down a notch or two—no regrets from this little fat boy.
Ilkley may only be home to one sports bar, but it’s a darn good one!
The Yard Sports Bar, 30A Brook Street, Ilkley, LS29 8DE. 01943 609606
Words by Fletch, photography by NorthernFoodLad
