I’ve been to a few different Yard House locations and have never left disappointed. It’s a place where the food has always exceeded my expectations and the crew involved in making my dinners complete, were always at the top of their game. It’s why I was delighted to attend the grand opening pre-premiere event tonight at the opening of their newest location, in Northridge, California.

First of all, the location: top notch choice. The Northridge Mall sits right in the center of the 818 and is home to an awesome, varied culture and is about 2 miles from California State University of Northridge. Having a fun place like this in such a hot spot, guarantees that this Yard House will never have a slow day. Beautifully designed inside and out, clean, very spacious despite being at max capacity, so well ventilated that the air never felt anything but crisp, and appropriately placed heaters outside to keep you warm if you sat outside. The building and layout was engineered very finely, so my compliments to the designers.

Next up, the food: perfect! With so many choices available on the menu, it can be difficult to decide what you’re in the mood for, because everything sounded so delicious. And for me personally, though I do tend to go with “my favorites”, I also like trying something new each time. Fortunately…the only decision I had to make that night was whether I wanted more of what was being offered, because Yard House provided around 25 different samples of their fine dining and each was excellent. Drinks were on the house too and the primary waiter that served at our table, Sean, brought us his recommended beverages that fit our taste description (and a good call was in us leaving it for him to decide what we should try). Dessert was served last and it too was so rich. I’m no glutton and anyone who’s read been reading Paul Gale Network for a while, knows that I stay in good shape, train in various martial arts, and work out regularly…but the crème brûlée that they served was so rich and full of texture that I had to get seconds.

And finally, the service. From walking in and being greeted by half a dozen friendly, upbeat staff, to the many servers that brought food constantly throughout the night, to our waiter Sean that was always on top of things, everyone was beyond kind.

A+, 10/10, Perfect. Whatever kind of grading scale you’re accustomed to, know that Yard House as a whole, delivers very nicely as a restaurant and that if you live in the 818, the new Northridge location which officially opens to the public, tomorrow, on December 2nd, gets a “must visit” from me. A big thank you to everyone involved tonight in making the experience a truly great one, including Carrie Castruita from Guest Relations for the VIP invitation. Expect to see me here frequently.

See if there’s a Yard House near you: YardHouse.com