My favorite steak house in the area. Food is very good. I don't go here for a fancy salad bar but the salad is just fine here. It's a steak place. Very good steaks. They make your steak on a huge indoor wood fueled grill. Very different from your run of the mill steak joints that use salamanders. Prime rib is very good. Soup and sides are very good as well!
Make sure you come here when Mike is working the grill. Aside from being the master at the grill he is one of the most down to earth friendliest guys you will ever meet...and happens to be the owner. They  have a pretty great bar area and their prices for drinks are very reasonable. Its a local place that has genuine personality...unlike the many chain restaurants.
Remember to ask for Mike to cook your steak. :-)
Where do I start.....My boyfriend and I decided to try this place after a recommendation from a friend. From the parking lot this place looked like a bar/diner. The place was packed and we were seating in the back by where all the waiting staff runs around and next to the cooking area (possibly the worst table). Our waitress was nice, but clearly had no concept of time. We were there for almost 2 hours wondering when we would finally get our food.  I ordered a martini and she brought out one I didn't order, it took her about 10 minutes to bring me the right drink. We had the onion loaf as an appetizer which was decent however I've had better. I ordered a filet mignon with mashed potatoes and sautéed mushrooms and my boyfriend ordered a hickory smoked ribeye also with sautéed mushrooms. We also had the lobster bisque soup which tasted like it probably came from a can. When we finally received our food what felt like a decade later.....the filet was ok but charred on the outside, the mashed potatoes tasted like they used to be powdered and later microwaved with water and then buttered up. Which actually I had asked the waitress about and she said they came from a package and where buttered up but they where "red skin potatoes" way to tip toe around that one! So she offers me a baked potato instead, REALLY??? The hickory smoked ribeye was garbage. It was ordered to be medium but was almost well done, had no seasoning on it and charred to s***. The "sautéed mushroom" clearly came form a can and were reheated in their disgusting garlic sauce and not sautéed whatsoever.
I expressed my disgust with our dinners and how we where there for the first time and very dissatisfied with the whole experience.
Meanwhile, the table next to us (who actually got their food within 30 minutes of being seated) Â wanted to make sure that their dressing from the salad bar was gluten free, THE MANAGER approached the table and even offered to bring a ladle of it out to them to inspect and later offered to bring out the packets it came from....wow.
Hoping the manager would approach us and try to reconcile this awful experience, he just simply walked away and kept busy with other things. We waited about 15 minutes for our check which was over $100 and all the waitress did was credit the "sautéed mushrooms." Horrible place, bad service and overpriced food.  I would have rather gone to many of the other restaurants in Gurnee.
When I was growing up in the late Seventies, my parents used to take me out for a nice dinner out at a steak place for special occasions. Backyard Steak Pit is the closest thing to that treasured memory I've tried. This family owned restaurant is easy to miss, hidden behind a gas station on Grand Avenue in Gurnee. Usually pretty busy with regular locals, there is a homey charm to the place. It's rather dark on the inside and really feels like an old school Seventies supper club. The waitresses are mature and super friendly. What makes the place are the delicious steaks. All types of well-trimmed cuts are offered on the menu and they always deliver. Perfectly grilled on the large open pit in the back of the restaurant, they are the kinds of steaks that need little more than salt & pepper to satisfy. If you want to try flavorings, various seasonings can be requested as well as béarnaise, blue cheese or minced garlic (recommended). The menu also offers seafood, kebabs and burgers. If you like prime rib, it's a winner here as well. Sides are good--I usually opt for steamed veggies. There is a modest salad bar in back which I love. Salad bars are a dying breed, and I'm happy to just find one with fresh veggies and a delicious blue cheese dressing. There's a full bar with moderately priced wine by the glass and bottle. Price wise, the Steak Pit sits between the local steak chains and the top tier steakhouses in the the city. It's a good value for the quality of meat. I've been going now for eight years and take family and friends to the local club for a friendly, warm atmosphere, great steaks and an old school vibe.
Review Source:Date night again (read my other yelps). What to do. Well, a few yelp searches later, I come across a place a few of my friends have recommended in the past. Why not? Lets give it a shot - the yelps are pretty good (some good, some 'meh').
We walked in and were greeted by the very large rectangular bar which screamed 1980 and the hostess had Chandler Bing Flock of Seagulls hair. Ok, whatever. I celebrate diversity in its many facets. We were quickly seated and greeted by our server - her name escapes me. Our initial munchie order was the onion loaf - oh, my. Yumm. Looking back on the meal, I question if the loaf was home made or not - stay tuned. Still, yumm. The iced tea the wife ordered tasted icky and my gin martini was very diluted. I think it must have been 70% water.
I chose the salad bar and the wife chose lobster bisque. Her soup looked sorta home made - far too thick, which made us think it might have been from a can. Reading other reviews, they made specific comments about the salad bar - OMG. They were 100% right. The lettuce was old, olives were dry, peas were from a can and, get this, little flies in the croutons. Grrr! Mind you, I don't complain about ***ANYTHING*** what so ever. I ate my salad. (half of it and pushed it aside).
Entrees: Wife chose the seafood kabob which was horrid. Shrimp were gritty and fish was clearly frozen and rethawed. Judging by her reaction, I think her kabobs were once dethawed, assembled, frozen and refreshed. I'm also betting a microwave was used to take the chill off of them and then it was grilled. She ate 1/2 and gave up. Now to all of the nay-sayers, you have to trust me when I say this, we eat anything. We love food, just not this effort.
Ok, onto my entree. I chose the 18oz strip steak ($36) served with mashed potatoes. The cut was 100% perfect. Trimmed expertly - but had no flavor what so ever. Maddening. The clincher were the potatoes - I'm completely convinced they were made by hand and then frozen and reheated. Poor. The plate was stone cold too.
To recap - I don't complain about ANYTHING. I eat at Old Country Buffet and understand what i am getting and enjoy what I get. I'm very saddened to say,  the Backyard Steak Pit needs to be avoided. Bad food, bad drinks, horrible decor  and I almost forgot - the grill, which is fired with kingsford charcoal, permeates the whole place. To quote Percy Wetmore from the Green Mile, "Dead man walking, we got a dead man walking here."
Skip this one.
After dining at it's "sister" restaurant, Saluto's many times, my boyfriend and I finally ventured into the Backyard. Â It was definitely well worth the wait. Â We started off with French Onion soup that was very tasty. Â It was loaded with onion and had all the flavor this soup should have, without being too salty. Â I find a lot of French Onion soups to be loaded with artificial beef stock that just adds more salt and not enough flavor. Â Not this one! Â It also had just the right amount of cheese baked on top; not so much that you can't even find the soup. Â Yes, the salad bar is small, and the offerings are nothing special, but their bleu cheese dressing was very good. Â I think they should scrap the salad bar and just offer a nice garden salad. Â My steak was outstanding; Â cooked PERFECTLY. Â It was juicy and I could taste that it was cooked over an open fire. Â I will admit that at first, I thought it was a bit bland. Â Having visited so many chain steak houses one gets used to all the seasonings they put on their meat to disguise the poor quality steaks they serve. Â It took a few bites to realize this, but once I did, just a few shakes of salt and pepper were all that was needed to compliment the wonderful cut of beef that was in front of me.
The Backyard was built in 1985, and I don't think they have remodeled it once since. Â It is dark, "woody" and the atmosphere screams old school steakhouse. Â I loved it. Â It reminded me of being a small girl and going to dinner with my parents and grandparents on special occasions.
The service was friendly, and so were the other patrons. Â This is a place I will definitely visit again.
The 12oz filet that I had here was definitely worthy of 4 stars. The "salad bar" (quotes used tongue-in-cheek) made me detract a star because half of the reason I chose this place was claims of a stellar salad bar. Major letdown there.
Came here on a busy (and very loud) night, service was a little spotty because I think the waitstaff was stretched a little thin. Went parched a few times as there was long bouts of an empty iced-tea glass between refills. I almost wanted to just ask for a pitcher of the stuff to keep at my table. Thinking back to my near-dehydration, I wish I had.
My steak was great. Sauteed with fresh mushrooms and cooked almost perfectly to order. I think I had grilled asparagus as a side, but for the life of me, I can't remember.
Prices are a bit steep, glad I came with a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> gc.
Kind of an old-fogey crowd. Felt like I was at an old time-y supper club.
Was very disappointed. Used to go here years ago and they always had a special, i.e. Salmon for a decent price. Now everything seems to be overpriced. $17 - $25 for a steak. Food is good but overpriced. I had a burger for $9.99 and nothing special. I've had just as good at a local grill for $7.99. Soup was good and bread nothing special. There are plenty of other places around for a better value...right neext door for that matter....
Review Source:Just returned home from the Backyard Steak Pit and it was delicious! Â I had the chicken tortellini soup and my partner had the lobster bisque. Â Both soups were excellent. Â Our entree's included chicken kabobs with grilled vegetables and my partner had the 12" tenderloin. Â Again, both were excellent! Â Unfortunately, we did not have room for dessert. Â Our waitress, Valerie, did a wonderful job as well. Â The food smelled good from the moment we walked in the door and it did not disappoint us at all. Â We will definitely be back!
Review Source:We went there last Friday for the first time in a long time. Â I always liked to get the chicken kabobs. Â I ordered them and my husband got the ribeye. Â My side was rice and my husband got a baked potato. Â My chicke kabobs were EXCELLENT the rice however was so gross it was all mushy and slimy I could not eat it. Â My husband said the steak was "pretty good". Â Not the great place it used to be. Â The service was friendly but very slow. Â It is not the place to go for a quick dinner. Â Overall it was okay. Â I will go back for my kabobs but will get a different side next time.
Review Source:In short, it's not the best, but far from the worst as well. Â
As others have written, if your not a local, you will more than likely have a hard time finding this place for it is not easily seen from the main road. Â
The atmosphere is nice. Â I personally like the looks of the bar and the big, charcoal pit used for cooking. Â The "pit" certainly adds aroma to the atmosphere as the beef is cooked right there in the open. Â
The appetizers are good as is the soup. Â The salad bar however in my opinion is very disappointing and I could probably do just as good with a salad from McDonalds.
I've been here several times and all I've gotten are the various cuts of beef and never a burger. Â From other reviews, I'll make it a point to try a burger someday. Â As for the steaks, I'll say they are fair to good. Â Nothing to rave about. Â So far they have cooked the steaks as ordered and I've not had to send it back. Â I do however think for the quality of the steak, the prices are a bit high. Â
The servers are nice, however I think they are a bit slow at times. Â Your drink can be empty for a bit of time before it gets refilled. Â
Overall, if your in the mood for a steak and your in the neighborhood, this place will do the trick.
Was this place a Denney's at one time? just a weird vibe in the place. way overpriced for a run of the mill steakhouse. I had ribs- complete with the membrane and rib tips still attached...huh? My wife ordered fish and it came dry and overcooked. no thanks, I'll pass on this one...eeeeeeeeeeK!
Review Source:Well when I was told I would have a hard time finding this place they weren't kidding. Â The address doesn't even come up on GPS-really??
So I was late getting there and arrived only after I stopped to ask if anyone could tell me where this place was. Â If they want to be a secret, they are right on, but one person knew and said "Oh, yea it is behind the restaurant (Saluto's) next door to the gas station with the ATM--really??really? Â
Found it and turns out that the aforementioned directions were as good as it gets. Â This place is owned by the same owners of Saluto's-met some friends (told you I was late so they were well into their second cocktail) and the place was packed. Why? Â Still don't know--it was just as it says backyard steak pit--everything cooked on the grill(pit) and in the backyard of the other restaurant.
Ordered sirloin shish kabobs--comes with soup or salad bar (salad bar is a stretch) Â probably one of the smallest ones I've seen with only a few things to add to a big bowl of looked like bag lettuce to me.
Entree came with a side of vegetables (frozen) and sirloin was WELLLLL
done. Â Server was nice and we were served quick--and I won't be quick to return.
I just went here for dinner by myself after hearing a co-worker talk about it. Â I have lived in Gurnee over 9 years and never heard of it. Â Overall, it was pretty good. Â I ordered the 12-oz. fillet. Â It came out a perfect medium just how I like it. Â This place seems to be more about the flavor of the meat since I could not detect any sort of marinade or spices. Â Just the taste of a quality piece of beef.
The salad bar is small compared to other places, but has the basics covered. Â They offer a choice of soup or salad bar with most entrees. Â Prices are reasonable for what they offer.
The service here is what I would call "relaxed". Â I think that it might be nice to come here with a special someone or a small group of friends. Â Alone, it seemed a bit on the slow side. Â Another good point is that it is a bit west of the tourist-heavy part of Grand Ave., which in my opinion makes it great for those times I just want to go out for a nice dinner without having to deal with the big crowds at the chain places or drive very far.
A fairly average steakhouse. Â I got the filet and my girlfriend got the rack of ribs, which led to a funny moment when the server who brought out our food thought he'd put the plates in front of the wrong people.
Having worked as a server at a steakhouse for almost two years, I consider myself a pretty good judge of steakhouses. Â You're not going to find anything extraordinary here, but you're not really going to be disappointed, either.
A pretty average place. Â Perfectly fits the definition of "A-OK."
The backyard is a local restaurant that is hard to find if your just driving by. It is set back right off a local street off 132 (Grand Av). The few times I've been here I was really impressed. The atmosphere is nothing special...its got an old home feel, and is dark inside. However, the steaks are some of the best I've had. They cook all meat on an open charcoal grill...you can watch your steak being cooked. The salad bar is on the small side, but its a decent offering. The potato skins are huge! Don't forget to order sauteed shrooms with your steak! Great local restaurant!
Review Source:I have been going here for years and I think every time I have been here I've had a pleasant experience. The wait staff has changed little in the 15 yrs or so, so management must be doing something right! I've had much on the menu, chicken, steak, fish, shrimp, it's all good... probably my least favorite is the salmon, my favorite is probably the cod. Dinners all come with the salad bar with is small, but really good. If you don't want the standard baked potato, steamed veggies are a great option. A couple years ago when I lost a considerable amount of weight, this was a great option for me. Definitely worth trying!
Review Source:This past Friday night I had a taste for a steak and a baked potato. I didn't want to cook it myself, it was about 8 PM and I just didn't feel like messing around in the kitchen. So I said to myself "Self, where can you get a decent steak dinner around here" and then the light came one "The Backyard"!...I've never gone wrong there....
Boy was I wrong! It's been at least 2 years since the last time I was there, but you used to get a choice of garlic or regular toast with your dinner. It was one of the best parts. They don't offer it anymore! Yikes!!!!!.....well I ordered anyway. I had the 10 ounce sirloin, medium well, with a baked potato. Let me start by saying that my 5 year old could have cooked me a better steak. It was dry, it was charred (which I hate) and it was just.....GROSS. To top that off, I had not a drop of steak sauce in my house to fix it with! ARRRGGGHHH
My potato was overcooked, so it was super hard to even mash up. I had throw a ton of sour cream in it to make it feasible. I didn't even finish my food. At trip to McDonald's would have been better...not to mention MUCH cheaper cause I paid $21 for this most AWFUL food! Back in the day this used to be, in my opinion, the best steakhouse out here in these parts. Now we are doomed to place like Red Lobster and Lone Star(don't get me wrong, these restaurants are OK, but the steak is not the specialty). Looks like I'm going to have to come to Chicago to get a good piece of red meat.
I wouldn't have given it the one star that I did....but I had to give it something.....
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