Great for beer, but the food is very very fattening. I got the fisherman's platter and chose perch and shrimp with slaw and sand dollars for $16. Walked in thin, walked out fat. I actually heard myself getting bigger fat cells. Still, I enjoy the interior and decent service. Will come again for just a beer.
Review Source:Well I do not know if it's fair of me to review a place I have not been to since 1992, but from what I read they still have the SAND DOLLARS! Yessss! Â I loved those as a kid and I loved their burgers, seem like they have not changed so I will leave the review I would have left as a kid!
Review Source:Kitchy nautical themed bar (gotta start with the super obvious) in a nice location on the harbor, plenty of parking, a bit cozy in both of the two rooms. Â Good variety on tap, I had the Potosi Czech beer (light lager, goes well with fish), service was excellent, both the waitress (attentive, fast), and the bartender (friendly, competent). Â The food's okay, I ordered the Cajun grilled catfish, which wasn't all that Cajun, but palatable, the Chief of Staff ordered the tuna steak, medium, which came out overcooked a tad (ask for rare I think). Â The sand dollars, garlic and Parmesan cheese seasoned thin fried potato wafers are good, I'm not going to rave about them. Â We were in a large group, they tagged us with an automatic 18% gratuity, which I realize has become standard around these parts, and our waitress deserved it, but still, I'm a little resentful of the practice. Â Because there's a big round table, I think it's a good choice for a group, and there were a few obvious regulars on a Thursday night, which tells me the good service is usual. Â Someone in our group ordered a grilled bacon and cheese sandwich, which looked good but not on my cardiologist's list of approved foods. Â The dessert, which I'm also not supposed to have, was the best part. Â I ordered what I thought was a little dish of ice cream, birthday cake flavor (what a great concept), but what came out was about a half gallon of colorful ice cream, with chocolate sauce on top of a thick Oreo cookie crust. Â It's more than maybe three people could finish, and I was impressed with the little waitress's arm and upper body strength bringing it out (she was wearing a tank top, either she works out or she gets a lot of these heavy orders). Â
So here's a joke you can tell at this restaurant: Â A pirate walks into the bar with a steering wheel sticking out of his crotch. Â The bartender, alarmed, points to the pirate's pants zipper, and exclaims, "Hey, buddy, you've got a steering wheel sticking out of your crotch!" The pirate responds (lay on the fake movie pirate accent as thickly as possible) "Aaaargh, an' it's drivin' me nuts."
Wow, their soup of the day was Bacon Cheeseburger. Â It was so good. Â I plan to prepare my own in fall. Â Shared an appetizer with shrimp, fried green beans and sand dollars. Â (Their version of thin sliced fried potatoes topped with Parmesan cheese.) Â It was pretty good. Â Bartender was so friendly. Â He suggested what we should order and we were pleased with same. Â Its a tiny bar with a maritime theme.
Review Source:OMG, I love Racine and love Yardarm! Â We were visiting for the first time from Chicago and Yardarm was recommended by our hotel. Â
Not exactly a foodie desination, it's typical Wisconsin fish fry (every day of the week!) Â It's the people that make this place great. Â The hostess was literally the nicest, most sincere person I've ever met. Â The bartender was so accommodating. Â I requested a honey beer and he said "why don't you have a taste first, people either like it or hate it". Â Indeed, I didn't care for it. Â Every time I ordered a beer, they let me have a taste, first rate service.
We didn't realize it was live music night, and there happened to be a great blues band (Charles Walker Band) there, who were really talented and interactive with the crowd. Â We also met the nicest older ladies who talked up Racine. Â
By the time we left, we had eaten two hearty meals, drank several beers and bought a onesie for my friend's baby (that's how much she liked this place!) and our bill was under $100. Â God bless Yardarm!
I hesitated to give Yardarm 4 stars, but what made the difference between 3 and 4 stars has to be the sand dollars. Â Thin, perfectly fried sliced potatoes dusted with Parmesan.... heavenly! Â The seafood is pretty good, I didn't have anything that set my world on fire, but I never had anything bad there either. Â The service is good, atmosphere comfortable...definitely worth a visit or two. Â One of Racine's best restaurants, and while that isn't saying much, it's still a nice place to hang out for dinner and/or drinks, and I'll always stop in when I'm in town.
Review Source:I've been going to the Yardarm for longer than I've lived in Racine. Â It has great atmosphere - a maritime-lover's delight. Â It has a full service bar and a reasonable menu. Â The buffalo burger is always a solid choice, and when you can get it the chili is quite good. Â
Most importantly it has free, live music every Wednesday and Sunday. Â In a day and age where everyone is cutting back, free live music is VERY much appreciated. Â This is the single biggest differentiator, for me, in places to eat when I have dozens of choices within a ten-minute drive. Â (For a maritime-themed bar I wish they would have some maritime-themed music, however.) Â
On the down side the free music is clearly paid for with higher drink prices; I can live with that trade-off. Â However, the food, specifically the fish, has been unpredictable in quality. Â The service, for the better part has been very good, but when it is bad one feels like an imposition to the staff. Â
I will keep coming back on nights that there are good musicians playing but even though I live just five minutes away it is no longer my first choice to grab a drink and a meal.
Awesome fish fry with fresh water fish (I had perch). Â Classic Wisconsin style with a slice of rye bread. Â The sand dollars are to die for. Â And FYI, the slice of ice cream cake is at LEAST 6 inches high, so get one and share with the table. Â Super friendly staff, great place to o and chat with friends.
Review Source:A friend who used to live in Racine helped me discover this gem of a locals bar and grill on a recent weekend. A cozy nautical-themed joint a block or so off the main drag that I've somehow missed in several years of visiting Racine. This place reminds me of the charmingly divey bars and restaurants along the piers off Commercial Street in Portland, Maine. I never thought I could get that same feel so much closer to home. Go with friends and enjoy good times along with a cold beer and a heaping plate of fried seafood. The food itself had no real wow factor itself, but the great vibe of the place certainly makes up for it in my book.
Review Source:If you go here for one reason and one reason only, it has to be for the homemade ice cream pie. On our yearly visit to the parent's boat in Racine, we were taken to the Yardarm for ice cream (beats DQ any day). The fiance was convinced that he could finish his own slice, while the parents and I shared one. We shared a peanut butter fudge and the fiance had the chocolate cookie dough. (I tasted both). Oh so yummy! The crust is made out of Oreos and the ice cream is packed hard and topped with whipped cream. Definitely a dessert to remember. Next year maybe we will try the food.
Review Source:The Yardarm's menu offers a wide selection of fish dishes, most of them fried. If that's not your thing (and fish so isn't mine), they do have ribs (that were messy and yummy, as they should be) and burgers and such.
They could use better seating - the chairs aren't comfortable, the tables aren't ample in size, and they crowd a lot of customers into one space - but if you're with good company, comfort matters less.
The downsides on this visit were the cold chowder served to three of my table - and then reheated rather than giving new dishes - and no orange for my Blue Moon.
Call ahead, as this place was packed.
Still about 3.5 stars. Â Stopped in yesterday to have a late lunch with my wife. Â Only a few folks there. Â they were getting ready for a St. Patrick's Day evening crowd. Â Wife had the perch platter ($14.95). Â 5 large pieces of fish along with sand dollars and some really bad vinegar based cole slaw. Â I had the small perch plateer, 3 large pieces of fish ($12.95).
Nice lunch.
Please note that the entire establishment is now no smoking. Â A policy that went into effect when they reopened after their winter shut down for cleaning. Â I applaud the move.
We enjoyed the Yardarm even before we moved to Racine. They have entertainment Wed. & Friday nights, no cover. Laurie & Lisa have been running the nautical themed pub that their father created. The hamburgers are good, but only 1/3 pound. Sand Dollar potatoes are usually good. Perch & walleye are good, too. The bar & restaurant are now totally non-smoking, which we enjoy. Service is usually great.
The negative is the price of pitchers of beer, now up to $11, which is really expensive for beer in Racine where the average price is usually $7. So, we now go less frequently. Advertised happy hour specials are only honored at the bar, not tables, which promotional materials do not mention.
Great place if you are looking for good tap beer and sandwich or fresh fried fish. I love their Sand Dollars which are potato chips with parmeggiano  cheese.
On Wednesdays you can enjoy live music. The staff is friendly and helpful. If you show up on a weekend, you might meet the owners that are always welcoming and chatty!
Enjoy it!
The Yardarm is one of those restaurants that you love, but when you leave, you can only describe as being "So Wisconsin!"
The food is not going to set the world on fire, but it's good. No complaints from me. The highlight of any meal is the sand dollars. These are slices of potato... deep fried.. sprinkled with cheese. I support food like this!
It's a casual place, perfect to kick back at... It's worth a visit if you're in Racine for a few days.
I went here on a Sunday at 5pm. Â There is a pretty large parking lot to south of the restaurant. Â The neighborhood seems very safe being on the edge of Racine's downtown. Â I was in a group of 6 and we easily got a nice table in the corner. Â There are at least 3 rooms inside where you can sit and eat. Â The center room also contains the bar and the area where the cooking is done. Â I had the small perch fish fry. Â They have fish fry on every day. Â It came with sweet slaw that was pretty good, you can taste the nice apple cider vinegar. Â The french fries are really unique, they call them sand dollars and they are round and have cheese shaken on them. Â There were 5 pieces of perch. Â The waitress was very nice and competent and made just the right number of visits. Â Overall the meal was nice the price was $12.
Review Source:I went here with my brother. The food is average to sub-par and the service (we were there when it was very slow and even sat at the bar) was horrible.
I had a buffalo burger, and my brother had the tuna steak.
My buffalo burger was nothing special... extra for a slice of cheese, they don't care to toast the bun. (I thought it was a cheap bun)
The little pasta salad side it came with was pretty good. I just really felt I overpaid for the amount combined with the quality.
My brother a less than impressive tuna (probably from a prepackaged freezer bag from how it cooked out. It wasn't horrible, but it probably should have been more of a deal.
THE BIGGEST CONCERN IS HYGIENE!!!!!! If you watch the cook in front of you, you with see them flip chicken with the same tongs that flip burgers, that flip bread, and that scoop out Sand Dollar chips. Plus the staff is multi-tasking, The cook even picked up a pen and notepad to take a couples order across from us.
I know this stuff happen a lot at a bunch of restaurants, and they just get slaps on the wrists, but don't eat here if you are elderly, pregnant, or have very young children just in case.
So this fall we made it a point to take a few weekend road trips before the cold holes us in at Beaver's Lounge for the winter. Â Destination last weekend? Â Racine, Wisconsin. Â And what better than to seek out in Wisconsin? Â Friday night fish fry. Â Though, Yardarm offers a nightly fish fry, which rocks!
Both the walley and catfish were very good and you must have the crispy round sand dollar taters, just like mom used to make. Â It's not Troha's in Chicago or Fat Man's in Grand Rapids, but Yardarm held it's torch in the highly recognized Olympic event of Friday night Fish Fry attendance and weekly gorging.
Yardarm is walking distance from the Radisson, so drinks were in obvious abundance. Â I think I got lost trying to find the washroom despite the small quaint roadside feel the Yardarm offers.
i love this place. it's good for a drink or for dinner. there's usually always a wait and they don't take reservations for parties less than 5. but I DON'T CARE!!
my dad and brother swear by the jay's steak sandwich and my friend scott loves their soup.
mmmm i am getting an itch to go north just thinking about it!
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