East Hill Yard aka The Yard

Just known affectionately as "the Yard,"  East Hill Yard is located on 12th Avenue and Gonzales Street in the old Sacred Heart Hospital.  The concept appears to be something like a backyard bash someone would throw together complete with good food and good alcohol. I learned about it after taking to Facebook one evening on a quest to try out someplace new in Pensacola. One of my friends told me, I had to try two items; the ceviche and tamales.  I did just that and threw in a couple of tacos for good measure.  

Costa Rican Ceviche

The ceviche is made with mahi mahi that's been soaked/cooked in lime juice and tossed with red onions, peppers and cilantro.  It's served with a plateful of chips.  I was kind of surprised that this ceviche was the real deal.  At many restaurants I've been to, the fish is already cooked and then tossed in lime juice.  You can tell this was not the case here.  It appears the fish was actually cooked in the lime.  It was delicious, although I wished they would have drained it a little bit more before serving.

Pork Tamale

I ordered the beef tamale which has ground beef, spinach and cream cheese.  At first, I thought this was just good.  The beef was well seasoned and the cream cheese gave it a little richness.  The green sauce - cilantro something - is really what kicked it up a notch for me.  My brother got the pork tamale and he could not stop raving about it.  He actually wanted to swing by the next day to grab a tamale as a snack. 

We also ordered a fish taco and a steak taco.  The fish was good but the steak one stood out a little bit more. It was roast beef so it still had some of those fatty pieces that really made it delicious.  

One of my friends ordered the chicken quesadilla and I thought it was good.  The chicken was super moist.  There's a sauce they put inside that's also really good.  It reminds of a hot sauce mixed with a tomato sauce perhaps.  The only thing about the quesadilla.  The bottom portion was soggy.  I would have been better all around if the entire thing was still crispy.

If you're thinking about trying out the Yard, here's what you need to know.  You order inside at their little shop.  It has an array of wine sold by the bottle or the glass, beer and other drinks in the cooler.  Note: try the beer made from apple juice.  It's so good.  If you don't want any of those, there's a pitcher of tap water on the counter by the entry way.  After you figure out what you would like to eat, order at the counter.  Then you grab a seat.  There's some seating inside but a lot more outside

in the "Yard" where there are picnic tables and lawn chairs set up.  Once your order is up, someone brings it to you using your name and the brief description whoever took your order gave.  For example I was "Lynn with the guy in the red polo."  My friend was "Coop: gray Armani shirt."  For some of the regulars, it apparently has become a game to see if they can confuse the expediter.  

To check out their facebook page, click here.