The Coal Yard

The place looks fantastic… rustic and cool. It’s in a good little place but parking was poor. Went into this place and never could get anyone to seat us… or acknowledge that we were standing in the front of this restaurant trying to get seated… did watch the guy running the window screaming at the kitchen staff. Decided to give up after that got dinner somewhere else… gee Coal Yard why didn’t you want my business?

I am hooked on the Gouda Tots and the Coal yard Burger! I’ve also tried the Fried BLT and it was delicious also!

Ummmmm obsessed. Honestly, I’m pretty picky when it comes to restaurants. I am not a fan of sit down chains and although not high maintenance, I do appreciate and value good and personal customer service, good food, and a good atmosphere. This place has all three. My fiancé and I just moved from out of town and found this spot. We will be there a lot I think. The management is great and fun. They have live music and trivia nights, etc. I’m glad we have a cool place like this. I haven’t had all of the food but so far it’s great and good prices too!

The burgers are ok. The tater tots are excellent when hot. Too expensive. Do not recommend anything other than a burger. Service not good. If you want a hometown bar, it wil do.

Went tonight nice atmosphere except for live music I had the flat iron steak with carrots and potato not as much food as most appetizers. Carrots was raw potatoes were good but for 18 dollars I should not be hungry when I left. My wife had chicken Mardona they bring out the meat cut so you may not notice you are getting less than half a small chicken breast. and if you say garlic bread don’t serve dried half of a bread stick toasted with no flavor. waiter was a nice guy so he got his tip but hurt my feelings to give more money to a place that failed to feed me a fair meal for the money.

I took my teenage daughters to dinner at the Coal Yard on St. Patrick’s day. The restaurant was busy but it was expected. I had the flank steak and it was excellent while the girls had the burgers. The girls also split the apple pie. The restaurant was very nice and I plan on taking the wife there ASAP. I was impressed.

Great place with good food and music, great service. To start, we had the hummus which has just the right amount of spice then for entrees the bacon wrapped chicken which was excellent and the weck beef sandwich with homemade chips. The Au jus was perfect. We recommend staying with the chefs recommendations. Dessert was the chocolate bread budding which we recommend adding a scoop of ice cream. Good food at the right place. We will definitely be back!

Enjoyed dinner tonight. I had grilled mahi over sweet potatoes, my wife bacon-​wrapped chicken. Yum. Fried green tomato and Gouda tots were nice starters for the family.

My wife and I drove 45 minutes passing many, many great restaurants to meet some friends for dinner at Coal Yars. I was tired, a little grumpy and honestly, not overly excited about it. That all changed quickly when we walked in the door. I had the grilled Mahi with grits and greens. My wife had the BLT with homemade chips and the couple we were having dinner with both had the burger and we all were very pleased. I believe our servers name was Kim but I’ll double check. Regardless, she was fantastic! We spent about 2 hours eating, having some wine and enjoying some live music. We were all pleasently surprised with the over all experience. The owner (I assume) even came out and asked how our meal was. I love that! We’ll most certainly go back! Great job y’all, great job! If you live in Helena, Pelham or Alabaster you’ve got a little gem of a restaurant in your backyard. I’m kinda jealous

Tried the coal yard today. The interior is quite small but nice rustic old historic building. I’m quite happy someone is finally utilizing that space! The service was good everyone was very friendly. My wife had the smoked wings with Gouda tots. The flavor of the wings was very good. The Gouda tots were not exactly what we were expecting it was kind of like a hush puppy w cheese and hash browns in it. I had the seafood tacos which had fish, oysters, shrimp and scallops in them. The flavor of all the food was quite good. We enjoyed what we had. Was a bit pricey for what we ordered… 6 wings with 5 dime size hushpuppy things for around 9 dollars or so… 1.50 per Wing is a little much in my book! 2 seafood tacos with no sides 9 bucks… I’m not a petite guy I honestly left hungry… It’s a cool place it’s trendy the flavors are good may be better when looking for a light lunch…

My wife & I have been here a few times since it’s opened back a couple of months ago.
They’ve made the correct adjustments to the menu, no one wants to buy a $ 40 steak who’s stopping in here…
I had a burger that was tasty, and I had the grilled fish sandwich one night which was Mahi, and it was exceptional. The seafood tacos were a mess. The fried green tomato BLT was all fried, the tomatoes were so thin they only had one side.
The music each time was great, we enjoyed that along with the excellent beer & wine selections.
Service is always a crap shoot, the bartender had to pick up tables in the restaurant, so she was gone a lot when we sat at the bar.
We REALLY want this place to succeed, but they need to get some basic procedures and kinks worked out.

OK.
I REALLY want to like this place. It’s got a great spot in Helena and since Big Mountain Coffee left a warm spot on my heart it’s got big shoes to fill.
We went on a night with live music and I guess at 25 I’m getting old but it was WAY TOO LOUD. At least for the 1 person acoustic acts, we still had to scream to hear each other.
The food’s a bit overpriced but I think they’re trying to be trendy so I can accept that. Tried a martini and a cocktail and they were okay, for $ 10/​each.
The Gouda tots are AMAZING and worth every penny and inspired a homemade copycat attempt from me the next week that utterly failed.
The fried green tomatoes were probably the lamest I’ve ever had and so disappointing. For $ 8, you get 3 (literally, 3) SMALL slices of cornmeal-​dusted tomatoes that frankly seemed under cooked? Total rip off. For $ 8 I expected a small basket!
The service was adequate, slow and messed up a few things but it was a busy night when the place was new.
I may try it again on an expensive date night now that I know what to expect but wish they’d fix some of the above, first!

This place is seriously run by a group of rude humans that have the collective IQ of 70. Do not plan an event with them. Their event coordinator Rosalie is a joke and will never get back to you– change her prices on your constantly and will create fees out of nowhere that she can’t explain to you. There never seems to be a manager working and if there is, they quickly promise to handle it and call you back and then it never happens.

We were disappointed in The Coal Yard. The food, service, and music were all mediocre. The Gouda tots were really good. Salmon was overlooked and unseasoned. The burger was bland. Bacon was bland. Pork sandwich was bland. The beef tips were low grade meat and tough. The musician was mellow to the point of unnoticeable — he didn’t take requests, wouldn’t even sing happy birthday. The food was overpriced and we won’t be back. Too bad since we live only a few miles from this restaurant.

Food is overpriced for what you get also the mixed drinks are short poured and expensive. We waited 45 minutes for 3 burgers that weren’t cooked as ordered. Wasn’t able to get ketchup because the can opener was lost. Spoke to the general manager he blamed It our waitress (who was really amazing) never apologized. The assistant general manager was more concerned about the women at the bar than taking care of the customers. The atmosphere was great the food was fair at best.

Saturday we ran by for a late lunch. We ordered the fried green tomato BLT sandwich and fish tacos. It.was.amazing! We will definitely be back

Food is good, small amounts for the price. Love the atmosphere, works real well for old town Helena. Wife and I also like to drop in for drinks at the bar. They have live music on some nights.

Phenomenal!!! The Gouda tots are a must! The burger was seasoned amazing and the lobster roll was delicious! Top it off with a great craft beer selection and a homemade ice cream sandwich and it’s heaven! Don’t expect leftovers!

First time @ The Coal Yard and I have to say, was delightfully impressed. Environment and ambiance is truly bluesy but enough lighting not to make it too dark. We sat at a small table just in front of the stage and the music was great. It’s the first thing you hear when you walk in the door. Very inviting. We started with the crab beignets and they were pretty good. I had the wilted spinach salad and it was incredible. The portion was a little small given the price but it was really good. My wife had the grilled salmon that was cooked to perfection. A nice wood grilled char on the outside and sweet and flaky on the inside. He Brussel sprouts could have been blanched a little longer and the housemade salsa they provide as a side to this dish, really mixes well with the fish. This may be our new hangout going forward. We need places like this in Helena so thank you David and your staff for providing a great experience. And ask for Stacey
As your server. She is very sweet, accommodating and really goes the extra distance for her tables and customers. See yall this weekend

Amazing food and atmosphere. The best jazz and blues outside of Bham. I like the charcuterie board plate. For a stand by then the Coal Burger with egg.
The best drink is the Helena Lee is the best drink and based in Old Town Helena!
Also the location is in the historical old town Helena.