In August 2014, we made our first trip to Emily’s. We’ve been there twice more since then and never had a bad meal.
So when we had a chance to visit Emily’s sister restaurant, the Yellow House Hotel, we had high expectations.
Yellow House is a small village at the crossroads of Routes 562 (Boyertown Pike) and 662 just north of Douglassville. The hotel came first, built in 1801, and the community took its name from the distinctive yellow building.
The Yellow House Hotel doesn’t look very yellow anymore. In the fading afternoon sun, it looked cream or off-white. A painting inside the door showed the building with a more vibrant coat of paint.
Inside our dining room (there were at least three distinct rooms), the 215-year-old hotel has a distinct 18th century feel. Two large crystal chandeliers hung above the tables. Gold-framed mirrors hung on the white walls. And every table had a candle burning beneath a small beaded shade.
While the sun was still shining, the room was brightened by the light coming through the front windows. By the time dinner arrived, the sun had begun to fade, and the room held a more dim glow.
As we looked over the menu, both Julie and I were eyeing up the barbecued spare ribs. Lucky for us, Yellow House Hotel offers a rib sampler for an appetizer.
The rack had six perfectly sized, fall-off-the-bone spare ribs glazed in a tangy barbecue sauce. Like the entree, the ribs were served with a side of sweet potato fries. I’m not sure how much more food comes with an entree, but if this were dinner, I would have left satisfied.
After our ribs, we still had a starter salad to bridge the gap until our dinner arrived. It was a basic salad, though it was lacking onions, my favorite part of any starter salad.
While we were enjoying our starters, our waiter dropped off a basket with two rolls and two fresh muffins. The rolls were exceptionally soft, and the spiced miniature muffins were excellent.
Choosing an entree wasn’t easy. Yellow House had a robust menu with a lot of delicious-sounding options. In the end, I couldn’t resist the sound of the prime pork tenderloin.
The pork was coated in jerk seasoning and served with mango chutney over a bed of rice pilaf.
The jerk seasoning was what sold me on the pork, and I wasn’t disappointed. The meat was tender with a flavorful crust of seasoned salt and spices.
I loved the pork, but the pilaf was a little boring until mixed with the mango chutney. Mango makes everything better, and the soft bites made for sweet flavor bursts.
A side of snap peas, the vegetable of the day, was also on the plate. There wasn’t much to them, but I really didn’t need much after the ribs and the pork.
The restaurant had two entree specials for the weekend, including the brie, asparagus and fig stuffed chicken.
Served atop a bed of whipped potatoes (Julie’s choice of side), the plate was covered in spring onion cream sauce. The chicken was good, but it was the sauce that made this dish so enjoyable. It blended so well with everything on the plate, especially the sweet filling.
We would have loved to have tried to dessert (we heard our waiter run off the list to the table next to us, and everything sounded amazing), but we both were stuffed after finishing our plates.
Our total for the evening was $55, right in line with what we spent for our meal at Emily’s two years ago.
We had certain expectations going in to our meal at Yellow House Hotel, and we were not disappointed. The hotel has a different vibe than its sister restaurant — it felt a little older without the added ambiance of additional creekside outdoor seating.
But the food was everything that we had hoped it would be. And that’s what really matters.
BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Good
Ambiance: Very Good
Price: Reasonable
Yellow House Hotel
6743 Boyertown Pk
Douglassville, PA 19518
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