Nice patio and service, complimentary bread was delish, but food was subpar. The gumbo was borderline tasteless, chicken was greasy and under seasoned, enchiladas was not flavorful. Verdict: won’t be back
Jenna
Backstreet is such a gem! I celebrated my birthday here last year, and it was absolutely perfect. The atmosphere is so cozy and charming, and the food was amazing. As a celiac girlie, dining out can be tricky, but the staff was super accommodating and helped me navigate the menu safely. It’s such a great spot for special occasions or just a nice night out!
You can also follow my journey navigating gluten-free life with EoE over at @glutenfreewitheoe on Instagram for more great finds!
Ivan Teh
Dining Experience @ Backstreet Cafe. . I was not aware that Backstreet Cafe would be temporarily closing just 5 days after my visit in December 2024, as they're moving to new location a few steps away, expected to re-open a year later in December 2025. . Backstreet Cafe is a seasonal American bistro and dining institution, having served the community since 1983, helmed by wife-husband team owner-restaurateur Tracy Vaught and award-winning executive chef Hugo Ortega. . Loved the Gulf Shrimp And Stone-Ground Cheese Grits (USD $32). This features a base of coarse stone-ground white corn infused with cheddar cheese, lumpy with a chunky creamy texture and mild grainy sweet savoury cheesy salty flavour. . The fully deshelled gulf shrimp / prawns are large and fresh, coated in a light spiced flour batter, bouncy and crunchy in texture with bright smoky sweet savoury salty spice flavour. . Completed with lemon juice and fresh green onions, lending a crisp bite and vegetal sweet herbal zesty sour tangy flavour. So addictive. . The Peach And Blueberry Cobbler (USD $12) is warm and comforting, the biscuit crust having crumbly firm grainy texture with biscuity sweet spice flavour. . Within, the juicy tender sticky filling of peaches and blueberries carries warm fruity sour sweet flavour. . Completed with a large scoop of creamy smooth vanilla ice cream with floral milky sweet flavour. So yummy.
Brendell C
Backstreet Cafe is one of my favorite places to eat because of the menu, the excellent service from all staff, and the restaurant is very comfortable. My favorite item is the vegetarian plate, with asparagus risotto, roasted cauliflower, corn souffle, and other vegetables cooked to perfection! And the Gumbo is amazing. Every restaurant in the HTown Restaurant is excellent. I've eaten at Hugo's and Caracol as well.
Vegetarian options: Ask for Vegetarian.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Backstreet Cafe
Matt Eiel
Went here on NYE with my partner. We were far younger than the average diner. Our server also works at Xochi (sister restaurant, also top notch) and really catered to our needs to ensure our experience was exceptional. We sat on the back patio which was lovely but I hear the upstairs area is fun too. They had live music inside. Great spot for a nice meal with friends or family. We did wait a few minutes to be seated despite having a reservation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Trina S
Hugo Ortega is a mastermind. His food is some of the most delicious food I have ever had. Backstreet not only has good food but the amimbience is great too. I love the variety of options on the menu and this time I went for a special bourbon tasting event. This is a must visit place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Peter Strauss
Tasty food. Unique place to eat.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
James Peterson
Incredibly friendly server,very good chicken,fries,potatoes,and overall food and to top it off its fresh or at least it tastes that way it's amazing can't recommend enough.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nelly O
12/28 I trusted the good reviews but I was extremely disappointed. The only good thing(which is why I gave two stars), was parking. Valet parks your car for free so you just tip. I also liked the complimentary muffins and the glazed orange chocolate brioche buns we ordered to start. Those tasted fine. Everything else…. I got there at 12:30 for brunch and it took the waiters 15mins to come take our drink orders. Drinks came in another 15mins and I placed my food order. That took over 1hour to get to me. We ordered the seafood gumbo (this was very bland, no spice, no taste, just 4pieces of shrimp, one tiny piece of fish, rice etc. the taste was bad), brisket Migas (tasted pretty basic), Sea Bass, Roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts (the sea bass tasted fine but everything else on the plate didn’t). On to the drinks. We ordered the Deep purple (this tasted like sparkling water with coloring), Service was also subpar. The Nutella iced coffee tasted too watered down. I will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Deric Mann
Wonderful food too bad it's going to be close for a year
We love Backstreet Cafe! We had a group of 12 for brunch and the service was excellent. Everyone enjoyed their dish. I had the beef brisket hash with poached eggs and avocado, one of the best brunch dishes I can ever remember!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chioma Okafor
It's a cute house style restaurant. We got the calamari, smoked chicken hash and salmon. The calamari was tasty as well as the salmon but Everything else was pretty basic. Apparently their weekday brunch is different from the weekend so may check out the weekend one sometime and see if it's better.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Kaitlyn Osborn
Lovely, friendly staff & delicious food! Everything we ordered was great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tanjah Hunt
I love this place , but the duck egg rolls are weird my husband and son liked them but me and my daughter were not a fan . My red fish was slightly overcooked but still tasted amazing. Just needed to be more careful on the cooking time. Pumpkin cheesecake was really good and I’m not even a fan of cheesecake!!!
Nice patio and service, complimentary bread was delish, but food was subpar. The gumbo was borderline tasteless, chicken was greasy and under seasoned, enchiladas was not flavorful. Verdict: won’t be back
Backstreet is such a gem! I celebrated my birthday here last year, and it was absolutely perfect. The atmosphere is so cozy and charming, and the food was amazing. As a celiac girlie, dining out can be tricky, but the staff was super accommodating and helped me navigate the menu safely. It’s such a great spot for special occasions or just a nice night out!
You can also follow my journey navigating gluten-free life with EoE over at @glutenfreewitheoe on Instagram for more great finds!
Dining Experience @ Backstreet Cafe.
.
I was not aware that Backstreet Cafe would be temporarily closing just 5 days after my visit in December 2024, as they're moving to new location a few steps away, expected to re-open a year later in December 2025.
.
Backstreet Cafe is a seasonal American bistro and dining institution, having served the community since 1983, helmed by wife-husband team owner-restaurateur Tracy Vaught and award-winning executive chef Hugo Ortega.
.
Loved the Gulf Shrimp And Stone-Ground Cheese Grits (USD $32). This features a base of coarse stone-ground white corn infused with cheddar cheese, lumpy with a chunky creamy texture and mild grainy sweet savoury cheesy salty flavour.
.
The fully deshelled gulf shrimp / prawns are large and fresh, coated in a light spiced flour batter, bouncy and crunchy in texture with bright smoky sweet savoury salty spice flavour.
.
Completed with lemon juice and fresh green onions, lending a crisp bite and vegetal sweet herbal zesty sour tangy flavour. So addictive.
.
The Peach And Blueberry Cobbler (USD $12) is warm and comforting, the biscuit crust having crumbly firm grainy texture with biscuity sweet spice flavour.
.
Within, the juicy tender sticky filling of peaches and blueberries carries warm fruity sour sweet flavour.
.
Completed with a large scoop of creamy smooth vanilla ice cream with floral milky sweet flavour. So yummy.
Backstreet Cafe is one of my favorite places to eat because of the menu, the excellent service from all staff, and the restaurant is very comfortable. My favorite item is the vegetarian plate, with asparagus risotto, roasted cauliflower, corn souffle, and other vegetables cooked to perfection! And the Gumbo is amazing. Every restaurant in the HTown Restaurant is excellent. I've eaten at Hugo's and Caracol as well.
Vegetarian options: Ask for Vegetarian.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Backstreet Cafe
Went here on NYE with my partner. We were far younger than the average diner. Our server also works at Xochi (sister restaurant, also top notch) and really catered to our needs to ensure our experience was exceptional. We sat on the back patio which was lovely but I hear the upstairs area is fun too. They had live music inside. Great spot for a nice meal with friends or family.
We did wait a few minutes to be seated despite having a reservation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hugo Ortega is a mastermind. His food is some of the most delicious food I have ever had. Backstreet not only has good food but the amimbience is great too. I love the variety of options on the menu and this time I went for a special bourbon tasting event. This is a must visit place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tasty food. Unique place to eat.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Incredibly friendly server,very good chicken,fries,potatoes,and overall food and to top it off its fresh or at least it tastes that way it's amazing can't recommend enough.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
12/28
I trusted the good reviews but I was extremely disappointed. The only good thing(which is why I gave two stars), was parking. Valet parks your car for free so you just tip. I also liked the complimentary muffins and the glazed orange chocolate brioche buns we ordered to start. Those tasted fine. Everything else….
I got there at 12:30 for brunch and it took the waiters 15mins to come take our drink orders. Drinks came in another 15mins and I placed my food order. That took over 1hour to get to me.
We ordered the seafood gumbo (this was very bland, no spice, no taste, just 4pieces of shrimp, one tiny piece of fish, rice etc. the taste was bad), brisket Migas (tasted pretty basic), Sea Bass, Roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts (the sea bass tasted fine but everything else on the plate didn’t).
On to the drinks. We ordered the Deep purple (this tasted like sparkling water with coloring), Service was also subpar. The Nutella iced coffee tasted too watered down.
I will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Wonderful food too bad it's going to be close for a year
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
We love Backstreet Cafe! We had a group of 12 for brunch and the service was excellent. Everyone enjoyed their dish. I had the beef brisket hash with poached eggs and avocado, one of the best brunch dishes I can ever remember!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It's a cute house style restaurant.
We got the calamari, smoked chicken hash and salmon. The calamari was tasty as well as the salmon but Everything else was pretty basic.
Apparently their weekday brunch is different from the weekend so may check out the weekend one sometime and see if it's better.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Lovely, friendly staff & delicious food! Everything we ordered was great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I love this place , but the duck egg rolls are weird my husband and son liked them but me and my daughter were not a fan . My red fish was slightly overcooked but still tasted amazing. Just needed to be more careful on the cooking time. Pumpkin cheesecake was really good and I’m not even a fan of cheesecake!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Discriminatory overpriced mediocrity.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
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