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Food & Dining > Backstreet Cafe
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- Neighborhoods:
- Central, Neartown/ Montrose
- Categories:
- Restaurants, Catering
- Cuisine:
- Traditional American
- Price:
- $$
- Restaurant Special Features:
- Payment Methods:
- General Info:
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At a Glance
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96% ambiance
“The patio is comfortable and elegant.”
88% dessert
“The only downsides in my view are the parking (the slow valets are the only real option) and the desserts, which are disappointing when compared to Backstreet's fabulous starters and entrees.”
95% drinks
“the wine list is extensive, but lacks in good wine.”
90% food quality
“Innovative and very tasty treatment of home favorites, excellent service, helpful waiters, large variety of wine choices.”
83% menu variety
“Gourmet menu and beautiful courtyard dinning.”
100% overall
“Such a nice place”
100% return potential
“My fussy husband, who hates to valet park, really enjoyed the food, so we will be back.”
88% service
“My boyfriend had bought cupcakes from Crave and the waitress brought them out on a nice platter that said "Happy Birthday" on it.”
65% value
“The food is good, however, it is very over priced.”
53% wait time
“Service was friendly, and informative, but also slow and infrequent.”
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Backstreet Cafe
What Our Expert Scouts Say
April 11, 2013
It's been around for years, but this neighborhood bistro still has the goods, with a solid menu by Chef Hugo Ortega & stellar drinks program by Somm Sean Beck. The backstreet patio is one of the best in the city, a sunny, umbrella-covered space where you can enjoy the weather on the weekend while enjoying a scrumptious brunch.
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Heart
December 18, 2012
Places to pretend it's winter: It's not all patio play at Backstreet. The upstairs has double fireplaces for fantasizing about snowfall and summer reprieve
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Heart
May 13, 2012
Get a spot on the back patio if you can - it offers the best seats in the house at this upscale restaurant. And dogs are allowed!
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Tips for Backstreet Cafe
June 17, 2013
Should have won best of brunch in Houston!!! Instead a lame coffee shop got it.
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April 23, 2012
If the weather's nice,make sure to sit on the back patio. The cocktails are seasonal and the vegetarian options are some of the best.
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Heart
August 05, 2011
Love it. First of all I must say I was very well treated. The whole time I was kept on thinking that they have an amazing staff. The food was delicous. I will def come back with my friends.
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May 01, 2011
The Best for me!. A friend/neighbor of mine gave me a gift card for Xmas. My daughter, husband and myself went there for lunch, and it was amazing. I'm drolling just thinking about it.
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March 02, 2011
overpriced and dropping quality. This use to be one of my favorite spot in houston to take friends out. After spending a year living and traveling in europe, I come back to the city and find very obvious change in the chef of the restaurant. The menu is tremendously overpriced. There is loss of originality of the culinary art. Make no mistake, this is a glorified tex-mex serving huge portion in a rich neighborhood in Houston.
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Heart
October 31, 2010
Be prepared to wait....
Happened to bring some close friends who were visiting town and needed a good breakfast/brunch spot. We wanted to sit out on the patio but it would have been an "hour to two hour wait." It took some time to get our tables situated in the upstairs area. The decor was good... however, it was extremely cold throughout where we were seated, which was the creaky attic smelling "upstairs." Our server took too long just to take our order, check-backs were non existent as our food took at least over 20 minutes. Once it came out, some of us sat without water refills as our pitcher of mimosas barely had enough to get around to everyone with more than two gulps. Understaffed for the day, possibly. Overbooked for the day...definitely! We will most likely never return with a large party for some time to come.
Oh, and the food is nothing worth bragging about. It's too saucy and not innovative at all. I go here several times for their brunch and order something different... but what I've come to find out is that their dishes are basically the same thing, just different presentations.
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Heart
June 07, 2010
For Crab Cake!.
I wish we would have reviewed this immediately, but totally forgot. We had a good experience with a very attentive and knowledgeable wait staff. The only draw back was we were the only table in a room with 1 very large party of some sort of work meeting next to us. They were very loud and in such a small room, it was very distracting.
Aside from that, the crab cake was perfect, the salmon special was delish and they modified it to make me happy. Michael had the meat loaf, I remember it being good, but probably not a must have as we were told. All in all in was a great experience, and yes, we will definately go back and recommend you check it out! I will update this review the next time so I can be more thorough.
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Heart
January 19, 2010
Quaint Cafe.
Been here a few times over the years, finally got around to reviewing it. I keep coming back because the food is consistently good and I love the atmosphere. It is a charming cafe with a lovely patio area, great place for a date or family gatherings. My husband loves it because they have good wines.
Speaking (or writing rather) of families, they do have a decent kids menu with approximately 10 food items to choose from.
Service is always excellent here, everyone's friendly and attentive. My only complaint would be parking. The limited parking area they have is strictly for valet. You can park on the street a block away but watch out for the parking signs.
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Heart
November 30, 2009
Everything's Perfect!. Well after living in Houston for 5 years and discovering Backstreet pretty early on I can say its fantastic. I've never had a bad experience and my wife and I have been close to 30 times. The food is delicious, seared scallops always perfect, chicken milanese is a hit with the macaroni and cheese fans. The wine list is great with thier wine/beer of the month. The desserts are top notch to (pumkin doughnuts). We tell all of our friends there and when visitors come to town we dine there as well. I think it gives you the biggest bang for your buck.
0
Heart
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Backstreet Cafe
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Best of Citysearch
Won for:
Outdoor Dining
(2006)Outdoor Dining (2005)
Nominated for:
Brunch
(2013)
Outdoor Dining (2013)
Breakfast (2011)
Vegetarian Food (2011)
Outdoor Dining (2010)
Fireside Dining (2008)
Morning-After Brunch (2008)
Outdoor Dining (2008)
Fireside Dining (2007)
Outdoor Dining (2007)
Fireside Dining (2005)
Outdoor Dining (2013)
Breakfast (2011)
Vegetarian Food (2011)
Outdoor Dining (2010)
Fireside Dining (2008)
Morning-After Brunch (2008)
Outdoor Dining (2008)
Fireside Dining (2007)
Outdoor Dining (2007)
Fireside Dining (2005)