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.

The ambience and hospitality was amazing! It’s an old house converted to restaurant ! We reserved ahead of time and avoided the wait.. highly recommended place for gathering. All the items we tried were amazing. The scallops were cooked really good and the desserts were out of the world! Highly recommend the pudding

Revisiting an old comfort all American restaurant in an old house built in the 1932. It was after the huge damaging storm of 2024. Most restaurants above I-10 on the Westside of town were closed. This one was opened. Dinning on the 2nd floor was private & secluded. The Pearl salad was most unique & tasteful; Duck Spring Roll packed with flavor & accented with a ginger soy compliment. Pasta bolognese was rich & satisfying. Wine selection was the Austin Hopes Cab. Perfection after a not so perfect storm.

Janice Rodarte

This was our first time here and everyone was super pleasant and friendly. Absolutely loved the outdoor/backyard vibe. The food was great...the best pastrami sandwich I've ever had😋 We will definitely be back for more. I was so hungry and just dug right in and forgot to take a picture😁💕🌸

Shannon Whitlatch

Such a lovely spot, and I think it is 10 degrees cooler on their patio in the summer! Great food, fun sides bar with your sandwich, and lush desserts, in a beautiful garden patio setting.

michelle carrillo

Attended a wedding here and the place is just too cute and comfortable. The staff were awesome as well. Highly recommend

Nicole Martinez

Staff were quite friendly when arriving at rhe counter and quick to get pur order out. Pies were amazing. Enjoyed the fact they weren't overtly sweet, and let flavors shine through. Parking was a bit of a struggle because its on a small side street around private businesses. Seems to be a house converted into a mom and pop deli. Absolutely coming back.

David Castle

This is our favorite quirky mid-week date spot. When you walk into the eclectic back patio, you leave the stress and confusion of the outside world. And the food is always amazing. Enjoy the sides bar. Save room for pie!

Silvia F

This lil quaint eatery is so delicious and with fresh options the atmosphere is so calm and beautiful design, kid friendly or for any occasion.

Hedy Dembowski

Amazing happy staff, great sandwiches 🥪

Eric H

Great little quaint sandwich shop with welcoming staff! They are quick with the orders and are happy to answer any questions you may have. I ordered a Reuben sandwich on rye with a side of potato salad and I thought it was very tasty! I will say that the pies were not quite what I was expecting. However, the atmosphere in the outdoor seating area that they offer more than makes up for it! Plenty of shade, lots of seats, not too cramped, and tons of quirky, interesting decorations. Will absolutely come back again!

KJ Hockenberry

What a great 1st time eat for us, lovely environment with yummy eats. We been there twice already and have tried their cold sandwiches and hot sandwiches, both are really good. I love the veggie bar because it makes my sandwich taste that much better. Their potato salad and bake beans are superb. Definitely will be returning customers.

+13

Nick Zupkofska

Each community has spots that are unique to their culture. Backstreet is one of those places for Riverside. A bit off the beaten path with limited parking, and only open a few hours a day. If you're a local though, you've been here many times and it's earned a special place in your heart. The food is great, but the atmosphere and the opportunity to spend time enjoying the outdoors on their back patio with loved ones makes it even more special. A unique spot that does their own thing and does it well.

Ted T

Food was good, nice cozy atmosphere, and the workers are friendly. Strange they only open for 3 hours though. You also get a side plate you can load up with carrots, pickels, macaroni salad and other stuff.

Ivan C.

$15-$25 before tip. Delicious American lunch. Great outdoor seating. Friendly and attentive staff. Delicious sandwich. Delicious beans. Many options available. Desserts available. We must carry tray outside. It can be tricky with the drink. Large portions. Neighborhood is quiet. Little road noise.

erome

Great sandwiches, but they don't make them with vegetables. They have a self-serve veggie cart, so you can load up on your greens. Backstreet serves desserts, wine and beer as well. They have live music on occasion and are dog friendly. A shaded outside patio is perfect for dining. Check hours on their website before you visit in case they have holiday hours.

Bruce Y

Came here with my girlfriend and dog on a Friday night. Smoked pulled pork sandwich was great. The environment and atmosphere was fantastic!

Anne B

One of my favorite lunch spots when my coworkers and I go out! The menu is simple but they keep everything fresh and delicious. My go to order is the house special which is pastrami and roast beef with cheese. They don't skimp out on the meat. The sandwich comes with a side and the salad bar is included. Service is friendly and efficient. They are only open during lunch on the weekdays though.

Cool brunch spot. But nothing was really outstanding for us. We had cauliflower (just ok texture and flavor), chicken potato has (good) and lamb meatballs (would not recommend). Nice patio outside area. But I don’t like the valet service - personal preference. And then you have tip them, even though it’s “complimentary”

Lovely food and lovely service. I ordered the seared scallops. They were good! Just a little disappointing that the serving was so small, three medium-small scallops in a cauliflower sauce with a single leek for $27 sounds a little overpriced. I asked where the scallops are from and the server informed me they’re from Canada which... then I understood I was paying for their flight. Also tried the mandarin flan, which was delicious but low on the mandarin flavor and a little too dense for a flan. Overall the experience was fine.

Alissa Munoz

I went here on a Friday afternoon for dinner when they had live music. The ambience was great, and even though the weather was hot out, the restaurant temperature was cool because of all the shade and misters. My sandwich tasted fresh, and I got the Shark Attack drink as well (super cute!). The only thing I would recommend is having the order area a bit cooler, that room was quite hot and crowded. For dessert I had the raspberry cheesecake, and OMG I am not lying when I say that was the best piece of cheesecake I have ever had, I would come back just for that honestly. It's a nice place, and the live music was the perfect touch to a relaxing environment, highly recommended

John Schumacher

A fantastic little sandwich shop somewhat hidden near downtown with a great unique outdoor eating area. The food is great with a hearty portion for a good price. The service from the staff is really friendly which makes you feel like you're right at home. They also have a nice dessert menu

Super crowded on Saturday brunch hour. There to celebrate a special occasion. The service was good, the food temp was perfect; but the food was just not good. We had 6 people at our table, got appetizers and other items. I don't really think anyone enjoyed their meal. Including a burger, because the bun was too thick. The tortilla soup was not very flavorful, the duck spring rolls were overfried. The eggs Benedict had too much going on. Will not return. It was extremely noisy in the room. This place used to be better. Way better meals in Houston.

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.

We came for HRW. Five stars for the food and service. The food was outstanding! Our server was amazing. He was very friendly and attentive. The only downside is there is only valet parking. When I pulled up the valet attendant was no where to be seen. They also have the parking lot closed off so you have to go around the block to get to the restaurant. This is not fun as the traffic going around the block added 10 additional minutes to an already hour long commute. It was extremely frustrating having to drive by the restaurant and sit in 10 minutes of traffic just to unnecessarily drive around the block to get to the restaurant. I'm not sure if I would return based on the inconvenience of actually accessing the restaurant and the poor valet service. It's sad the valet experience ruined what could have been a 5 star experience.

John Red

First time here. I ordered the French dip sandwich the best part would have been If I received the dipping sauce ☹️ but I didnt the patato salad was good the add on extra bar was nice assortment to add to my meal because a didnt recieve the dipping sauce the sandwich was just ok the bread was semi-sauggy by the time I sat down, it needed more flavor salt? Possibly? I needed ranch for my celery, the pie was amazing coconut w/cream the banana looked to o runny good thing I switched it for coconut. The flies kept bugging me , the y had an attentive waitress offer service which was nice and there was alot to look at on the patio decor wise , I enjoyed the water fountain, would have been nice to have music over all it was ok lunch not sure if I was feeling the big tray concept they should just have people being the food to yr table ?? For better experience

+2

J B

Staff here are amazing - they're a well seasoned team!! The sandos aren't as good as I remember and not sure why the pie is famous (not bad though). Ordered coffee because they brew Arcade and it just didn't taste like the brew I pick up directly at Arcade. I like the idea of the veggie cart, but it was too crowded and way too many hands in there!!! Just one glance at it and I was queasy. Thank goodness for the great attitudes at this place though - the service makes a difference. :)

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.

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

Gabe Gomez

As a Riverside local, I finally got around to trying this spot after hearing so much about it—but honestly, I don’t get the hype. The food was decent at best, nothing that really stood out. What really shocked me was the price: $72 for two sandwiches, one half sandwich, and three drinks? That’s outrageous. The vibe is cool, and I respect that it’s been a longtime staple in Riverside, but in terms of value, it just doesn’t deliver. I’ve had much better sandwiches throughout California for a fraction of the price.