The Back Eddy
239 W Miami Ave, Venice, FL, 34285
The Back Eddy Menu
Sorry, We are updating this restaurant menu details.
Visit below restaurant in Venice for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Venice for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Venice for healthy meals suggestion.
Sorry, we don't have Q&A for this restaurant.
Sorry, No Coupons available for this restaurant.
-
Address :
239 W Miami Ave
Venice, FL, 34285 - Phone (941) 244-2643
- Website https://backeddybistro.com/
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Tue
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Accepts Bitcoin : No
Good For : Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Street, Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : No
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual, Intimate
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
Looky Weed - Buy Marijuana Online
Looky Weed is here to help you navigate the maze of legalized marijuana. We provide you with a complete dispensary directory.
Brian M.
Great restaurant to try if you are in Venice. The food was amazing and the service was perfect. The restaurant has a fun ambiance with great music as well. Must try the figs and Beet salad.
(5)Barbara G.
Back Eddy Bistro undoubtedly has the best food in Venice. The menu is imaginative, and the food is fresh and delicious. Fresh figs stuffed with goat cheese, roasted beet salad, fresh fish, killer burgers, you name it. The owners even grow their own herbs. My friends and I are locals and eat there at least once a week.
(5)Glen B.
I really enjoyed their creative meals. We went there for lunch and can't wait to go back for dinner. Fresh and tasty. Soup was not your everyday simple soup. We had gumbo, but I hear it changes often. I know Venice offers many choices. Make sure this place gets on your top 5 list.
(4)Lorre M.
While on vacation in Venice Florida I found a gem of a restaurant - we had their infamous beet salad fig n cheese appetizers then delicious steak cooked to perfection also the pulled pork corn pancake so different so delicious the waitstaff was so attentive can't wait to return!
(5)Joelle P.
We got told by some locals to check this place out and we're not disappointed! The food was flavorful, fresh and everything had a refreshing unique twist! The service was fantastic and if we lived down here this would be a spot we would frequent often! Don't let the low quality pictures on here of the food deter you like it almost did to me, this is a must try!
(5)Lisa F.
This is one of our favorites when we visit Venice. We sit at the bar and always have a great meal and wine. The waitresses are super friendly The owner sometimes sends out his famous slices of pizza to sample. The eggplant appetizer is the best! The beet salad is delicious and a very large portion. Crab cakes are always excellent (although on the small side). Very fesh ingredients. Definitely try this place!
(5)Nicholas R.
The wine list was not impressive and the menu items are way overpriced for what you actually receive. The service was prompt and the food was decent. However, the quality of the food did not match the exorbitant prices. We won't be returning.
(3)Chris M.
Excellent food! But the service was just far too disrespectful to give anything more than a mediocre review. If the owners and staff put their heart into their service as much as their cooking, it would be a much greater place to be. Plenty of other places in Venice to find excellent food and excellent service.
(1)Pam R.
We enjoyed the attention of multiple friendly servers for our leisurely meal here mid-week. The elegant table appointments were lovely and the paper covers and crayons provided a fun and modern touch. The menu was not too huge and overwhelming but had several tempting dishes. My guy, usually gastronomically timid, summoned his courage and ordered the Rasta Pasta. My beet salad was surprisingly flavorful with nicely roasted fresh beets. The sweet potato cakes were golden brown and savory. But the centerpiece of the meal was BF's pasta. The grilled prawns on top were perfectly cooked (not over-cooked), sweet and tender. The complex sweet and spicy sauce was rich with coconut milk. Hugely flavorful, it clung to the colorful pasta and fresh vegetables. It is a perfectly balanced, unique and brilliant dish! Bravo to Owner/Chef Brennan! I agreed with the other reviewers about Owner/Pastry Chef Allyson's cheesecake: it is the best cheesecake, and perhaps the best dessert, that I have ever eaten. It is pungent with vanilla bean and cream cheese but light as a feather and it melts in your mouth! Venice is lucky to have these two accomplished chefs and I am looking forward to returning soon -- and often!
(5)Lin W.
From the moment I entered, I was treated like a queen (or a food critic). I chose a small front window table on the bar side. The bartendress was quick and efficient and suggested a wonderful wine. The busboy was quiet, smiling and efficient. The server recommended the almond encrusted tilapia or the roasted beet salad - and I tried both. Excellent food! The chef came out to ask how everything was, and sat down for a nice chat. He showed me the Jerry Garcia back room when he found we had a common interest. I arrived after the dinner rush, and I was the last dinner customer in the house. I wasn't in a hurry and I spent 2.5 hours enjoying every aspect of this very special meal. A good meal shouldn't be rushed. The ambience was great. Romantic but not too dark. The window lighting, the outside tables, the wonderful old fashioned bar, and the clean clean clean restaurant. Did I say great wine?
(5)Destiny B.
Great place in small town Venice. It's amazingly fresh and authentic. Everything is homemade and tastes wonderful. We had cheese shrimp n grits, crab cakes, and orecchiette with bolognese. We also enjoyed a lovely bottle of chianti. Oh and a must is order the flourless mousse torte!! Delicious!! There's also a bar if you don't want a table. Venice needs more quality restaurants like this. Forget the chain places and come here!!
(5)Suzi F.
What a wonderful experience our first time here! We spoke to a local man named David, who was enjoying his meal on the patio with his dog Carson prior to dinner. He shared all of his recommends with us. The waitstaff was very engaging and informative as well- imagine our surprise when a bottle of wine was sent over from David, after he had left. This was an experience that made 3 generations of women elated. We will definitely be back for more of the beet salad and fantastic entrees. Thank you David & the Back Eddy!!
(5)Whathappened T.
The wine list is impressive, plenty to choose from for red or white. I was in a party of 8. We had one server who was moderately attentive. It was a Sunday night and I think she was the only server in the restaurant. One member of our party has a mushroom allergy. None of the entrees could have the mushrooms removed, indicating that sauces were either prepared ahead of dinner service or were pre-packaged frozen. We also asked if chicken could be substituted for shrimp in the Rasta Pasta but it could not, despite the shrimp just being added on top of the pasta when it was served. I attribute this to either laziness on the chefs' part or laziness on management to not adjust the prices accordingly. As a side note, we did find the owner's wife on Facebook at the bar when we left. Our meal took over 45 minutes to arrive and several entrees were cold. We didn't see our server until the end of the meal, after our party grew too hungry to flag down our server to get the entrees reheated. The remaining hot entrees were quoted as being okay to good. My overall experience was not good enough to return with a large group, and I was not impressed with the menu. Too often the sides offered were rice and vegetables and those sides are not going to motivate me to buy a $30 petit filet. But to be fair, I will return to eat solo at the bar before I write off this restaurant. My wife, however, says I can go by myself. :-)
(2)Fred T.
Went Friday night for the first time after coming to Venice for the last 10 years. The atmosphere is casual and relaxed, with live music and a pretty active bar. The dining room was comfortable and the music from the bar area was nice, but not overpowering. Small dining room staff, but they were well organized and easily handled the Friday night crowd. Kitchen did a great job on the dinners. The lemon encrusted sole was out of this world. Fish was cooked to perfection and the lemon infused bread crumbs were perfectly match to the fish. My wife really like the grilled salmon with salsa. Overall a very nice way to spend a date night. I will come again and recommend to my friends.
(4)James S.
The difference between amateur's and pros- everybody messes up once in awhile but pros know how to recover. This place was definitely amateur hour. We came with a large party(12). It took over an hour to get served once we placed our orders(mostly) the one meal which was ordered was actually an appetizer didn't come until everyone had finished their meals. We asked to speak to a manager (off to the side by the bar so as to not cause a scene at the table) and were told the first time that their wasn't one available, the second time we asked because one of our dishes hadn't shown up yet we were told that the manager was cooking and would try to make it out. When the manager/cook finally did show up they were completely indignant that we would be bothering them and caused a scene at the table rather than handling professionally off to the side. The appetizer/meal that didn't show up was compensated, the 2/ 1/2hours and over $500 bill will surely be better spent somewhere else next time.
(2)Chris C.
Bad Service, never received our food and had to sit at the bar even though there were 5 open tables in sight. We had tickets to a show, so we thought before we would check out a different restaurant in the area. When we walked in around 6pm the hostess asked us if we had reservations, we did not so they seated our party of 4 at the bar despite having 5 open tables. We promptly ordered our food and then waited an hour with out receiving our food. We were first told the food was being plated, next excuse was the kitchen was backed up, despite being almost empty. We finally left, and when we did, there were still empty tables up front. I'm not sure why they wouldn't seat us, but the service all around was horrible. Do not go here!
(1)Joe T.
Very good food. The duck was very flavorful and was cook just right. Pork was also prepared quite well. Very nice sides of vegetables. We arrived at 8:45 (quite late for Venice dining) and were pleasantly surprised by the service. Overall a good experience with a nice select of wines.
(4)Bob B.
Kicks ass. Excellent food, good service, live music and a Jerry Garcia Room in the back. Interesting wines at the bar. Try it!
(5)Chris T.
The food is really good, but the service is terrible. We had an 8:00 reservation for 6. It was 8:10 before we got seated and took another ten minutes for the waitress to notice we were there to take a drink order. The food came out 40 minutes after we ordered it. I could hear other diners complaining about the service as well. The reason for the three stars is the food. It's great. So, if you don't mind slow, inattentive service and you have two hours to kill, the food is worth the visit.
(3)Marjean M.
It is really too bad when a business really could care less about its customers...aka doing us a favor by serving us. We arrived at 6 pm for our 6:30 reservations. We sat at the bar and waited 20 minutes for our glass of wine after ordering it, even though there was only two other couples sitting there. The bar tender was more interested in socializing with the restaurant owner/manager than serving us. When I went to the men's room I found it very sub-par and on the dirty side. When we finally got seated at 7:15 (45 minutes after our original reservation time) we ordered the beet salad and it was excellent in taste, but very small in plate presentation for the price. After the salad arrived, we did not see our waitress for 45 minutes (which was now approaching 8:30...remember our original reservation was for 6:30) At that point we had lost our appetite for both the lack of service, condescending attitude of the restaurant ownership and management, and the sub-par cleanlines, we decided to cut our losses and leave, to never return.
(1)Jim S.
We went to their wine dinner the other night and the food (and wines) were excellent. Not only was the food unique and delicious, but it was served hot from the kitchen - difficult for these sit-down dinner events! We can't wait for the next event!!
(5)Piet O.
My lady and I were introduced to the Back Eddy by some friends, and we enjoyed it. We went back a few weeks later for lunch in the bar area, and although the food was excellent, the service was pretty aggressive. Our server didn't listen to what She Who Absolutely Must Be Obeyed told her, and when her order arrived there was, well, a bit of a scene. We went back there on the weekend, and Nora (not her real name) remembered us from the first time! This could have been due to tipping too much, tipping too little, or some other connotation, possibly unpleasant. We therefore kept a low profile. Once again the food was exceptional; there were a few service hitches; SWAMBO did not want skin on her duck, but there palpably was, but that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. The duck was (otherwise) delicious, and my tilapia was just to die for. We will be back. Again and again.
(4)Dan W.
I found the Back Eddy while checking Yelp for a good lunch spot in Venice, FL. I soon discovered that this cool little restaurant tucked away on a side street deserves all the good reviews. Their lunch menu features inventive, original offerings, all expertly prepared by one of Neil Young's former personal chefs. I enjoyed the Shrimp PoBoy and it was really fresh and delicious, as were the sweet potato fries that accompanied it. They have a few microbrews on tap, including a tasty pale ale. They also feature an extensive wine list. I spent a relaxing afternoon sitting at the bar, chatting with the friendly owners of this Gulf Coast gem. I'll definitely be going back next time I'm in the area.
(4)Monique P.
So glad we stopped here. Watched a beautiful sunset then had an amazing meal. Sat at the bar with Tom a great and knowledgable bartender. Beer and wine only FYI. Had the Thai beef salad my husband had lamb chops perfectly cooked. Capped it with a chocolate wine, I know, I never heard of it either but it was delicious. We will for sure come back.
(5)Jeff S.
I've got to be honest with this review, I was so pumped to eat at this restaurant. After hearing all about the owner/chef's background I figured this would be a slam dunk winner. And it could've and should've been great. The hostess and service staff were very friendly and accomodating. In total, we ordered a couple of appetizers (Conch Fritters and Calmari Misto -- both were wonderful), and for entrees we ordered one of the fish dishes (the grouper I believe), the lamb chops (which were great), and the pork loin. Where our meal went off the rails was with the pork loin. When the entrees came out, and the person who ordered the pork loin cut into it and tried it it was clearly dried out and overcooked. (While you can debate the degree to which it was overcooked, there was no debating the fact that it was overcooked). Again, anyone who eats pork loin knows that you can't hide or compensate for the meat once it is overcooked. We called the waitress over and explained that it was dry/overcooked. the waitress took it back to the kitchen and returned about 2 minutes later indicating that "the chef said this was cooked properly and it was eatable. All 3 of us were kind of stunned that the chef/owner would say this, but more interesting to me was that he would put the server in the position of telling a customer, I don't care what you think of the dish or put another way "shut up and eat what I served you". At this point, another person at the table cut into the pork adn tried it, and reconfirmed the 1st person's belief that it was dried out and overcooked. After a couple of minutes of hesitation, we indicated to the server that she could take the dish away (if they wanted to charge us they could, if they didn't want to that was fine as well ... ultimately we weren't going to fight over an $18-20 dish). The waitress was extremely gracious and apologetic for the circumstances. This was one of only a couple of situations that I could recall where a chef/owner/etc is so conceited/egocentric/short sighted that they can't imagine they made a mistake with a dish. Instead of simply accepting it and working to make sure that the customer walks away feeling reasonably good about the situation, they speak and/or act before they think through a situation. I wouldn't dare dismiss the talents that the chef has. He created some wonderful dishes that we ate that night, but I would never step foot in his restaurant again with the knoweldge that, at least on the night we dined, he lacked the social and business skills required to handle a very simple situation. Overall this rating is based on the chef's/owner's response to us and ultimately despite have tasty food the overall dining experience was ruined the moment the entrees arrived.
(1)David M.
A frequent patron, but no more. Took my dad and brother-in-law to the Back Eddy to grab a bite at the bar. That evening they had music playing so we asked the owner if she would mind if we sat at the back end of the bar where she sits so that we could have a conversation. Her response was a flat - NOPE. So we ended up sitting by the musician. Good food - but no conversation. These people need a reality check. I thought the customer comes first in a service based business - I guess I was wrong. See ya later - Back Eddy
(1)Steve S.
A funky little hole in the wall where you can get a good bottle of wine for under $20 and enjoy it on the sidewalk in Venice with a nice salad or sandwich. If it's too hot out, the have a nice bar an table area inside. I had the Asian salad which was very good and reasonably priced. Highly recomended.
(5)Melissa S.
I was... underwhelmed. The atmosphere is nice -- classic bistro with white tablecloths, small bar, artwork, etc. The service is a bit amateur. I would expect a restaurant like this to have professional wait staff, yet both times I've been the servers have seemed like high school kids who are easily befuddled. The food is okay. Just okay. I had the "sea garden salad," the flavors of which did not complement each other at all. It was also allegedly dressed with a vinaigrette/blue cheese combo, but I couldn't detect any blue cheese flavor at all. My husband was similarly unimpressed with his entree. There was nothing awful about our experience, it just didn't live up to our expectations.
(3)Jane S.
Very poor service. Arrived at 7:30 and food was served at 9:00. Waitress was unavailable for over 50 minutes as we sat there with a few pieces of bread ( given to us by some other server who was passing by) and unfilled glasses. When food was served, some of it was overlooked. It got worse from there, as they attempted to replace the overlooked and uneaten meal with a free dessert!!! The management repeatedly stated that it was NEVER like this, insinuating that WE had the problem. However, if you read some of these reviews, that does not seem to be the case. As for the terrible waitress, well, instead of being apologetic, she made an extremely rude comment to us ( you guys were SUCH a lot of fun!) as she handed us the $90.00 check. I must say that they did comp us for the bottle of wine. Thank god cause we really needed it.
(1)Melissa S.
I was... underwhelmed. The atmosphere is nice -- classic bistro with white tablecloths, small bar, artwork, etc. The service is a bit amateur. I would expect a restaurant like this to have professional wait staff, yet both times I've been the servers have seemed like high school kids who are easily befuddled. The food is okay. Just okay. I had the "sea garden salad," the flavors of which did not complement each other at all. It was also allegedly dressed with a vinaigrette/blue cheese combo, but I couldn't detect any blue cheese flavor at all. My husband was similarly unimpressed with his entree. There was nothing awful about our experience, it just didn't live up to our expectations.
(3)Jim S.
We went to their wine dinner the other night and the food (and wines) were excellent. Not only was the food unique and delicious, but it was served hot from the kitchen - difficult for these sit-down dinner events! We can't wait for the next event!!
(5)Piet O.
My lady and I were introduced to the Back Eddy by some friends, and we enjoyed it. We went back a few weeks later for lunch in the bar area, and although the food was excellent, the service was pretty aggressive. Our server didn't listen to what She Who Absolutely Must Be Obeyed told her, and when her order arrived there was, well, a bit of a scene. We went back there on the weekend, and Nora (not her real name) remembered us from the first time! This could have been due to tipping too much, tipping too little, or some other connotation, possibly unpleasant. We therefore kept a low profile. Once again the food was exceptional; there were a few service hitches; SWAMBO did not want skin on her duck, but there palpably was, but that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. The duck was (otherwise) delicious, and my tilapia was just to die for. We will be back. Again and again.
(4)Dan W.
I found the Back Eddy while checking Yelp for a good lunch spot in Venice, FL. I soon discovered that this cool little restaurant tucked away on a side street deserves all the good reviews. Their lunch menu features inventive, original offerings, all expertly prepared by one of Neil Young's former personal chefs. I enjoyed the Shrimp PoBoy and it was really fresh and delicious, as were the sweet potato fries that accompanied it. They have a few microbrews on tap, including a tasty pale ale. They also feature an extensive wine list. I spent a relaxing afternoon sitting at the bar, chatting with the friendly owners of this Gulf Coast gem. I'll definitely be going back next time I'm in the area.
(4)Monique P.
So glad we stopped here. Watched a beautiful sunset then had an amazing meal. Sat at the bar with Tom a great and knowledgable bartender. Beer and wine only FYI. Had the Thai beef salad my husband had lamb chops perfectly cooked. Capped it with a chocolate wine, I know, I never heard of it either but it was delicious. We will for sure come back.
(5)Brian M.
Great restaurant to try if you are in Venice. The food was amazing and the service was perfect. The restaurant has a fun ambiance with great music as well. Must try the figs and Beet salad.
(5)Barbara G.
Back Eddy Bistro undoubtedly has the best food in Venice. The menu is imaginative, and the food is fresh and delicious. Fresh figs stuffed with goat cheese, roasted beet salad, fresh fish, killer burgers, you name it. The owners even grow their own herbs. My friends and I are locals and eat there at least once a week.
(5)Glen B.
I really enjoyed their creative meals. We went there for lunch and can't wait to go back for dinner. Fresh and tasty. Soup was not your everyday simple soup. We had gumbo, but I hear it changes often. I know Venice offers many choices. Make sure this place gets on your top 5 list.
(4)Lorre M.
While on vacation in Venice Florida I found a gem of a restaurant - we had their infamous beet salad fig n cheese appetizers then delicious steak cooked to perfection also the pulled pork corn pancake so different so delicious the waitstaff was so attentive can't wait to return!
(5)Joelle P.
We got told by some locals to check this place out and we're not disappointed! The food was flavorful, fresh and everything had a refreshing unique twist! The service was fantastic and if we lived down here this would be a spot we would frequent often! Don't let the low quality pictures on here of the food deter you like it almost did to me, this is a must try!
(5)Lisa F.
This is one of our favorites when we visit Venice. We sit at the bar and always have a great meal and wine. The waitresses are super friendly The owner sometimes sends out his famous slices of pizza to sample. The eggplant appetizer is the best! The beet salad is delicious and a very large portion. Crab cakes are always excellent (although on the small side). Very fesh ingredients. Definitely try this place!
(5)Nicholas R.
The wine list was not impressive and the menu items are way overpriced for what you actually receive. The service was prompt and the food was decent. However, the quality of the food did not match the exorbitant prices. We won't be returning.
(3)Chris M.
Excellent food! But the service was just far too disrespectful to give anything more than a mediocre review. If the owners and staff put their heart into their service as much as their cooking, it would be a much greater place to be. Plenty of other places in Venice to find excellent food and excellent service.
(1)Pam R.
We enjoyed the attention of multiple friendly servers for our leisurely meal here mid-week. The elegant table appointments were lovely and the paper covers and crayons provided a fun and modern touch. The menu was not too huge and overwhelming but had several tempting dishes. My guy, usually gastronomically timid, summoned his courage and ordered the Rasta Pasta. My beet salad was surprisingly flavorful with nicely roasted fresh beets. The sweet potato cakes were golden brown and savory. But the centerpiece of the meal was BF's pasta. The grilled prawns on top were perfectly cooked (not over-cooked), sweet and tender. The complex sweet and spicy sauce was rich with coconut milk. Hugely flavorful, it clung to the colorful pasta and fresh vegetables. It is a perfectly balanced, unique and brilliant dish! Bravo to Owner/Chef Brennan! I agreed with the other reviewers about Owner/Pastry Chef Allyson's cheesecake: it is the best cheesecake, and perhaps the best dessert, that I have ever eaten. It is pungent with vanilla bean and cream cheese but light as a feather and it melts in your mouth! Venice is lucky to have these two accomplished chefs and I am looking forward to returning soon -- and often!
(5)Fred T.
Went Friday night for the first time after coming to Venice for the last 10 years. The atmosphere is casual and relaxed, with live music and a pretty active bar. The dining room was comfortable and the music from the bar area was nice, but not overpowering. Small dining room staff, but they were well organized and easily handled the Friday night crowd. Kitchen did a great job on the dinners. The lemon encrusted sole was out of this world. Fish was cooked to perfection and the lemon infused bread crumbs were perfectly match to the fish. My wife really like the grilled salmon with salsa. Overall a very nice way to spend a date night. I will come again and recommend to my friends.
(4)Lin W.
From the moment I entered, I was treated like a queen (or a food critic). I chose a small front window table on the bar side. The bartendress was quick and efficient and suggested a wonderful wine. The busboy was quiet, smiling and efficient. The server recommended the almond encrusted tilapia or the roasted beet salad - and I tried both. Excellent food! The chef came out to ask how everything was, and sat down for a nice chat. He showed me the Jerry Garcia back room when he found we had a common interest. I arrived after the dinner rush, and I was the last dinner customer in the house. I wasn't in a hurry and I spent 2.5 hours enjoying every aspect of this very special meal. A good meal shouldn't be rushed. The ambience was great. Romantic but not too dark. The window lighting, the outside tables, the wonderful old fashioned bar, and the clean clean clean restaurant. Did I say great wine?
(5)Destiny B.
Great place in small town Venice. It's amazingly fresh and authentic. Everything is homemade and tastes wonderful. We had cheese shrimp n grits, crab cakes, and orecchiette with bolognese. We also enjoyed a lovely bottle of chianti. Oh and a must is order the flourless mousse torte!! Delicious!! There's also a bar if you don't want a table. Venice needs more quality restaurants like this. Forget the chain places and come here!!
(5)Suzi F.
What a wonderful experience our first time here! We spoke to a local man named David, who was enjoying his meal on the patio with his dog Carson prior to dinner. He shared all of his recommends with us. The waitstaff was very engaging and informative as well- imagine our surprise when a bottle of wine was sent over from David, after he had left. This was an experience that made 3 generations of women elated. We will definitely be back for more of the beet salad and fantastic entrees. Thank you David & the Back Eddy!!
(5)Whathappened T.
The wine list is impressive, plenty to choose from for red or white. I was in a party of 8. We had one server who was moderately attentive. It was a Sunday night and I think she was the only server in the restaurant. One member of our party has a mushroom allergy. None of the entrees could have the mushrooms removed, indicating that sauces were either prepared ahead of dinner service or were pre-packaged frozen. We also asked if chicken could be substituted for shrimp in the Rasta Pasta but it could not, despite the shrimp just being added on top of the pasta when it was served. I attribute this to either laziness on the chefs' part or laziness on management to not adjust the prices accordingly. As a side note, we did find the owner's wife on Facebook at the bar when we left. Our meal took over 45 minutes to arrive and several entrees were cold. We didn't see our server until the end of the meal, after our party grew too hungry to flag down our server to get the entrees reheated. The remaining hot entrees were quoted as being okay to good. My overall experience was not good enough to return with a large group, and I was not impressed with the menu. Too often the sides offered were rice and vegetables and those sides are not going to motivate me to buy a $30 petit filet. But to be fair, I will return to eat solo at the bar before I write off this restaurant. My wife, however, says I can go by myself. :-)
(2)James S.
The difference between amateur's and pros- everybody messes up once in awhile but pros know how to recover. This place was definitely amateur hour. We came with a large party(12). It took over an hour to get served once we placed our orders(mostly) the one meal which was ordered was actually an appetizer didn't come until everyone had finished their meals. We asked to speak to a manager (off to the side by the bar so as to not cause a scene at the table) and were told the first time that their wasn't one available, the second time we asked because one of our dishes hadn't shown up yet we were told that the manager was cooking and would try to make it out. When the manager/cook finally did show up they were completely indignant that we would be bothering them and caused a scene at the table rather than handling professionally off to the side. The appetizer/meal that didn't show up was compensated, the 2/ 1/2hours and over $500 bill will surely be better spent somewhere else next time.
(2)Chris C.
Bad Service, never received our food and had to sit at the bar even though there were 5 open tables in sight. We had tickets to a show, so we thought before we would check out a different restaurant in the area. When we walked in around 6pm the hostess asked us if we had reservations, we did not so they seated our party of 4 at the bar despite having 5 open tables. We promptly ordered our food and then waited an hour with out receiving our food. We were first told the food was being plated, next excuse was the kitchen was backed up, despite being almost empty. We finally left, and when we did, there were still empty tables up front. I'm not sure why they wouldn't seat us, but the service all around was horrible. Do not go here!
(1)Joe T.
Very good food. The duck was very flavorful and was cook just right. Pork was also prepared quite well. Very nice sides of vegetables. We arrived at 8:45 (quite late for Venice dining) and were pleasantly surprised by the service. Overall a good experience with a nice select of wines.
(4)Bob B.
Kicks ass. Excellent food, good service, live music and a Jerry Garcia Room in the back. Interesting wines at the bar. Try it!
(5)Chris T.
The food is really good, but the service is terrible. We had an 8:00 reservation for 6. It was 8:10 before we got seated and took another ten minutes for the waitress to notice we were there to take a drink order. The food came out 40 minutes after we ordered it. I could hear other diners complaining about the service as well. The reason for the three stars is the food. It's great. So, if you don't mind slow, inattentive service and you have two hours to kill, the food is worth the visit.
(3)Marjean M.
It is really too bad when a business really could care less about its customers...aka doing us a favor by serving us. We arrived at 6 pm for our 6:30 reservations. We sat at the bar and waited 20 minutes for our glass of wine after ordering it, even though there was only two other couples sitting there. The bar tender was more interested in socializing with the restaurant owner/manager than serving us. When I went to the men's room I found it very sub-par and on the dirty side. When we finally got seated at 7:15 (45 minutes after our original reservation time) we ordered the beet salad and it was excellent in taste, but very small in plate presentation for the price. After the salad arrived, we did not see our waitress for 45 minutes (which was now approaching 8:30...remember our original reservation was for 6:30) At that point we had lost our appetite for both the lack of service, condescending attitude of the restaurant ownership and management, and the sub-par cleanlines, we decided to cut our losses and leave, to never return.
(1)Jeff S.
I've got to be honest with this review, I was so pumped to eat at this restaurant. After hearing all about the owner/chef's background I figured this would be a slam dunk winner. And it could've and should've been great. The hostess and service staff were very friendly and accomodating. In total, we ordered a couple of appetizers (Conch Fritters and Calmari Misto -- both were wonderful), and for entrees we ordered one of the fish dishes (the grouper I believe), the lamb chops (which were great), and the pork loin. Where our meal went off the rails was with the pork loin. When the entrees came out, and the person who ordered the pork loin cut into it and tried it it was clearly dried out and overcooked. (While you can debate the degree to which it was overcooked, there was no debating the fact that it was overcooked). Again, anyone who eats pork loin knows that you can't hide or compensate for the meat once it is overcooked. We called the waitress over and explained that it was dry/overcooked. the waitress took it back to the kitchen and returned about 2 minutes later indicating that "the chef said this was cooked properly and it was eatable. All 3 of us were kind of stunned that the chef/owner would say this, but more interesting to me was that he would put the server in the position of telling a customer, I don't care what you think of the dish or put another way "shut up and eat what I served you". At this point, another person at the table cut into the pork adn tried it, and reconfirmed the 1st person's belief that it was dried out and overcooked. After a couple of minutes of hesitation, we indicated to the server that she could take the dish away (if they wanted to charge us they could, if they didn't want to that was fine as well ... ultimately we weren't going to fight over an $18-20 dish). The waitress was extremely gracious and apologetic for the circumstances. This was one of only a couple of situations that I could recall where a chef/owner/etc is so conceited/egocentric/short sighted that they can't imagine they made a mistake with a dish. Instead of simply accepting it and working to make sure that the customer walks away feeling reasonably good about the situation, they speak and/or act before they think through a situation. I wouldn't dare dismiss the talents that the chef has. He created some wonderful dishes that we ate that night, but I would never step foot in his restaurant again with the knoweldge that, at least on the night we dined, he lacked the social and business skills required to handle a very simple situation. Overall this rating is based on the chef's/owner's response to us and ultimately despite have tasty food the overall dining experience was ruined the moment the entrees arrived.
(1)David M.
A frequent patron, but no more. Took my dad and brother-in-law to the Back Eddy to grab a bite at the bar. That evening they had music playing so we asked the owner if she would mind if we sat at the back end of the bar where she sits so that we could have a conversation. Her response was a flat - NOPE. So we ended up sitting by the musician. Good food - but no conversation. These people need a reality check. I thought the customer comes first in a service based business - I guess I was wrong. See ya later - Back Eddy
(1)Steve S.
A funky little hole in the wall where you can get a good bottle of wine for under $20 and enjoy it on the sidewalk in Venice with a nice salad or sandwich. If it's too hot out, the have a nice bar an table area inside. I had the Asian salad which was very good and reasonably priced. Highly recomended.
(5)Jane S.
Very poor service. Arrived at 7:30 and food was served at 9:00. Waitress was unavailable for over 50 minutes as we sat there with a few pieces of bread ( given to us by some other server who was passing by) and unfilled glasses. When food was served, some of it was overlooked. It got worse from there, as they attempted to replace the overlooked and uneaten meal with a free dessert!!! The management repeatedly stated that it was NEVER like this, insinuating that WE had the problem. However, if you read some of these reviews, that does not seem to be the case. As for the terrible waitress, well, instead of being apologetic, she made an extremely rude comment to us ( you guys were SUCH a lot of fun!) as she handed us the $90.00 check. I must say that they did comp us for the bottle of wine. Thank god cause we really needed it.
(1)