Michael’s Back Door Restaurant

Came here for a friend’s bridal shower. The dining area we sat in was spacious, accommodating, had a warm ambiance and was filled with natural light. I ordered a starter salad and tortellini, both of which were generous portions. The food was very yummy! Staff were attentive, coming around often to top off our glasses of wine and to ensure everything was to our liking. I would return when in the area.

The food is top notch and high quality and nice big glasses of wine value priced. We will be back. The floor plan is a bit weird and officey but what’s on the plate and in the glass more than makes up for it. Definitely try the veal and rack of lamb. Very generous portions and every bit as nicely done as say Via Allegro, which is saying something indeed. Definitely not over priced for the value received.

Had dinner with my husband last night. We were the first to arrive, and the waitress was very pleasant and accommodating. It was cold outside and we were fortunate to be seated by the window and beside the baseboard heater. Very comfortable. The waitress explained the specials, and I had a prix fixe dinner (roast beef was excellent and vegetables nicely done). Also had the three bean soup which was very tasty. The only reason I didn’t give a ⁵⁄₅ was that my husband’s salad (just a garden salad) was a bit «old»…however, the restaurant was very nice and didn’t charge us for it. Desert was an apple cake with a lemon glaze… very nice as well. Will definitely come back.

Went here for our anniversary dinner. Excellent service, good atmosphere. We are both vegetarian and they did a great job catering for that. Only concern was a bit over priced. Other then that a good experience.

I had heard good things about this place, but after going was a bit disappointed in the food. The bean soup is good, but my main fell short. My venison special was way overcooked as were the vegetables it came with which were hard to eat because they were so limp and soggy. Setting is nice and service was good, but the food just wasn’t up to par.

Truly just a 2 and ½ on a return visit last June. Michael’s is not an inexpensive choice and as such it has be very consistent. In fact I ordered the exact same dish I raved about in a previous review and was quite disappointed.

We got to MBD for an annual event and I can summarize the food as ‘Nursing Home Gourmet.’
The sad part is that the the owner is truly trying. Just not in the right ways.
Here’s what I think can be improved:
–Our function is typically in the piano room which is 80s décor. It doesn’t help quash the nursing home vibe.
–Each year we are presented with the same prix fixe menu. I think it’s time to get a new chef who is on top of contemporary food trends.
–For a group of between 30 and 40, there is usually only one server leading to long wait times (cold food from downstairs) and poor overall service.
–The server and bartenders clearly aren’t motivated and are just weird.
Michael, if you read this, please keep up the good effort and try to innovate on your prix fixe menus, update your décor, and hire some hip staff.

A fantastic restaurant and one of our favourites. It’s the one place we will go back to over and over again. The service is always top notch and the food is excellent! It has never disappointed.

I was here for Valentines Day with my wife. And I must say we were treated like royalty. Delicious food, nice live piano and experienced staff. I very much Recommend for any occasion.

Mediocore service, expensive. Food is decent, portions are large, wine list is Italian and US heavy which is fine. The wine markup is high. Don’t plan on returning there are better places to spend my dollars.

My family has been here many-​a-​times for special occasions and whatnot. This is probably the best casual fine dining restaurant with decent prices, delicious food, and amazing service (usually).
Their Angel Hair paster in Velvet Lobster sauce is something everyone must try at least once!!! It’s my absolute favourite dish!!!
The only reason I give it only 4 out of 5 stars is because unfortunately being a small venue, they sometimes run out of certain wines and sparkling wines. And there is limited parking. And only once have I had not so good service. But still good service, just not as good as it’s usual above-​par exceptionally good service.
If you’re in the area and want something special without breaking the bank, definitely try this place!

We come to Michael’s every once in a while after finding it in the Entertainment Book which they are no longer in. Two veal parmigiana’s cost 45 bucks alone. If you can not looking to spend money I wouldn’t recommend coming here.
We both ordered a soup, I had minestrone and it was delicious. I am very picky on minestrone soup because they all taste so different and I like the soup here. My boyfriend got the butternut squash and he loved it as well, it’s funny how the table beside us who the waiter knew got double the size of butternut squash soup…
One of the pops came back as diet and the owner changed it, when the bill came the waiter argued with us that we had 3 pop and would not listen to us about one of the pop being diet and was changed. He was too busy socializing with the table beside us…
The veal was good overall, the waiter Tony I wouldn’t recommend as the service was horrible and he just stood beside us the whole time talking to be other table about Cuba and this and that… We had to argue with him about the bill and if he didn’t remove the charge he wouldn’t of got a tip.
I thought customers were always right?

We celebrate a lot of special occasions at Michael’s Back Door. Not only is the food fantastic, but the service is wonderful. We took advantage of the Taste of Clarkson special which offered an appetizer, entrée and dessert for $ 25.
I started with a zucchini and tomato salad. The portion was larger than expected and presented beautifully. Other members of my party enjoyed the Caesar salad and the butternut squash soup. I’ve had the Caesar before and it’s easily one of the best I’ve had. Those who enjoyed the soup couldn’t stop raving about it and the portion was gigantic for a soup. After hearing our comments, the waiter told us about a group of guys who come for lunch. They have such big appetites that they serve them 32 ounces of soup!
I chose the veal for my main course. Again, the portion was very generous. It was well-​prepared (not overcooked) and topped with melted cheese over zucchini and eggplant. Delicious!
Dessert was a fruity sherbet with pineapple. Nothing special, but very refreshing after a big meal.
My only complaints are that they never seem to have the wine we want to order and the service can be slow at times. To be fair to Michael’s, they have always made a good wine suggestion for us and we were a large party.
Michael’s is on the pricy side, but well worth it. Try to take advantage of their specials, like the Taste of Clarkson!
Also — I highly recommend the angelhair pasta with lobster sauce. Huge portion and absolutely delicious!

Michael’s Back Door is my absolute favorite restaurant. It’s out of my price range so I only go there for special occasions. My favorite waiter is Steve, friendliest waiter ever. Very warm atmosphere.
Join their email list and you’ll get an email for specials deals which I try to take advantage of. Especially the Pasta Festival. I LOVE pasta.