Backwater Bar & Grille

This is a amazing find. Food was great and plentiful. Our waitress April was super friendly. The setting made it perfect.

Kids wanted pizza and mom and dad wanted steak, kids loved the pizza and the steak was cooked perfect we are on the water, Joe (the owner) gave the kids dinner rolls to feed the fish and turtles and then we went for a pontoon boat ride around the lake. Great place on the water, food is excellent, we will be back soon.

We stopped in for dinner on a beautiful Saturday night and had fantastic food. The service was great and then the owner took us on a ride around the lake on his pontoon. It could not have been a more enjoyable experience.

I drive a long way just for the home made soup. Made with love !!! Tara is great and knows her costumers. This is a old fashioned lakeside bar and restaurant. Dinners are yummy…

I came here one time with a larger party to celebrate a family anniversary, after Backwater was recommended by one of my companion’s friends. It was selected largely due to the varied menu, in hopes that everyone would find something appealing. The view here is nice, but we arrived just as it was getting dark. Meh food. Meh service.
We were promptly seated and given menus, but the lighting in the restaurant was very dim, so a more visually-​impaired person in my party couldn’t see the menu. Our waitress was MIA for several minutes, but we noticed a few lights nearby that weren’t on, so we tried to plug them in… and then searched for another outlet when that didn’t work. The waitress finally returned and helped us.
The timing of the service was okay, and the waitress did check back on us during the meal, but she looked unhappy and wasn’t trying very hard to ‘fake it’. She was not very receptive to a few questions posed about the history of the restaurant, and although she wasn’t outright rude, she seemed bothered.
I ordered salmon, which was extremely mushy and saturated (… with oil? I’m not even sure). The texture was unlike any salmon I’ve had before. And I have previously eaten fish that was frozen and thawed, so I don’t think that was the issue here. I ate about half of it without complaining, only because we were here for a special occasion and everyone else seemed content with their meals. But I later learned that a few others in my party were somewhat unhappy and were also just being polite. I skipped dessert because I was hesitant to try anything else.
Maybe I chose the wrong dinner option. But in my opinion, a meal shouldn’t be available if the quality isn’t there; especially fish. And with several seafood options on their menu, I didn’t think it was a risky pick. So, all in all, I would not return to Backwater if given the choice.

For having a rather extensive, and interesting menu, the food is mediocre at best. The service was very slow, as we waited almost a half-​hour for some simple menu items… There was one person working the entire restaurant, and just one person cooking for 5 tables… This is where every restaurant goes wrong… Penny-​wise and pound-​foolish…
I had to hunt the waitress down to ask for our check, and again, to ask for some to-​go tins. I wasn’t even given bag to put the food in, just a styrofoam dish. Really poor service. Our first and last trip to this place no doubt.

We love the Backwater Grill! You just don’t find authentic old school taverns like this anymore. Everyone knows each other, so it takes a few minutes to feel at home, but the staff and crowd are really nice once you engage them. The food is good, but not the reason we go. The décor, the location and the vibe are an amazing combination that leaves us missing it when we’re not there. Definitely check it out.

the food is good, nice selection of beers on tap. (they always have chatham brew). I wish they had more vegetarian options and sometimes the service can be slow.

On our way back from upstate NY to Boston, we wanted to find a cool spot for lunch! We saw this place on «around me» and Unilocal and noticed it was only 2 miles off the highway. Cool place to chill, grab some hearty food by a lake and watch people go in and out of their boats enjoying the summer time! Food was good, service was very nice and scene was cool. Place does have a mismatch of everything in it, including old NY Yankees photos, which is terrible, but whatever, haha. 4 stars for the food and atmosphere, $ not bad, but not 5 stars, sorry, place is very «lake-​side» looking. We will try to go back next trip though! Hi Canaan, NY!

The only reason to come here is to hang out by Queechy Lake. Slow, disinterested service coupled with sub-​par food makes this a place to drive by on the way to Vermont or Massachusetts. I think the only reason they can stay in business is because there really is no other competition around for miles.

Shocked! My sister and I went here last night. We were seated immediately on the waterside deck. Beautiful views! Waited over 15 mins for someone to take our drink order so when they arrived we thought we would place our appetizer order as well based on the time it took for them to get to us… after waiting over 25 mins for our drinks… which never arrived, we decided that we were no longer interested in staying here.(40 mins in establishment and have not had a beverage or taste of food). Tried to find someone… anyone… to let them know to cancel our order and that we were leaving but never located anyone. We left and will most likely not be back. FYI, while we were waiting for our drinks we noticed others getting up from their table and going into the bar and getting their own drinks. Sorry, when I go out, I do not expect to wait on myself.

Food was good, basic fare. Small town vibe. We stopped for lunch as we were driving through. I had a turkey club and my hubby had a bbq burger. Kid friendly. Décor needs serious updating. The bathrooms were filthy. Nice view of the lake. Our server was very nice. We always struggle with a place to dine off rte22 coming home from vacation. We would return next year.

We came for Easter brunch because it came highly recommended to us. We had reservations for just my husband and I. When we arrived the place looked very busy and chaotic, and we weren’t sure where to wait for a hostess. We must have looked lost because after several minutes someone came to seat us. Unfortunately, we were sat in the bar area in the darkest spot in the whole restaurant. We could barely see our food, when we got it. It appeared that everyone had reservations at the same time as us, as we waited over 20 minutes for just a drink. The line for the buffet was never ending and we stood in line for nearly 30 minutes. The food was alright, but no means something I would stand in line for a half hour for. The restaurant looked like it had a nice view and potential to be a great place. Unfortunately, it lacked majorly during our visit and we most likely will never be back.

Located on Queechy Lake, this restaurant offers delicious fare in a lovely setting. Indoor and outdoor seating are available. Sit at large picture windows or outside right on the boat dock. The food is great and the owner, Joe Massaro is one terrific guy who makes you feel right at home. The cook staff does an excellent job, particularly with lunchtime meals. Liquor and several varieties of beer are available. Stand by the dock and you’ll see a wide variety of fish and turtles that call Queechy Lake home. A really nice place to eat at very reasonable prices. Highly recommended!

Mozzarella sticks were on point! Relaxed ambience and great service! Definitely recommend if staying close to the town!

I laughed when I read the negative reviews. This is a neighborhood joint in NY (um, attitude? are you kidding?), the staff is friendly, but they don’t always know when the rush is coming. Be patient. Relax. They are working hard, but they’re not going to forget to spend time with the regulars, say hello, and make sure they’re doing okay. These are decent, hard-​working, awesome people who want to serve up good food and drinks. I’m a fan.

this place was perfect for my boyfriend and my slow day in the berkshires. service was relatively slow, even though there were only 4 people in the entire seated area. that’s okay, though, because the waitress was super friendly, and the calzone that i ordered was HUGE. as someone else said, «just a nice, pleasant lunch» — couldn’t agree more.

Went here with my wife once on a weekday afternoon. The restaurant is on the lake. Cool view. Rustic vibe. Food pretty good too. Just a nice, pleasant lunch. Would recommend to all.

This place has so much potential, with a great view and position right on the lake. One could drive, walk, or even boat to the restaurant, but once they get inside, the problems begin.
You are not greeted or seated by a host/​hostess and by the time you order you would have been there for half an hour. There is only one waitress and one chef at most times and food takes hours (literally) to get to the table. If you’re in a group, don’t expect the food to come out at the same time (or at all). Last but not least, the staff is unfriendly and rude.

We came for an evening — 7 of us.
Our waitress only showed up 3 times over the 2 hours we were there.
When I went inside to ask for the bill, she complained about her job and how they were understaffed (I did feel sorry for her).
We needed to split the check, which I understand is not convenient and try not to do whenever possible. The waitress called over the manager and the manager said «It’ll take a half hour to ring everyone up». It reality it took about 5−6minutes. The attitude was not appreciated. For a moment we felt like we needed to apologize for coming to eat at the restaurant. Not something you want customers to feel.
The funny thing is, we came back to watch the World Cup the week after — even though we had a less than positive experience. This time, our waitress was very kind and said that splitting the check was no problem. Only thing this time was that the food took a good hour to arrive at the table, and when it finally did, my friend’s nachos were burnt. Guess the cook was watching the World Cup.
There’s not much around this area, so we may be going back soon. But only for the view by the lake…