Backwater’s

Couldn’t have been any better for us to make a stop here. We dropped after being at Sand Key Park/​Public beach area, and we didn’t have to pay any other parking fees. During their happy hour, 6 oysters we’re $ 5.95, so we thought it was such a steal compared to where we are from! Can’t really mess up oysters; they tasted great. Nice views on the patio! Would come here again. :)

We went there for fathers day just to have dinner on the water. Nice enough server, But the food was a disappointment. One of the specials was short ribs and as we were deciding another waiter said «oh try the short ribs, they will change your life». It did, we won’t be going back to Backwaters for a while.
Apparently they have a new chef out of New York, well The short ribs were tough (under braised), dry and had a tomato sauce that really did not complement them and had very little edible meat on them. They were supposed to come with potato pancakes but really came with rosettes of duchess potatoes with Dill.
My wifes Panko crusted Tilapia looked and tasted like a sysco special and when she took home the leftover filet the breading came off in a sheet which is indicative of frozen filet more so than a fresh panko breading, I could be wrong but it is what it looked and tasted like. Overall not a good value and fairly disappointing.

First and foremost, the lobster bisque. Absolutely awesome! A couple of us ordered it and ended up sharing with the rest of the family! For my entrée I got the combo of blackened Mahi-​Mahi, scallops and shrimp. It was fantastic! I would definitely eat here again!

Typical «beach» food. We sat outside overlooking the water which was nice. Staff was friendly.

Backwaters is a local neighborhood gem, being one of only a handful of restaurants on Sand Key. The food at Backwater’s has always been very good whether going for lunch or dinner, or just cocktails and small plates. They do have daily specials, including drink specials. For lunch, I recommend any of the salads, wraps, melts or burgers. I have never been disappointed in any of my choices. For dinner, I have had steak, chops, chicken breasts, grouper, Mahi Mahi and scallop dinners. They have all been very good every time. Due to an allergy, I cannot eat shrimp dishes but my husband and many friends order shrimp and shrimp dishes all the time. They tell me the shrimp is wonderful! When I go there for dinner, it’s often for the Prime Rib, which is offered in two sizes and comes with a side of a tangy, creamy horseradish sauce. Pair it with a salad and baked potato, and you’ve got a perfect meal! Backwaters on Sand Key is a nice place to dine. They now have dinner valet parking, which is a good thing, because parking there is of a premium. Outdoor waterfront dining or indoor air-​conditioned dining are available. Backwaters also takes reservations, and I highly recommend making them if you’re going for dinner.

Excellent food at a reasonable price with decent selections. Local getaway. Heather is a great server! On vacation 2 years in a row and will keep coming back. You have a choice of seating inside or outside by the bay. I had the Tuna Melt which was very good and my husband had the Mahi.

Came recommended… so we might have had too high expectations, got bad server to start off (slow, rude, and didn’t want to be here?) but blackened scallop app was good — went downhill from there; I was served a square New York strip…(suspect it was a sirloin) that was marginal and the grouper had zero flav. To end on positive, bread was good and Bisque was very tasty.

Food was amazing, great view, excellent service. Will def be a return customer. Oyster and shrimp specials after 2pm on Sunday’s.

Very good food. Service was great. Very close to our hotel –quick walk. Accommodating to our last minute reservations. Had key lime cheesecake for dessert! Delicious!

Terrible experience. The food was good but the service not so. The waitress took our order and then forgot our table. The waitress, to her credit, didn’t blame the kitchen but took responsibility for it. When the bill came the best the manager would do was discount us 20% of bill. That was very disappointing. We should have gotten at least one meal free. I won’t go back here again.

Backwater’s has a nice outdoor dining area where sit and watch people do their water sports. And best of all my first sighting of Dolphins popping out of the water! The food is really fresh and delicious. We started off with some lobster egg rolls and peel and eat shrimp. I really loved the lobster egg rolls. I loved their fish and chips with the malt vinegar it is the best! I also loved their tuna salad sandwich it was perfect. I like a simple delicious tuna salad sandwich whenever I can get it, and they did a great job and it hit the spot. I would recommend this place for other diners who love out door seating and a really good food. I would return here and try other things like I think they had fish tacos too. I will be back Backwater’s!

An excellent experience here at Backwaters.
We didn’t have a reservation, but they asked us to wait a moment and before we knew it we were being been shown to a table.
Looked after by Jeb, we ordered and sat back to enjoy our meal.
I ordered the Blackened Mahi Mahi Tacos, which were delicious. I’d highly recommend these, which can be found on the seasonal small plate menu. The slaw had a nice subtle kick to it. The avocado and wild rice a bonus.
My hubby ordered the New York strip steak and thought a lot of it, said it was very tasty. And cooked perfectly.
Backwater was very busy, but they are a well oiled machine and the place runs very smoothly. I marvelled at how they served every table promptly, while getting new patrons seated quickly.
I would definitely return to Backwaters if I ever return to the area.
Five stars, easy.

We come from Texas every March for the beach and this place. Although — can you bring back the Gorgonzola butter sauce?!? HAHA! 10 stars if I could.

Awful. Stay as far away from here as you can. Just terrible — manager is a straight up jerk.

Disappointing. How can this places get five stars. Ever!
First the good. My server Lisa did a good job. Please don’t take the following review as a reflection on her. (Note to Lisa find a job elsewhere you deserve better).
Greeter asked if I would like to be seated on deck. I declined stating that it was too cold and windy. I was told that it was enclosed and heated. I agreed.
I was seated on deck in the section with broken heater. I ate dinner with my coat on.
The chairs were cheap reclining desk chairs, not suitable for eating dinner. Maybe ok for drinking.
I ordered shrimp appetizer and Prime rib & shrimp special w garlic mash and salad.
The shrimp had no flavor, worse several of them have the consistency of mayonnaise. I sent ½ of them back (I love shrimp.)
The salad was dry and tasted bad. I returned most of it.
The prime rib had little flavor, it tasted like boiled beef. At least it was eatable.
The beer batter shrimp were laying in the liquid from prime rib and one side of the batter was mush. When I picked them up the remaining batter fell off. They were the best of this mess.
The garlic mash were bitter with no butter or cream flavor. I left most of them.
I can only assume this place has gone to H**l. Only that explains the prior 5 star reviews.
***Message to Owner. You owe Kim a tip. She deserved a better tip than I left!!!******

Talk about great service– this place does it right. I’ve been there 3 times in as many weeks and the service has been consistently friendly and the atmosphere is welcoming. The Buffalo Grouper nuggets are my favorite so far, along with the Martini salad (check out the pic– it’s old school huge martini glass amazing)
The view is so great– sit out on the deck and enjoy. Food prices are slightly high, but drinks are reasonable. Check it out if you’re in the Sand Key area.

Lunch was good, reasonably priced, good portions and Jeb, one of the managers, was very nice explaining the area to us. Great Bloody Mary at 11:30, which got us off on the right foot

My wife is getting her Zumba Instructor certification so I figured I would wander off of our regular places.
I pulled into strip mall parking lot looking for a place to eat and found a parking spot marked reserved for backwater’s. I didn’t even notice it was a restaurant. It is at the end of mall and would have missed it otherwise. Looked at the menu outside and it looked good so decided to try it without looking at Unilocal for once. Did not want to be swayed (though I should know better as reviews have never steered me wrong).
The place looked really nice but was drawn to the back where they have tables right by the water. Oh yeah! Now that’s what I’m talking about.
Waitress was very nice and since Grouper said ‘never frozen’ on menu, figures I would give it a shot.
Chairs are comfortable, tables clean, and music at perfect volume. Not too loud but not too soft to make you wonder what it is. Played mostly 80’s music which I love so kudos there.
The sandwich was AMAZING! Definitely fresh and perfectly cooked. Coleslaw was basic but also very well done. Sweet and not too strong.
Will have to bring my wife back here. She will love it.

My wife and I had a delicious dinner here yesterday. The staff was really friendly and so accommodating. Our waitress, Sarah, was patient and extra helpful to us.
My wife ordered the 2 Blue Crab Cakes dinner, which were loaded with crab and very tasty. She opted for the Caesar Salad and Steak Fries, which were both quite tasty.
I enjoyed my 8 oz. sirloin, which was grilled to perfection. My Wild Rice medley was awesome, as my chef salad.
We shared a delicious Key Lime cheesecake slice, which was outstanding.
Our table on the deck had a great view of the water.
Backwater is an exceptional value for reasonably priced waterfront dining.

Absolutely LOVE this little gem.
We were driving around to find somewhere to eat and we found this fabulous restaurant!
Wow…very deceiving from the outside, but as we walked through the restaurant (which was busy as it was a Saturday night) they luckily had a table outside for us… and the views were just amazing.
This was the perfect place to eat dinner in the Florida evening sunset and a wonderful end to our vacation.
The food was delicious, the staff were friendly and I can’t wait to go back :-)