The Back Porch Restaurant

A friend and I drove over to Washington county to check out what the area has to offer. We absolutely loved checking out the attractions and restaurants. I came to the back porch for dinner during winter and loved the coziness that the ambiance gave off. The back porch has so much history and delicious food. From the local art on the walls and the way the staff knew nearly all the customers by name, this place had the sweetest charm. We started in the speakeasy for a cocktail before our reservation. The kind hostess lead us down to the bar and we passed the cutest table in their wine room. Once we got to the bar, we tried the Speakeasy Royale and the Dad's Hat Toasted Cinna-Berry Sour. The bartender Kristen took great care of us. Once we finished our drinks, we headed back up to our reservation. Roman took care of us and treated us with focus and care. He shared the history of the building and guided us through the menu with grace. We started with cup of lobster bisque and the mussels. The lobster bisque was a fantastic starter on a cold winter night and the mussels were the perfect item to share. For our entrees we ordered the maine-style baked scallops, salmon & lobster hemingway, and the mushroom risotto to share. When our entrees came out, Roman described them in great detail which truly elevated our experience. The food was delicious! For dessert we shared the almond torte. The presentation was stunning and was the perfect thing to end the night with. Roman showed us their upstairs with additional seating after our meal. The set up is absolutely perfect for a private event and we both immediately said that it was the perfect space for a bridal shower, baby shower or family gathering. Roman shared that they have customizable packages for private events to accommodate to the customer. The back porch restaurant is a wonderful option when looking for a nice, quality dinner. If you are ever around Washington county, be sure to add the back porch to your list!!

Excellent service with excellent food. What more do you want? Short ribs were outstanding, my wife had salmon. Decent wine selection. All good.

What a great setup, and the Speakeasy Pub downstairs (basement?) has a really nice ambiance. The drinks were fabulous, and while my steak was good, the roasted brussels sprouts may be one of the five best food items I've had in SW PA! They're they freaking good.

This is my second review, because the first was accidentally erased. I hope this is as good, because this restaurant is fantastic. Such a quaint, attractive place, with colonial design, linen table cloths, brick walls, and fireplaces. Beautifully decorated. This was a perfect place for our 42nd anniversary, very romantic. Colton, our waiter was excellent, cared for our every need. He is what every upscale restaurant should have in a server. We started by ordering a delicious, well chilled Riesling wine. It went very well with both of our dinner selections. We first shared a bowl of lobster bisque. Very rich, creamy, and delicate, with big chunks of lobster: to die for. We were served wonderful home made warm rolls, harder on outside and soft and sweet on the inside. Butter was whipped, which always makes it better. My husband had Half Rack Australian Lamb , perfectly seared medium rare with a purple plum and plum wine gravy. The sweetness was so yummy. But as far as I'm concerned, my scallops were the best! Maine style, baked jumbo scallops, nice portion, served in white wine and cream sauce with ritz cracker crust. These scallops were just the way you want them . Soft, sweet, plump and tasteful. We shared a pasta with butter and parmigiana . The spaghetti seemed a bit al dente initially, but softened a little after soaking in the sauce. And then, Colton HAD to offer dessert. Where would I put it.... But don't worry, that chocolate and pecan crusted ball of vanilla ice cream went down very easily as it was covered with whip cream and a cherry on top. Kudos to the kitchen!I hope to see you all there, since I'll be back.Oh, and by the way, we had a reservation at another restaurant.... But the menu did not look inviting .....and we paid half the price. This restaurant was well worth the ride from downtown Pittsburgh to Speers.

I've always wanted to have dinner here, this restaurant has always been known for being one of the nicest establishments in the area. We decided to come in on a Sunday evening to celebrate my birthday. Our experience wasn't what I hoped that it would be. I turned to Yelp first which had certain menu items listed but when we arrived the restaurant no longer had the eggplant Parmesan, or the duck. I loved sitting at our secluded table but once our waitress had a big table come in we were completely forgotten about for what seemed like an eternity. The food itself was a big miss. I ordered the mushroom Florentine , and my husband had the scallops. My pasta entree was large, but lacked any flavor at all. The sauce was very watered down, and I had a difficult time eating much of it. My husband said his scallops were good, but at the price point there should have been more. The menu highlighted the scallops as jumbo, which wasn't the case. At the end of the evening we were very ready to leave, and didn't have dessert.

Great food, service and ambience. We've been going there since it opened and it's always excellent.

Excellent meal and service...incredible atmosphere !If you haven't been to The Back Porch... you don't know what you're missing.

After stopping at a few restaurants that were closed or overcrowded, I had heard The Back Porch had a downstairs that was a Speakeasy at one time. No reservations were needed. What a great surprise. Spectacular ambiance and a friendly bar tender. Got a seat at the bar and ordered the recommended specialty, ribs. They were fantastic, cooked just right and a delicious sauce. I wouldn't call it BBQ Sauce but their concoction of ingredients that all melded into a great taste. Naturally I sparked up conversations with other patrons of the bar, and it proved to a really friendly mix of people. A great find, by accident and a definite return to place. The menu looks very fancy but the food ends up 5 stars.

This is really a 3.5 but that's not an option. The service and ambiance were really lovely. The ideas/components of the food were also great. It's just the execution. The corn and crab dip was really tasty; however the pear walnut salad was way over- dressed (and I typically like a good bit of dressing!) and the lobster bisque was just too salty. Also had the scallops and risotto special where the smallish scallops didn't seem to have any salt but our palate could have been a little distorted at that point. For expensive food, those seem like easier things to get right. Would try other things before coming back here.

Great place to eat! The food was all delicious and our server, Taylor, was fantastic! Almond torte was to die for. Don't miss this restaurant, you can't go wrong.