Back Alley Bistro

Overpriced and kind of weird food. I made the mistake of getting the barbecued shrimp and grits, having in mind the New Orleans-​style barbecued shrimp you can find at, say, Deanies in Metairie Louisiana. Sorry, but a generic KC Masterpiece-​style barbecue sauce poured over a handful of grilled shrimp simply does not work. The grits were just a bland mush. I also tried the lobseter bisque. Although it had the correct thick consistency for a bisque, I’m wondering what happened to the lobster, maybe it crawled away. The bisque was also quite underseasoned, and I say this as someone who does not care for too much salt in my food.

Super Sunday Brunch. This was our first time visit and will not be the last. If you park in the back, there are no stairs. Otherwise, you have to walk down 2 flights to the restaurant. As we waited for our meal, we were served some warm cinnamon rolls. The shrimp and grits were fabulous…7 large spicy gulf shrimp served over cheese grits. The three cheese frittata with pulled pork and creamy sauce cooked and served in an iron skillet was completely different and worth a 5 Star rating.

What a great lunch experience. We had their bistro salad, shrimp & grits, and the bistek rib eye sandwich. And of course topped it off with derby pie. Awesome service and value. Great place and atmosphere. Very relaxing.

All sandwiches can have tofu substituted, and all burgers can have the homemade veggie burgers. Very veggie friendly. Great thin french fries. Wifi password is their phone number 2 563 501 575.

Found this charming spot using Unilocal while enroute to Birmingham and really enjoyed our lunch. Enter from the street side and walk down 2 flights of steps or use a level entrance from the back alley. I had the spinach salad and hubby had one of the burgers made with a black bean burger subbed for beef. They will also sub tofu in any of the sandwiches, both at no extra charge. We shared a HUGE piece of delicious orange cake for dessert – a 4 inch wedge of 3 layers for only $ 5.00. Service was very friendly and efficient. The atmosphere is pleasant with exposed brick walls and 1940s black & white movies being shown on a large screen at one end of the room, subtitled so the sound won’t distract. All that and extremely vegetarian friendly too. Loved it!

My wife and I dined here on a late Friday night. The service was great especially since we came late. My Trout was average. Seasoned well but very dry. My wife’s NY strip had an odd coffee rub/​glaze that didn’t pair well. The desert however is their saving grace. We will both be back for the Orange cake. Supposedly hand made by local Mennonites. The Orange cake is worth a visit.
Update: This place shutdown!

The menu continues to evolve and is becoming more creative. The chairs (which look like hotel ballroom rejects) and tables don’t do the menu justice… Need to decide on pub or bistro. The bar does a good job with fresh cocktails and could compete with the craft cocktail movement if develops this further. Wait staff is nice. We are so happy they are here in Decatur. This and Albany bistro are our only in town options for non-​chain food (although Francisco’s has a very good veal Marsala)

This is the best place to eat in town. My girlfriend and I have practically tried the entire menu. From the lobster bisque to the cornbread stuffed quail, we’ve never been disappointed with the meal. We consistently try the desserts and the appetizers as well. Very unique menu with well thought-​out pairings of entrée with sides. I will say that I’m not a huge fan of the burgers (not sure if the seasoning, the consistency of the meat, or what it is), but with all the other options on the menu, that’s never been an issue for me. We’ve also been to the Sunday brunch multiple times and that’s been the highlight of my weekend. Great atmosphere, I’d describe the attire as casual. Sometimes you’ll see people in polo’s or even a tie and the table next to them have on t-​shirt and shorts so its very eclectic. Very good staff and excellent service. Try it, you won’t be disappointed.

Excellent bistro that is helping to elevate the quality of cuisine in the revitalized downtown 2^nd Ave district of Decatur.

The food here is absolutely wonderful. If you haven’t tried it out in the last 6 months, you need to give it a second chance! They have really grown into a great little place.

Perfect! The menu changes every so often and everything is better than the last. I love to go and try all the new food!

My wife and I love this place. We have been to Sunday brunch a few times. I really love the Drunken French Toast. My wife loves the Shrimp and Grits. She has also has gotten the Green Tomato BLT that was really good.
I also love their Prime Rib.
Everything we’ve had there has been spot on.

Don’t pay any attention to the negative reviews. This place is FANTASTIC! The food is great. The service is great and the wine selection is good. The owner, Ronnie, sees to it that your experience is excellent. Give them a try. You won’t be sorry. I assure you.

Absolutely one of the best hidden gems in Decatur. I love broadening my pallette taste horizons here. Not very expensive either which is a plus plus. Tomatoe pie was great as was the fancy hamburger.

I wish I could rate this place higher. I see they try to continually improve, but unfortunately I have been to the BAB at least a half dozen times and have always been disappointed. There is never an excuse for a dry and charred hamburger patty. Hard ciabatta is a bad choice for a hamburger bun. Meat is often overcooked or chicken is undercooked. I don’t have the luxury of time to send things back. I want it right the first time when I am on a tight schedule. Menu items look and sound good on paper, it just doesn’t translate to deliciousness for this foodie. Chefs need to visit a seaport town and learn how to cook fish correctly.

I have always been pleased with the food and service at Back Alley, but I can’t say enough about how wonderful their Short Rib Dip is! I love that the menu changes and they bring something new to try every so often. If you haven’t given them a try or haven’t been in lately I recommend you do!

I am a big fan of Back Alley, they have a great atmosphere and staff. The burgers are really great as well as all of the desserts. The wings are fantastic too! Some of the old menu items lacked flavor, but they are constantly changing and improving. The new chef has spiced up the menu a little with some new items that I look forward to trying. My advice to anyone who tried Back Alley and didn’t like it– give them another shot!

This place is the absolute best. The menu is innovative and changes frequently, so it’s not one of those places that gets boring the more you go to it. There’s always something new to try.
The food is delicious and the ambience is pretty darn great.

My husband and I went there today for lunch. He ordered the French Dip with a side of potato salad and I ordered the Black Friday Turkey sandwich with a side of potato salad and a small French Onion Soup.
The menu read really good and sounded like they both woud be very good sandwiches for lunch. Neither were prepared as the menu indicated.
Neither stated that we were getting a grilled panni bread type sandwich.
The French Dip was to be on a French Roll, if it was it sure didn’t look like one after it was pressed to the size of a piece of sliced bread and very dry.
The Turkey sandwich was suppose to be on a sour dough bread and other yummy ingredients. None of the ingredients listed on the menu were on the sandwich and it also was in panni type sandwich.
The Soup was so salty that I could not eat it.
I actually ask the waitress to take the food back that it was not prepared as indicated on the menu. Her response was that she would have the kitchen prepare me another one the way I wanted it, I responded that I really wanted it the way the menu decribed the sandwiches, not a panni sandwich. At that point she responded to me that she did not see what the problem was with the sandwich.
I would not recommend this «Bristro» to anyone. My husband and I eat out all the time and we don’t mind paying for good food.
Trinity, AL

:-(I wanted this to be better. I really, really did.
My friend and I planned for two weeks to come try this new place out. We had really gotten our hopes up as a fellow coworker had described her lunch that brought her back for more the very next day.
We decided to split the spinach and artichoke dip as we are both lovers of this cheesy delight. Sure we thought $ 6.50 was doable, but I had to refrain from bulging eyes when i saw the size of the $ 6.50 appetizer. What was brought to us was a small bowl of tasteless dip rimmed in crispy, fried pita wedges. The garlic cream cheese base offered no flavor. Wheres the garlic… cream cheese you there? The pita chips were good though. :-/​
My friend ordered the tomato pie which came with seasonal fruit. I thought it tasted better than the tomato pie from a nearby bakery but she said that it too lacked flavor.
I ordered the Bistro Bistek sandwich with seasoned kettle chips. The menu describes the sandwich as thin sliced ribeye topped with red onion and cilantro and Swiss cheese, then topped with a house made Venezuela avocado sauce. Sounds delicious right? Ribeye was tender and not fatty, that’s a plus. But a couple of bites in I realized I was not going to find the flavors promised to me. Maybe my imagination took the description too far. There were only a few bites of onion to be found, it was mostly covered in bell peppers and cheese and that’s all I could taste. I tasted no cilantro, the steak was flavorless, and the sauce was… well green… If I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t know it was there.
The chips were DELICIOUS! Thoroughly seasoned in creole type spices.
So we sat there, mostly in silence, disappointed by our lunch. (Plus maybe it was a little too loud to hold a conversation due to the brick walls).
$ 12+tip for my sandwich, chips, water, and ½ spinach dip.
I decided those were the most expensive chips I’ve ever enjoyed.
The owners did a great job creating a beautiful atmosphere. The food was presented beautifully.
I personally like a lot of flavor pizazz over fancy presentation.