Back Nine Grill & Bar

Good ambience. The service is efficient but not very friendly.
The drinks and appetizers are great. The steak was fine but it was covered in onions so that’s all I could taste and it was a little over done. Next time I will ask for no onions.
The hanger steak was fine a little dry.
The Filet Mignon on special was like butter! Delicious. The au gratin is super yummy.
All in all we like this place.

Food was delicious. If you are ever in the area order the Outlaw Burger with Onion Rings this combo is delicious. The burger was flavorful with a touch of BBQ sauce that I’m sure would be delicious on the ribs that they had on the menu as well.
You can tell it was beef and lean. Just eating half of the meal was so filling that i finished the rest at the Santa Cruz Beach. When you’re in the area or just make the extra trip it’s worth it. Also the customer service was great.
This restaurant is inside of a hotel and upon entering the hotel to go to the restaurant the atmosphere is beautiful especially aesthetically. Enjoy

Wow… what took me so long to venture out… I guess I was afraid it was a minor face lift over the old peachwoods… NOT! the food and service were beyond top notch… the remodel amazing too… no longer that beat up 70“s look from the old peachwoods… usually I have something to say that could i. prove the experience… but I am at a total loss… except maybe a couple more leather couches in the lounge. Jas the bartender was great… really attentive without being over involved… never left us waiting once… perfect!!!

Love the Back Nine. Steve at the bar is awesome. Great place for happy hour: D

Excellent St. Louis style ribs! Their coleslaw with granny apples is so good! They also make a great Templeton sour. I’ve had great experiences and have dined here several times.

I made reservations through Open Table and when we arrived, I was given an odd look because my party of two consisted of just me and my little Gavin. I make it a habit to take him out on a date a few times a month just because I want us both to get dressed up and enjoy the ambiance of the restaurant. Yeah, I’m 110% certain Gavin doesn’t care about the ambiance or the food but because I take him out quite frequently, worrying about his voice level or table manners is not an issue plus it is fun to go nice places every once in awhile.
What I love is the décor and atmosphere. I felt like I ate at an affordable price at a pricey establishment. When you’re a single parent, budgeting becomes a major factor. At least to me anyway.
I ordered a cup of clam chowder. It was part of their specials that night. I ordered Gavin a cheeseburger from the kid’s menu and I ordered the Grilled Santa Cruz Chicken Sandwich; I love arugula! As my appetizer, I ordered the Chocolate Molten al la Mode. You did not misread. I ordered it as our appetizer.
The guy that brought out our cake gave me props for ordering desserts first. I don’t eat as much as I used to but I wanted desserts regardless. This way, I get to eat my usual amount and still have dessert! Gavin stole my cup of clam chowder. I had one spoonful before he took it from me. It was creamy and the freshly grounded black pepper was the perfect finish to a simple yet comforting and filling soup. Gavin’s meal was huge. I felt as though I should have ordered from the kid’s menu. My grilled chicken but juicy and tender. the balsamic onions and fresh arugula gave this ordinary chicken sandwich a kick.
No complaints other than our server was distant and did not seem genuine at all. I liked the guy that gave us our cake. super sweet and cute.
Would definitely come back.
Oh, they have specials during game days!

Had Drinks and meal at this restaurant tonight. When we left, the waitress told my friend thank you and good night and told me «good luck» and it was said in a not very nice way. Won’t be going back again. Not quite sure why my friend got a thank you and I got a good luck. Not good business.
Wanted to add to my review. For the most part the people are nice here, but there were 3 employees constantly at our table wanting to talk to us and asking us if we needed anything else. It was to the point that my friend and I hardly got to visit during our meal. Giving good service is one thing, but being intrusive is another.

Just eh. Food okay. Service eh. She just brought the bill & no offer of coffee or dessert. Didn’t tell us about the specials or if there even were specials (we heard the waiter at the next table). Def not recommended

The food is always really good. The service is always great. And the servers are friendly.

This place was poppin! For being out of the city it was packed. We were seated right away and they were happy to reseat us due to the noise level.
Rich was our server and he was on point. He’s the kind of server who keeps one ear open to his customers to keep him happy. Oh you need another napkin? He’s already on his way. He was that good and very friendly.
I had the coconut shrimp which was oh so tasty. Shrimp was perfect. Batter was very flavorful. The bbq chicken salad was a smörgåsbord of everything delectable. Chips jicama beans bbq sauce. Definitely took some home. The boyfriend got the iron skillet steak and it was some of the juiciest meat I’ve had.
The drinks were mixed well. The ambiance was great. I’d definitely recommend this place. We were going to go to some divey place near the downtown for seafood and I’m glad we got to go over here for a great overall experience. If I’m ever back in town craving the coconut shrimp… I’ll be back
Thanks!

Well this nicely updated bar/​restaurant was sad.
Service was AWFUL. Waitress was well intentioned but was poorly trained and did not even know the special for the night and had to ask several people before finding someone who did!
Drink was good, not great but Hendricks is hard to mess up. However why Hendricks in this drink? The other ingredients ruined the flavor of this gin. Obviously mixology is not a science they practice. Getting those drinks with a slow bar either was bartenders fault or the waitress did not route them quickly.
The burger medium rare was mooing and waitress forgot to add cheese to it so it went back for a second go on the grill and yet still mooing — order medium. Burger was dripping in grease, bottom bun a grease sponge.
Pulled pork had really interesting BBQ sauce. I liked it a lot but the pork was barely warm.
All in all for a $ 40 meal this is not a place with good enough food or service to return and I am truly sad as I really like the décor and see the potential but there are lots of other places that do it better :-(

My husband and I decided to try out for our date night and we both left happy and full. We had great customer service from the moment we walked in.
On Wednesdays they do beer or wine tastings and that was a added bonus for my husband.

We had the best ribs in Santa Cruz county. I post a photo of bones. If I could have eaten more, I would have eaten more. Awesome! The deserts were good too. Please don’t come here. It going to get too crowded. Excellent.

Excellent food! Steaks cooked to perfection! Tender delish ribs! Shrimp appetizer is amazing! Unique salads! They also do vegetarian burgers very well! Everything we ordered was fresh and seasoned to perfection! Great staff! Georgette is so personable and the drinks are well crafted! Beautiful ambiance!

The burger was served raw on one occasion, the soup was served cold on another, and the chicken was extremely over cooked on another? They are completely all over the map, the reason i go back is in the hopes they are as good as the first time I was there. However I may be just chasing the dragon.

My husband and I have dined at Back Nine Grill a few times and been very pleased. The food was delicious and generous portions. My BBQ ribs were fantastic!!! The burgers are also yummy and big.
Our service was very good and the servers were very attentive. Having an alternative to going to downtown Santa Cruz is a big plus. No parking issues nor traffic.

Went for a quick dinner with my wife, hoping for a little good food and maybe watch the basketball finals. I ordered the turkey meatloaf special. Unfortunately it arrived cold and hard. The gravy that came in a small bowl was cold and had a skim on top. When I complained they took it back and, I’m sure, just threw it in the microwave for 2 minutes. It was horrid and inedible.
The waitress was extremely apologetic, but had nothing to offer. We paid full price.
What a shame.

I hope management is reading Unilocal and taking the constructive criticism in. You have a great location and terrific service. With just a few tweaks, you could be great.
Ate at Back Nine for the first time on Saturday and then ate there again today. Had the same thing both times, the Santa Cruz chicken sandwich. On Saturday the sandwich was very skimpy on the pesto, which made it pretty boring. Today, it had pesto on both sides of the chicken, which was great. But it had no arugula. None. So the kitchen is needing to brush up on what the menu says, since the menu clearly says this sandwich has arugula.
It was chilly out today and my lunch companion wanted hot tea and she asked for milk to pour in her tea. According to the waiter, there was no milk or dairy of any kind available. Non-​dairy creamer only. That is pretty lame. You advertise yourselves as being farm to table. Yet you only have non-​dairy creamer? What farm does that come from?
On Saturday and today, there was no offer of dessert. Just the check. We had to ask for dessert on Saturday and today we didn’t bother. Would be nice if the wait staff made the offer of dessert before bringing the bill.
The noise level can be pretty high. The décor is great, but maybe some noise dampening should be considered. On Saturday we had to ask to change tables due to a woman and her two noisy kids. She was busy on her cell phone while her kids (who were old enough to know better) made noise and flopped all over the couches by the fireplace. Seriously, with their shoes on the couches, laying down, jumping around, etc. Do children really belong in a bar? I know you want to be a grill first, but when I am trying to relax and have a drink, I don’t want to be around someone’s noisy children.
I work in Felton and live in Capitola, so this location is great for me for lunch, happy hour, etc. With a few adjustments, this could be a really great spot.

I went with my mom for lunch. The waitress we had was lovely, the service good and friendly.
The menu is very limited and simple, which is fine, but would be so much better if at least one appetizer didn’t come from the fryer. For a restaurant that labels itself as «farm to table» I didn’t see any seasonal items or specials. Nothing particularly utilized living in the salad bowl and being so lucky to be near such wonderful local farms.
My salad was misdressed, and not trying to be a pain I just asked for new greens and dressing. I got a completely different salad than the one I ordered. (It was a bit bizarre eating dried cranberries with ranch and BBQ chicken).
The restaurant remodel is beautiful. Comfortable. Classy.
I hope that they get a little more imaginative with the menu and kitchen, because the restaurant deserves more than a simple bar menu!

I chose 4 stars because I have not tried the dinners, yet. My husband and I went there on Saturday 9/​6, late afternoon about 2pm to try it out because we found a coupon in our town paper: buy one entrée and 2^nd one for free. That is usually the only way we would try out a new place.
The place has been updated and remodeled since it use to be Peachwood (I think) and is very nice, clean and small making it a more intimate setting. There are 3 big screen TVs for sports lovers and if you are sitting in a place not facing them there are mirrors that reflect them all as well… actually no bad seat in the house for you sports lovers. I was even told that if I wanted I could change the station, WTF, that was awesome but I would never have done it but nice to be offered to… LOL
The front office greeting was very warm making the first initial greeting very welcoming and then John who was our waiter was extremely attentive and friendly without being annoying like some servers that I’m sure everyone is well aware of. he walked by enough to notice if anything was needed and was not overly «hovering» to interrupt your meal… I loved that about him, he’s «intuitive».
If you love burgers (like me) their burgers were awesome, hefty condiments and the slaw must’ve had something very addictive because once I started into it I could not stop… I even try to replicate it, nice but not as good.
So, please, if you are driving by into Santa Cruz and want a nice place to have a lunch not crowded by your usual SC tourist, eat here and help promote this beautiful business.
I hope they will offer more specials, etc for the local community and great blessings to them… Pauline.