Backstage

I would give this zero stars if that was an option. The waitstaff and manager are so rude, and their food is Mediocre at best.

If I was reviewing before our dinner last night I’d only give 3 stars… but last night my husband and I had a great dinner. The place was busy due to a jeff foxworthy (sigh) show next door but the staff was incredibly friendly and we were seated right away by the manager… nice guy. Our server was very naturally kind and attentive for being busy (wish I remembered her name, she was in the upper area by the kitchen around 7.) My veggie burger was good as always and my husband’s monkfish was decent, he said. The toffee date cake dessert sounded odd but was one of the best desserts I’ve ever had.
Prior experiences I nearly always found the staff to be a variety of bad qualities: slow, rude, uppity, non-​attentive. The hostess, manager, and waitress were all great this time. We appreciated being treated kindly and graciously. :) (not a 5 star only because the prices are a bit astronomical, and because of our past experiences)

The food is so so the prices are fairly high but the atmosphere is good in the location is excellent.

Good place to hang out and drink a craft beer and get a nice burger. The Bosteel’s Triple Karmeleit is outstanding. However, entrees are a bit overpriced for the quality. Not a particularly imaginative menu overall, but the experience has been good anytime I’ve been there. The sauces and the preparation of most of the dishes are pretty basic, sometime too salty, especially soups. Generally, the menu borders on being a bit outdated. The Mac and Cheese is so expensive and salty it’s obscene. Just about $ 19 and $ 3 worth of ingredients, tops! Salads are not well made, simple, and scantily clad, with the minimum of croutons and Parmesan. Waitstaff was good, better than the food. All in all, there’s no new ground being broken here. It’s just a good place to get some basic dishes, with no write up in Food & Wine Magazine anytime soon. With such a prominent location next to a large theater, it would be great if the dishes had great flavor profiles based on inventive ingredient combinations, rather than the age-​old use of salt to boost the flavor.

My first experience here years ago when they first opened was pretty bad but after the good reviews and with it being so close to the Warner Theater, we decide to give it another go after catching a show.
Glad we did, although service is a bit slow the food was very good.
The fried mozzarella app wasn’t your usual frozen sticks but nice slices with a chunky marinara and shaved Parmesan on top.
My boyfriend had the Grand Beef Melt which was like a bacon grilled cheese with a burger inside. The quality of the beef was excellent (I sampled some) as were the fries– again very fresh not dumped out of a bag frozen.
I had the Lobster Pot Pie which was delicious! It was like Lobster Bisque with pot pie vegetables inside a buttery crust. Yum.
Based on this visit I would say if I’m going to an event at the Warner I will definitely plan on having my dinner at the Backstage.

I liked this place, no complaints. Really good burgers and staff are friendly. Great atmosphere and love the drinks (also love their pickles) Would definitely recommend it.

My food was good, until I heard this Old Man saying he was going to kill his employees, that’s not right at all, the food is over priced and that’s something I will never come back, most expensive place ever

Most rude, arrogant wait staff you will ever come across. Absolutely obnoxious. Asking for a candle to be in a dessert for someone’s birthday pushed them over the edge. How dare a customer make such a request. The food is average at best but it it the employees that are running this place into the ground. Phone calls directly to the owner have gone unanswered. A clear sign he knows his employees are in the wrong and he can not and will not defend their actions. This place is not deserving of even one star but zero is not an option.

This place is big, spacious, and inviting. The employees are great. Very friendly staff.
The food is what sets it apart. The burgers were well presented and the accoutrements were fresh. Made precisely as requested. The burger was so fresh. Simply delicious. You have to get the sweet potato fries with the sweet sauce. The regular fries were very good, but the sweet potato fries… amazing.
I was with a large party of 12+ and everyone loved their food. Someone even ordered off the menu and requested a chicken Philly. They said «no problem». And delivered on the best sandwich!
Highly recommend this place. I’d pass on the mac n’ cheese. I personally prefer mine cheesier.

Worst service ever, well… maybe just don’t sit in Lindsey’s section and you’ll do great. Us and other couple did not do so well. I’d like to be waited on, and not to be ignored all night. I am sure you’d like that 20% tip, wouldn’t you Lindsay?
Great beer selection, excellent apps and food.

This place was UNBELIEVABLE! My fiancé and I traveled from NJ to see a comedian we like who was performing at Warner theater. We stopped in backstage for drinks before the show. The beer selection was amazing and we were upset we already ate because even the food being served bar side looked delicious. After the ahow, we returned to backstage and stayed until they closed. We had great drinks, delicious pork dumplings and flat bread with prosciutto arugula and fig. I loved them both. The locals were friendly and loved Conversing with us. The bar tenders were friendly and one of them saw my enthusiasm for the different brews and he would constantly bring over samples he’d thought is like. As we left, he gave a me a pint glass with the logo of a local brewery because he over heard that I collect them. I encourage everyone to go to backstage if in the area and you want good food and good drinks. This place is a homerun! We will be back soon!

Stopped in again for lunch. Extensive CT craft beer list. We shared the Firecracker Fried Calamari which was not so spicy-​fine with me! Most of the sandwiches were yummy. I had the CBLT and really enjoyed it. My husband did not like the Philly Cheese Steak, he said it was too mushy, like it was all blended together. But my daughter liked the Veggie Burger. I can’t remember what the others had, but they liked it. The fries, both regular and sweet potato, were great, as was the onion rings. Salad was standard. Recommended. Will go back when I’m in the area.

It’s really loud, but the food is top notch. My favorite food in Torrington. The décor is done really well too. Def recommend. 4 stars is cause I’d like a spot in the restaurant I can sit in with less noise.

I love Backstage. I’ve been there a few times. I’ve had brunch there where I tried the eggs Benedict with a beer flight, I highly recommend this combo. I’ve also had the «Honky Tonk» burger which has BBQ sauce and onion frizzles– this is by far one of my favorite items. Also their Firecracker Calamari is unreal– if you’ve ever had the bang bang shrimp at a Bonefish Grill chain it’s basically the same sauce– it’s insanely good. Also they have a huge selection of beers that rotate frequently. If you haven’t been here yet– do yourself a favor. It’s worth it. Great food and great beer at reasonable prices.

Not sure why this place gets a 3.5. We loved the food and the excellent service. It may have been our waitress but if that’s the case, they need to clone her.
The have 40 beers on tap and then another obscene number in bottles. We did the beer flights and got to taste 8 craft beers. All of them excellent choices thanks to our server.
We have taken chances on Unilocal for under-​4 star ratings and have sometimes regretted it. I can say that this is definitely a 5 for me tonight. If the service or the food is inconsistent during my future visits, I will revise my rating. As it stands right now, I think more people need to try out their Split Pea Soup, Cobb Salad and Ragin’ Cajun burger.

Food was great and perfectly cooked! All the waitstaff were friendly and knowledgeable. We’d definitely return!

We went right after a matinée at the Warner. There was plenty of seating (okay, I guess not that many people were interested in having dinner at 4:30 pm), and service was pretty fast. The portion sizes are probably what humans should be eating, but look smaller compared to every other restaurant out there. My party of three split a plate of nachos which worked out to be four chips per person.
I do like how so many of the ingredients are local. Arethusa cheese, Nodine’s meats… My smoked chicken «CBLT» from Nodine’s was delicious. The french fries are crispy, and served in a previous mini-​deep fry basket.
I’m not a beer person myself, but my dining companions certainly found it difficult to pick from the expansive list of options.

I’ve enjoyed every meal I’ve had here & would definitely return.
They have a well curated tap list that is made up mostly of CT craft breweries. I usually get a flight of whatever local stuff I haven’t tried yet. Expect to see Back East, Shebeen & Thimble Island to name a few. I was there for Black Friday but missed their Bourbon County event that featured the elusive (to me at least) coffee & vanilla variants.
Food is pretty damn good. My last visit I got a burger & was definitely impressed. Meat was juicy & the combination of sauerkraut with thousand island dressing was delicious. I’m definitely going back to try more. Fries were on point too.
It’s kid friendly too which is always a plus for those who usually have our little ones tagging along. My only visits have been during lunch & found the crowd pretty tame.

It’s about time I come back and re-​review this place since I’ve had legitimate food a couple times since I wrote my original bar-​based review. It’s still a solid 4. Torrington needs more non-​shitty non-​chain places like this.
The drinks are as expensive as ever, although the beers are fairly reasonable.
I can’t say I’ve had a single bad thing here — I stick to the burgers and sandwiches mostly, the Italian Job and Grilled Cheese are delightful.
Do yourself a favor and get the duck fat braised pork belly small plate though. It’s possibly one of the best things I’ve ever eaten (and it’s one of the cheaper small plates). I don’t even like brussels sprouts *that* much (add bacon and maple syrup and I can stomach them) but the brussels sprout purée the pork belly was sitting on weirdly complimented it more than you’d think it would.

Backstage really surprised me.
I was surprised at how deceptively huge it is. Multiple rooms on the first floor, a big bar area, lots of hi-​top tables and a spacious second floor balcony with more tables.
I was surprised at how many beers they had –80 bottled beers and God knows how many drafts.
I was surprised at how, despite its size, it was packed. I guess that’s understandable, since ts just a few doors down from the Warner Theater and we were there on a concert night. But it was packed.
Our server asked us if we were going to the show, and when we said yes, he suggested we order everything at once instead of in stages. That was a nice touch.
The food was fine– our party of seven had a little of everything, a meat and cheese platter, salads, sandwiches, burgers, mussels, soups, etc. I enjoyed the mussels a lot –very tasty broth, well cooked plump mussels, served with two nice slabs of garlic bread.
There were some service issues, probably a result of the full house. It took a while for the food to come out, and the wings came out well after the rest of the table was served.
A-​OK in my book.