Backwater

**INITIAL REVIEW**…read more Most of my fellow Yelpers know if food were categorized by a genre, breakfast and brunch has a special place in my heart. Ergo, I am on the constant search for more breakfast and brunch places to add to my repertoire. With that in mind, I must stress that Historic Downtown Melbourne a.k.a. Melbourne Main Street has an amazing number of breakfast and brunch places. But the one I admire the most is The Roots Restaurant Tavern, which I will shorthand simply to The Roots for the remainder of this review. Though an address is provided, it must be stressed The Roots is a little "off the mainstreet" of Melbourne Main Street. Just west of the train tracks, the road splits in which the northernly direction is the continuation of New Haven Ave. or the actual Melbourne Main Street. The Roots is on the southern road, right next to The Iron Oak. Take note that The Roots is quite a cozy location. On the outside, The Roots has this look of an old saloon out in the wild west. There are a few tables and chairs for outdoor seating, excellent for people-viewing while eating your meal. Inside, The Roots looks delightfully tacky with all the knick-knacks hanging around and about on the walls. Imagine how Cracker Barrel used to look before the new CEO decided the decor should be more minimalist. But my statement on how The Roots looks small from the outside definitely shows when you are inside, too. The place is small. They definitely utilize the space as best they could, with large party seating being in the back for only one party. Still, take note of this limitation. My waitresses were very kind and attentive when serving me. But I am sure you all want to know about the food. The times I have eaten here, I have had three meals: The Eggs Benny Flight, and Pancake Flight, and Shrimp n' Grits. I will detail each in the pictures of food (if I have them), but I will say that everything here was delicious. My one lone criticism is that some of these flights are best enjoyed with another, not by yourself. On a sidenote, the restroom is clean and stocked, but there is only one and it is unisex. As I said earlier, The Roots is the best breakfast and brunch restaurant, well for me, in Historic Downtown Melbourne. So it is understandable why I am giving them a five-out-of-five stars for their review. Food, service, and ambiance are all excellent and the issues are way too minimal for me to consider them having any major affect. If you are ever going to eat at The Roots only once. My suggestion are the flights. Either eggs bennies, pancakes, or mimosas, you can't go wrong with any of them.

It's a cute place and fun to go to. I got the pancake flight and loved I could pick different…read moreflavors

Keep Calm & Drink Wine

Shrimp and grits were so yum

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Hell 'n Blazes Brewing

4.3(356 reviews)

After we got to my mom and I decided to walk to Hell n Blazes brewing in downtown Melbourne. We…read morewere created by a very nice gentleman who told me he would be happily to assist us and whatever we ordered not only do they have a 360 wraparound bar. They also have seating; It's a seat yourself policy. For a drink I decided to get there Mr. pink Porter, which is a American Porter with notes of chocolate caramel and coffee. It is 6.2% ABV. My mom and I are currently sitting at the bar and Boy. Is it busy right now. However, this is the only brewery/bar. I've been to where they keep their additives that they add to the cocktails with the lid on them so no one is breathing or sneezing on them which I absolutely love. The gentleman assisting us was so nice; his name is Nick. He's amazing; very kind and efficient. The ambience of the brewery is like biker gang meet industrial warehouse. Definitely recommend. The flavor of my porter is very light and crisp. It's also very easy to drink. Very, robust flavor you can definitely taste the coffee and the caramel. 10/10

Even if you don't drink, the food makes it worth your while to come. The dining area is spacious,…read moreclean and my only qualm was that there weren't any tables set for just 2... Our server was quick and friendly, answered questions and was excellent overall. The food... Started with the pretzels and spicy gator. The pretzel was soft and delicious, the gator was spicy and delicious, but the fried coating was very thick and gator, very small. I had the pulled pork plate with mashed potatoes and cornbread of which was quite delicious. I enjoyed every bite. I must go back because there were other things on the menu that I have to try.

Beer menu

Venison

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Taster flight

Meg O'Malley's

4.3(891 reviews)

We love Irish pubs! Meg O'Malley's is our favorite in the Central Coast of Florida! This week I had…read moretheir draft hard cider! Perfect! I ordered the Corned Beef Sandwich! Huge portion and the cheese and special sauce really was great! They have great creamy coleslaw which I often choose to accompany anything I order. My husband had a burger with fries! Fries are great, too! He is a Guinness guy! BTW, they have the perfect Scotch Egg! There is so much to try! Great Fish and Chips! Great Bangers and Mash! We travel over an hour to get there! We just don't get there often enough. Servers are efficient ... they must have a fabulous kitchen! What's not to love about the ambiance of an Irish pub. Ask about the live Irish music "jam".

My mom and I decided to stop at Meg O'Malley's because she really wanted to stop at an Irish pub. I…read moredecided to do their mega O'Malley's 12 ounce cider for six dollars and my mom also got another cider for six dollars. We also have waters; and then my mom got the side of chips for 499. The ambience is your average Irish pub except everything in here. Screens Ireland and I absolutely love it from the mosaic, to the balloon art for St. Patrick's Day to the neon sign. Our server is Katie S. She was very nice and kind .

Clean restrooms

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The soup and a Guiness is all you need

The Mansion

3.7(868 reviews)

0.3 mi

Why are you sleeping on The Mansion in Melbourne??? If you are you are missing out!!…read more I'll admit I don't get there as often as I would like being I live in the North part of the county, but every time we have been there it has not been a disappointment. We visited this evening for dinner and had a great time! The food and drinks were so good not to mention the amazing selection of bourbon that is available. They also have a cellar where they sell a variety of wine and spirits. We came here looking for something particular and our server took the time to go to the cellar while we were eating to find it for us. We have attended holiday events here over the years as well and it was always a treat. I have seen posts about the atmosphere we sat outside and really enjoyed it. Please check this place out. Reasonably priced for the portions, great presentation, service and quality.

Well, the food was good…read more... We went for Thanksgiving. I was asked, when making the reservation if we could walk upstairs. That did not clue me in... I just figured that there was an upstairs area without Ada assistance. Instead.... Our walk to the table took us through storage and trash areas. See the pictures. The dining area....omg. See the pics. It still looks like a spare bedroom. The ceiling is falling in! There's black mold around the vent. My back was to a closet covered by a curtain. Service. They tried, but, were woefully understaffed. There were dirty plates stacked in the floor. The drinkware was plastic. The Mai ti tasted like blackberry. The Long Island ice tea tasted like lemon juice. My old fashioned was just whiskey on the rocks with an orange slice. We ordered the pretzel appetizer. Cheese was good, but the pretzel was a hoagie roll. When the server brought dinner, she thumped the plates on the other side of the table. I got up and moved them to where we were sitting. I asked for a glass of wine... it came with our check. I can't say I'll be back. Seeing the dirty plates on the floor and holes in the ceiling was just horrid. Seeing other patrons get rained on as they sat outside was terrible. I had been charged $10 just to make the reservation. Overall, 4 drinks and 2 dinners was about $120, not including reservation fee and tip. Overall, it was just sad. Very sad.

Wires... and just stuff.... The only decoration.

Crab cake entree- cakes were edible everything else- not edible

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Tasting

Hemingway's Tavern

4.4(951 reviews)

2.8 mi

Ribs were excellent, taste was great. Service was awesome. Bartender gave me excellent…read morerecommendations. Remember, Wednesdays have bottles of wine at half the price.

This is the best meal we have had in a long time. We have lived here for years and never heard of…read moreHemingways Tavern, until friends asked us to join them. There were 4 of us and we all enjoyed our experience from first walking in we were greeted immediately and taken to our table. We requested to sit on the patio. As we walked through the restaurant, there is a bakery/ espresso area and small gift area. We ordered the Hibiscus margaritas and they were spot on. From there we ordered the smoked wings and conch fritters both were delicious. Although, we are from Tampa home of the original"Cuban" sandwich we all decided to give theirs a try, and we were not disappointed. There are walls filled with pictures and memories of Hemingway throughout the restaurant. After dinner we had the double espresso with whipped cream and chocolate ..... and once again we were not disappointed! Hemingways Tavern is a must!

Merch

Guacamole & Plantain Chips

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Key West Bowl

Beachside Cafe

4.5(328 reviews)

2.5 mi

•$

Great little please Really good food and service. Good prices. Our server Audrey was the best…read more Sorry forgot to take pics of food. It was amazing big portions.

Great breakfast spot on beachside. This place is always packed. The blueberry and cream cheese…read moreFrench toast did not disappoint!

Dining room

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Indoor decor.

Mainstreet Pub

3.8(142 reviews)

0.2 mi

We stopped in here for drinks with a group of 4. Place is spacious and has a variety of seating…read morelocations which was nice. Good place to sit and have drinks. Service was very slow and a scenario where anytime you want to order something, grab another drink, have a water, get your bill, etc. you have to excessively flag down the waitress. Good place for drinks, service not very good.

Heard so much about the orange crush that we went to Mainstreet pub just to try it. Sweet not…read moreoverly orange tasting but refreshing all the same. Great setup with a lower bar, roof top bar and a bar in the back.

Busy happy hour crew

Veggie Flatbread

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Not your momma's lemonade!

Drews Brews And Grille

4.6(115 reviews)

This is a hidden gem in the true sense. Off the beaten path in the heart of historical Melbourne…read moreFL. I really loved this place. For one the food is really good bar food. Nothing special as far as the selections. We ordered loaded nachos and a chicken wing basket. Both were well executed with fresh ingredients. Even the cheese on the nachos tasted fresh. There is inside and outside seating on the deck in front. Inside there is a full bar with great craft beer options. And they have a juke box. When we got there late a Saturday night the band was packing up, so they have live music as well. Loved the food and service here!

Genuinely one of the most casual and relaxed places i have been to, it is a sports bar, and usually…read morethose places are very "commercialized" and loud, however this felt very family friendly compared to any other i have been to. Food is solid, bar food, but still very acceptable. I had mahi mahi tacos, besides the fish being little tougher, everything else is pretty solid. My husband enjoyed his burger, meat was cooked nicely and was not too dry, which is usually a big complaint, however this team made it very good. I don't know that food is to die for, but the ambiance, service, friendliness is on point. The waitress was absolutely amazing, she came and checked on us just enough that we felt seen but not too much that it pressured us. We didn't even want to leave, staying there and hanging out is so much fun. Overall highly recommend for some more quiet and low key nights. Thank you so much for your hospitality, we will be back! P.S. My ratings are based on whether I believe I could make a better or healthier version at home. If food/drinks/service impress me, I'll be happy to come back. If not the stars reflect that.

Bar

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What a cool bar area

Crush XI

4.4(477 reviews)

•$$$

We had Kurtis as our waiter and he really made the experience extra special. It was our first time…read morein town and he made us feel very welcomed. Great service paired with great food!

Crush XL is probably one of the best restaurants in Melbourne serving fresh ingredients and great…read morecocktails. Went with some appetizers and the Bacon wrapped dates were a hit! Classics salty sweet combination made for a great way to open the palate. For the entree, I had the Sriracha Marinated Flat Iron with avocado mashed potatoes. The steak was seasoned perfectly and the avocado mash was creamy and very tasty. I have to steal this idea and make this at home. Our server was very friendly and served our party perfectly. The environment in the restaurant is modern with nice pops of the signature Crush color. Overall an awesome experience for anytime lookin for great food in Melbourne.

Interior- very well done

Heritage Pork Chop

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French 75

Oh Biscuit

4.6(506 reviews)

3.8 mi

•$

I love Biscuits and Gravy and Oh Biscuit meet my high standards. The coffee was really great…read more The staff. Was very friendly and welcoming.

This had some of the BEST cinnamon rolls I've ever had they were so nice they had a nice cute…read moreatmosphere and the smoothies were amazing