Always a great experience here! Pet friendly outside! Beautiful views and mouthwatering food. Ribs are a favorite of mine! Always someone Interesting to talk to. Great location. Fun atmosphere in and outside. read more

Backwaters Bar And Grill - Ribs fabulous! Chicken wrap was great also according to my daughter! Always someone fun to talk to there! - Salad Near Me - Rhinelander, Wisconsin

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Our baked fish was not hot and was dry and overdone. The larger homemade chips were soggy. We waited over an hour for our food. Our very nice waitress checked on us a couple of times. The third time she apologized for the delay and said it would be another 5 minutes because they had to make more chips. A very disappointing meal. read more

It is so hard to write this review. On Sunday night there were no Coke products or Pepsi. being a Packer game weekend we figured we'd go early because there would be a crowd, one table of people when we got there and when we left a half hour before game time there was no one at the bar. The service was awful and I have to keep asking twice for everything. The food was OK but I don't see any great need to go back. read more

I rarely write reviews, but my experience at Backwaters bar and grill was so appalling that I felt compelled to share. We were seated quickly, but that's where the "service" ended. After the hour we sat waiting for are food it finally showed up--cold and completely unappetizing--it was clear it had been sitting out for a while. The fries were overcooked but still managed to be cold and the wrap was basically inedible, You could take 3-4 bites and that would be 3-4 bites to many. I couldn't believe they actually served this to customers. So if you're looking for a place to waste your time and money, Backwaters Bar and Grill is the perfect spot. The service was inattentive and not receptive to shared feedback. I will not be returning. read more

I rarely give 5 stars....very few places live up to that honor. That being said, Backwaters does live up to the 5 star rating. Plenty of parking, out of town a bit so traffic is less. Overlooking the Wisconsin River, a nice location. Some knotty pine interior finishes but not to much to be to woody. We had fish fries, which were excellent. The menu was very ample and varied. One of the owners, Richard, was bartending and was very friendly and accommodating. Many folks patronize the restaurants in town, this place is well worth the few mile drive out of town. A lot bigger than it appears from the outside. Two large rooms with plenty of seating. If you do not try Backwaters, you are missing out! read more

Backwaters Bar And Grill - a man working at the bar - Salad Near Me - Rhinelander, Wisconsin

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I used to love this place. We've been here a few times since the new owners took over and each time it's been worse and worse. At first we understood that they are new. But now it's just bad. The owners are very nice and seem to be trying. But the food and drinks were below standard. Bloody Mary was thick and not very good tasting. Walleye fish fry dinner was AWFUL. Fish was a weird color. And every bite was BONES. The flavor was plastic like. Not good at all. Philly sandwich was dry and flavorless and they didn't even have cheese to put on it. Also... they should really hire one or two GOOD waitresses. Instead they had 8or 10 teenagers who needed cueing every 2 minutes and didn't know what they were doing or where they were. On their phones. Standing around. Didn't know the food they were serving to other customers. I get that they're trying... but it's been over a year now. I think they need to re-evaluate. read more

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If you want dinner stop in for lunch! We stopped in on Saturday. There were 3 tables seated inside and 3 tables outside. After an hour we were told we were next. After another 30 minutes we asked to pay for just our bar bill. Never in my 67 years have I done this! There is not an excuse for this! It was not busy by any stretch of the imagination! read more

Went for the fish fry and was served fish without utensils that tasted of cardboard and not much else. Service was questionable at best. Bar might be ok, but would not recommend the fish fry. Can't recall a place serving food without utensils or napkins before. read more

We stopped here on our way home from the UP. Cute outdoor patio area, dogs welcome! You can even drive up and dock a boat too. I had the philly- it was great! The grilled cheese looked amazing too! Great prices, friendly people. One suggestion- it was hot and we did not want to leave the dogs in the car- there was a family who had their two pooches running free. Ours were under our table on leashes behaving themselves. I would recommend making a "leash law" as dogs don't always get along with all other dogs. read more

Absolutely EXCELLENT! Celebrating Our "10th Anniversary" Up North Style. What an AMAZING PLACE. Owners so kind, upbeat, love the Music! Drinks Perfect. A must stop establishment. Clean, lovely setting on the WI River. Highly Recommended read more

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The overall quality has significantly declined. Our family has been going here for years and unfortunately we will not be returning. The lack of customer service was very disappointing. read more

The Backwaters Bar and Grill is a great place for food and drinks with a gorgeous view of the Wisconsin River. You can eat outside if you want and enjoy a lakeside dinner of fabulous food. Great ribs, burgers, sandwhiches, BBQ, salads, wings and more! Drink selection is also impressive. Prices are reasonable. It is a great place for a family to go eat. You can even drive up on your boat! Dockside delivery! It is a couple miles outside of Rhinelander, but the quick drive is worth it for the beautiful water view. There are very few places in Rhinelander with an awesome view like this. read more

Much larger bar and dining area than you'd expect from the outside. Also pleasantly clean and uncluttered. Probably the cleanest bar bathroom I've ever visited, as well. Looks over what I thought was a lake, but is actually the Wisconsin River. We stopped mid-afternoon on a Saturday to find a half-full bar and one other couple eating at a table. The bartender greeted us when we walked in and took our drinks orders as we found stools at the bar. Another staff member took our order promptly after we asked for menus. We went with the walleye fingers, chicken tenders and a cowboy burger with chips. The walleye fingers tasted extremely fresh, we didn't think they had been frozen. Very lightly breaded and a good amount for the $11.99 price. Chicken tenders were pretty basic, 5 or 6 for $6.99. The burger was good; it had a flavor that I couldn't pinpoint and I'm not sure if it was coming from the meat, BBQ sauce or onion rings. The staff was very friendly and attentive. The drinks were a little inconsistent but my husband didn't seem to mind. The other patrons were really friendly too. We will absolutely be back to try more of their menu. read more

Good food and very family friendly! The outdoor seating is a great asset! The staff is very friendly!

Fabulous food, amazing view! The staff and owner are great! Even when they are slammed, they make every effort to ensure the customer is fully satisfied! read more

Stopped by on a Saturday afternoon, and there were a few groups of snowmobile riders having lunch. Good atmosphere and kid friendly for our 6 year old that we brought with. Food was good with appropriate portions; I got their bbq pulled pork and it was great. Regular patrons bought our kid a chocolate bar and staff was super nice. Good find! Will stop again next time in town! read more

Arrived at 5 pm, staff said it will be an hour for food, we said that was ok, checked on 2 times, we had to ask how long 1 1/2 hours in she said they just put the food down. By 7 they we're putting out the closed signs. No food, nothing about our food, we left with $$ at the table to pay for drinks with nothing further from the staff. Horrible service, to bad but we will never patronize again! read more

It's a weird time for going to bars and restaurants with COVID-19 ruining literally everything. My family and I decided to stop here for a drink outside and to order some fried chicken to-go (we had heard good things about the chicken). Thanks to COVID, we sat outside, and despite being a little chilly, it was a REALLY nice experience. There were plenty of tables outside all spaced out and with a beautiful lake view. We had wait service outside and our server was so, so nice. The drinks were well poured, and our appetizer came out quickly. We ordered the tavern mix, which was basically a basket of various fried things with cheese lol. It was very good though, and hit the spot. We ordered our fried chicken to-go, off of the to-go menu (16 pieces of chicken with wedge potatoes, rolls, and individual Cole slaws and brownies). We got our food quickly and went home. OMG! This is the BEST fried chicken I have ever had! It was crispy, juicy, and super flavorful. I couldn't stop eating it! The potato wedges were incredible as well. I didn't even need ketchup on them, they had so much flavor. The rolls were okay, but felt like an afterthought. The coleslaw was AWFUL. It's was green, and had a chopped consistency that was not appealing. Honestly though, the chicken was so good, I'm not even mad about the weird coleslaw. I can't believe I waited so long to try this place out. I can't wait to order more chicken! read more

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Was there twice this week. This first time I had a burger which was good but you could tell it was a pre made frozen patty. Second time I had their fish fry. While I thought their portions were perfect, three pieces of fish, without a lot of fries, good coleslaw, and okay roll. Th fish however tasted burnt which tells me the grease was old. They also charge extra for use of a credit card. Probably will not go back. I do have to say, staff was masked, except for the bartender. They also did a great job with sanitation. read more

First visit and we'll be back - excellent and attentive service, I had the BLT Wrap and potato salad - delicious, she had the Backwaters cheese sandwich and fries - also delicious. We enjoyed the beautiful view of the Wisconsin River while dining. Oh, try the "house made" chips, they are to die for. Enjoy your visit, we sure did. read more

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long time customer, only go for broasted chicken, food always good, service seems to be going down hill. took over 1 hour to get dinner, couple next to us ordered burgers and had to wait more than 1 hour for their food. place didn't seem to be over crowded, owner needs to plan ahead to be able to serve people in house in a timely manner, I overheard staff say 16 piece to go order created a problem...hope they fix this problem because I really don't want to look for someplace else to get my broasted chicken fix. read more

Great place, great people. Check out the daily specials, especially the fish fry. Fair prices and good menu. We even stopped in on thanksgiving for a full thanksgiving dinner. read more

Super friendly people , excellent food , great Northwoods charm , and accessible by boat from the Wisconsin River. You'll be happy you stopped in. read more

Went with wife and son for dinner. We'd nite special is broasted chicken, AYCE. Place was not busy ( a little after 5pm). Seated ourselves and waited, and waited, and waited until bartender finally noticed us and came and took drink orders. Waitress finally came and took our orders. An order of deep fried cheese curds was also placed, it took forever to come, they were very greasy and not very many in the basket. I ordered the broasted chicken, my wife the philly beef sandwich, the beef was dried out, not shaved and missing the cheese, my son had the mushroom burger, the patty was salty and dry, lettuce and onions were wilted, he was not happy with his choice. I had the broasted chicken which was a little too salty for my taste but the chicken was tender and juicy on the inside. Our order seemed to take forever, the waitress never came back to ask if I wanted more chicken, I had heard good things about this place but was disappointed with the meal we had. read more

We had been to Backwaters just before the new owners took over. I am writing this in hopes that the new owners will take this review into consideration, as I would like to visit again and hope for a better experience. With that being said here is my account of our experience. When we sat down the bartender told us it was her first day - okay not a problem. We ordered 3 bottled beers, a mixed drink and a tap beer. She gave us 1 bottled beer which was skunky (obviously old or was cold than warm than cold again), 3 tap beers and a mixed drink that tasted like soda. We ordered an appetizer. A portion of the app was frozen when served. We told the bartender who apologized. The owner who was sitting near us also apologized. It was sent back to the kitchen and redipped and sent back out to us! This is AGAINST HEALTH CODE! We ordered another round of drinks (same as before minus one of the bottled beers and we were charged more than the first time - mind you this is a Saturday, no happy hour price adjustments... sooo?). I actually would have talked to the owner personally but she never got up once to help and spent at least half of the time we were there on her phone. I never want to see a small business fail so I'm willing to give it another try. Hopefully it will be better and I will be happy to give a positive review. read more

My wife, best friend & his wife and I just finished a wonderful Friday Night Fish Dinner (Perch) at Backwaters Bar and Grill. Wait time was less than 20 minutes and staff was so pleasant. It is called a Backwater as it is just off the Wisconsin River with a stream visible from the dining area. You can access the bar & grill by boat, bike or car. Highly recommend. We will be back as the menu looked very good. read more

Had a fabulous, traditional Thanksgiving meal! Food was just like a real homemade turkey dinner. I even found a recipe for Cranberry Cider ... perfect hot or cold with a splash of rum! What a wonderful, caring business! read more

We love coming to Backwaters! The owners and staff are warm and welcoming. Service is fast and excellent. And the food is very well made! Thursday smoked ribs are my favorite but I enjoy many of their sandwiches. The make great cocktails and stock GF beer. My go to place. read more

We've been searching for years for a Friday fish fry place in Northern Wisconsin and this is it! It's AWESOME! The perch and walleye are the best you'll find anywhere and the staff is AWESOME as well. We're Madison, WI area residents and nothing in Madison compares. When we go out in Madison we often contemplate driving 4 hours just to go to Backwaters. We have a second home in the area and this is our Friday evening destination when we're Up North and we've taken many family members, friends and acquaintances. This is one place we don't hesitate to leave a generous tip. read more

From the scenic shore of the Wisconsin River to the fantastic service, Backwaters is my go-to choice for any occasion. After multiple visits, the drinks are always ice cold and the bartenders cannot be matched for either service or friendliness. I cannot decide on my favorite menu item...the burgers, broasted chicken and of course the fish fry are all phenomenal!!! And if the weather is nice be sure to check out the outside bar. First class!!! read more