So we found ourselves visiting family for Christmas this week in Melbourne, Florida former stomping…read moregrounds of Jim Morrison for you Doors fans. We got up early on Christmas Eve and opted to find a cool breakfast place. After a few minutes in Yelp, we found Backwater which is nestled in Historic Downtown Melbourne. Parking should not be a problem but if you can't find some on your he street their is a public parking garage not to far away. Upon arrival we were seated pretty quickly and all the staff were very friendly. Our server Amy was awesome and recommended a few breakfast items that were awesome. We opted for the Greek breakfast and the Cuban Benedict which were both fresh and excellent. We also split their seasonal Cinammon pancake as well which was great as well. Pancakes are huge so make sure you leave some room if you plan on having one. All portions were healthy as well, no skimping at Backwater and everyone was in the Christmas spirit as well which was awesome! The atmosphere is friendly, laid back and welcoming which is great if you are from out of Town. So if you are in the area, make sure you check them out for breakfast or lunch. I am sure you will not be disappointed! So in fact he spirit of the holiday I will adjust my customary ending to say Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a prosperous and blessed Happy New Year to all of you! Enjoy and Bon Appétit mes amis!

Wowowow! Friendly staff and incredible food!…read moreHad the Monte Cristo which was fluffy, toasty, heaven. Home fries were nice and crispy. Super casual interior and smell of yummy pancakes all over. Prices couldn't be beat either! Will be back when traveling through this part of FL next

Lizzie's served a satisfying soul food lunch today. I ordered the fish and wing combo with an extra…read moreside of macaroni and cheese, while the combo already came with fries. The lemon pepper and mild chicken wings were absolutely delicious and packed with flavor. They were so good they had me wanting more after every bite. The fish was lightly seasoned and cooked well, though I personally would have enjoyed a little more seasoning for an even bolder flavor. The macaroni and fries completed the meal and gave it that classic comfort food experience. Everything about this meal delivered the kind of soul food satisfaction you hope for. It looked good, smelled amazing, and felt comforting from the first bite to the last. Overall, I'm giving Lizzie's 4 out of 5 stars for a flavorful lunch with great Southern-style appeal.

Unfortunately my husband and I had the worst food experience ordering from here. :(…read more We ordered chicken sandwiches which was so bland, sad looking buns, wilted lettuce, chicken was so unseasoned.. there was no taste at all. Wings basket : average coasted wings, no heat or spice, fries were so bland. Inedible. They haven't even given any sauce or ketchup for the fries. Not recommended at all.

**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

We found this place when we were visiting from Texas... and I'm SO glad we did! The pork chops were…read moreperfect, the ribs were so tender, but my favorite thing was the oxtails! The flavor was amazing. All of the sides were great too. Not a single bad thing I can say about this place! Can't wait to go back!!

Experience: Being from Louisiana, I'm always looking for good soul food...came here on a Thursday…read moreto get some food to go for me and my grandma. Been wanting to try this place but tend to forget to come by. Facility: this is a small place located in a strip mall. There is booth seating and tables and chairs. There's even a little bar corner that has 3 tall bar seats. Ordering is a little confusing as the counter is not the place you go to... that's only if you are paying. Instead it's over by the buffet serving section. Then you go back to that counter to pay. Service: The lady was polite. She seemed overworked as she is the one taking orders, making food, helping tables, and checking people out. It took about 15 minutes to get my food. Be warned they are only open Wed through Sunday and their hours change most days, but it's like 12-5pm. Food: I ordered two lunch specials ... Chicken leg with Cole slaw and beans for my grandma.... I didn't try the sides, but the chicken looked amazing and a little sauce got on my finger and it was very good. I got the catfish 4.5/5, potato salad 3/5, and some extra sides to check them out... cabbage 4/5, fried okra 5/5 and mac and cheese 3.5/5. We also got mini sweet potato pie 4.5/5 and some peach cobbler (my grandma is saving this for tonight). Overall: This place is good. I will be back to try more things.

The service was very good. The food was very, very good! The restaurant is also very nice and…read moreclean! For appetizer: we got the sticky duck with the orange thai chili sauce from the regular menu and fish tacos from their happy hour menu! It was very good! For dinner: we got bison burger from specials menu and 302 burger with bacon from regular menu! For dessert: key lime pie. Best key lime pie I have ever had! Everything was very good.

Lovely dinner last evening with friends. I had this pictured salad which was wonderful. Prompt…read moreservice too.

We both had the Baked Stuffed Haddock, and it was the best we had in a long time. Being so good, I…read morecould not resist going into the kitchen and was introduced to Chef Caleb, who cooked our fish to perfection. We are from New England, where we live on cod and haddock, and this was some of the best ever. Kat, our server, was attentive, friendly, and great at her job. A small "hole in the wall' place that was spottless. Yoy will not regret a visit. This was our first visit, but by no means our last. Just sorry we didn't find this place earlier.

We were just passing through Melbourne, and did a restaurant search online looking for restaurants…read morewith good ratings. And we were looking for fried seafood. We stumbled on this little spot which doesn't present all that well from the road. However, our experience once we were in the door was excellent from start to end. Our waitress - Alyssa - was great!: attentive and informative, and on her recommendations we ordered the shrimp cocktail to start, and a number of the fried seafood options, including fish, shrimp, oysters, and scallops. Served with excellent french fries, hush puppies, and homemade coleslaw, along with a round of $4 Yuengling beers. The food was all excellent, and cooked perfectly. Side note....I don't normally like hush puppies, but even those too were delicious. Double thumbs up from everybody. We will be back.

This place is amazing. Absolutely fresh and tasty seafood broils, and entrees. Their daily catch…read moreand grouper was so delicious. They have gourmet food for a reasonable price. Their service was a little slow as it seems they were understaffed, but amazing hospitality. Their restaurant atmosphere is clean, friendly and inviting.

Ducked in with the fam for some food and it was a meh experience. I feel like the spot may be…read morebetter during season, feels kind of tired and they were surely out of a few menu items when we stopped in. Like Smoked Fish Dip. Plus: * Abundance of free parking as they are in a mall. * Excellent service. * Beer and wine available. * Priced right. To be managed up: * Tired and dated decor. * The lettuce on one plate ruined the plating. My 3 year old could plate better. If they just upgraded their plating game things would be better. * A brown lime was served. * The batter on the friend shrimp was tired and soggy. So I ate it all, because I'm good like that, but I would sure like to see them level up. Cabeza OUT!

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.

Long doggers was our stop after a long day. I asked everyone "how is the food." Everyone said,…read more"this is great." I asked, "how do you rate the atmosphere?" Everyone agreed it was fun and well done. I asked, "what do you think of the staff?" They all said, "great people!" I agreed with them, ordered a great beer and had a good time.

What a great beachy place! We grew up going to Hatteras NC, as my husband surfs. The owner has a…read moreconnection to Hatteras, as well, because there was memorabilia displayed! The service was great, the beer was cold, and the food was yummy!

This is a precious place to have incredible food. The…read moreatmosphere is peaceful. Eli our server was delightful and knowledgeable. We had Grandma's meatballs and spaghetti and the Frutti di Mare Seafood pasta. Both large portions- making it great for leftovers! The Ceaser salad was good as well. The wine selection is terrific. The coup de ta was the Hazelnut Gelato! Highly recommend this place!!

Our table of 3 (with a reservation) sat for 20 minutes before anyone even arrived to take our drink…read moreorder. The experience did not improve from there. My "truffle" pasta arrived and wasn't even close to hot. It had been sitting long enough that the pasta was getting gummy and the sauce was off-putting; clearly flavored with truffle oil and not actual truffles. The mushrooms were chewy and it was just a failure. If anyone at our table had gotten a good dish, I would have written off my disappointment as poor ordering on my part but none of the items we ordered were good. If I'm being generous, I'd call this restaurant average - at best. Skip the wait and frustration, and just make yourself some spaghetti at home.