Fabulous place to experience a great meal. Our waitress was fantastic and it was such a beautiful setting to enjoy our meal. Again, it is an experience, so go in knowing that you need to take your time and take it all in. Loved it. The prime rib was fantastic. read more

Food was great. Scenery was better. Loved it here. Perfect for an unforgettable date night. Husband got a steak, I got chicken stuffed with crab and shrimp. The onion rings were the best I've ever had anywhere so I totally suggest these!!! read more

The Back Porch - The house cats - New American Near Me - Highland, Illinois

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Love this place been coming here for several years and it never disappoints. The food is wonderful. A bit pricey for Supper Club type atmosphere and decent enough service but that does not deter us from a coming a couple times a year. Would come more often if it were more appropriately priced. read more

It's always fun to go to dinner at the Back Porch. The food is good, the ambience is casual and unique. The service is good and they always have off the menu specials. read more

Great food Fantastic Service Gayland & Amy along with Michelle are fantastic Host and Hostesses. The atmosphere pi's 2nd to none set in a wooded setting it is a beautiful setting. We live les than a mile away and frequent often in the summer. read more

We had not been here in a few years, but always talked fondly of the experiences we had previously. So tonight, we decided to make the drive for a birthday dinner. As soon as we sat down, we noticed the menu had been pared-down. Okay. Restaurants do that. Then, we noticed the entrees consisted of primarily beef. Alright... new concept? My husband got a soda and I got iced tea... the soda was poured out of a pitcher... surprise... it was flat We ordered onion rings as the appetizer. The rings were bland and the onion ends were just thrown in. We'll skip the salad (a little sugar with your vinegrette?) and go straight to the steaks. The menu said "topped with portobello and a Demi glacé" Umm... these were canned mushrooms and canned mushroom gravy. The steaks were under done and the bread was at least a day over fresh. My favorite was the lack of sides so they offered me "Italian Green Beans". I am a big fan of those little flat, crunchy Italian jewels. When they came to the table, it was not those... but mushy canned green beans cooked in canned stewed tomatoes. It is very clear that they have taken the cheap route (much like their sister restaurant next door) but they are still charging white table cloth prices. It really is a shame. :( read more

I've been to the back porch four times and I've always been pleased with the food, the service, and the cocktails. It's a bit of a drive but well worth it. read more

The Back Porch is awesome. I'm afraid to share how much I love this gem because I hate to share the perfectness of the atmosphere. The wait staff are so professional and friendly. The food is great. You will not be disappointed. Please make reservations. read more

The worst restaurant in Highland/Grant Fork. This is no mean feat when you consider how many truly awful restaurants there are, its next-door neighbor Diamond Mineral Springs is equally horrid. read more

This hidden gem in Grantfork, IL is the sister restaurant to Diamond Mineral Springs, which is the more "family style" restaurant, whereas The Back Porch is a little more upscale. The only reason I know about this is because my boyfriend, who is from Highland, used to work here for several years. We went with a group of nine people last night. The Back Porch is open from spring to fall, with plexi-glass covering the screens during the cooler months, but it's really worth going to when it's warm. The decor somehow manages to hover between "tacky" and "charming" - pillars made into palm trees and light-up tropical birds hanging from the ceilings, and all the staff wear Hawaiian shirts. But somehow it works. Yes, there is no air-conditioning (more of a response to Teri D's rant of the restaurant under the Diamond Mineral Springs page) - it's called THE BACK PORCH...does your screened in porch have air conditioning? Pick a nice night to go and the breeze from the ceiling fans is enough. The beautiful view of the lush green woods surrounding 3/4ths of the restaurant is worth it. Also, given the constructs of the place, there will be bugs. We had a moth flutter by us, a spider on the back of my chair, and some unidentifiable bug on the arm of a friend's chair, that we flicked off and watched him lazily crawl away. If the idea of bugs near you and your food skeezes you out, then skip this place. I vaguely wondered how a place with bugs in it passes Health Inspection, but realized I didn't really care. The food was really very good. A little pricy, but the quality is up there, and the portions are ginormous. Every person in our group of nine had a to-go box at the end of the meal. I went with the Tutto Mare, which Devin said is one of their most popular dishes. I can see why! Creamy, delicious bow-tie pasta, packed with succulent shrimp, scallops, and clams in shell. Those were the larger, visible pieces, but there were also small bits of mussels, crab, and lobster. it was very good. All of the entrees came with a side and a salad, which definitely justified the price. I picked the asparagus salad, which is new to the menu, and it was totally delicious! Asparagus spears, huge tomato slices, onions, artichokes, feta cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, on top of a bed of romaine. I'm not a huge salad fan, but this was perfect! There aren't a lot of side options - I hope you like potatoes. Devin says they usually have all their potato sides (baked potato, twice-baked potato, sweet potato) and then one vegetable that they rotate out. Last night was Italian green beans, but sometimes they do creamed spinach or a vegetable medley. I went with the sweet potato, which was huge, moist, and tasty - came with a nice helping of butter and brown sugar on the side. For drinks, I enjoyed a massive glass of red sangria, which was delightful. Devin had Breckenridge Agave Wheat on draught, which is one of my favorites. They have a really nice selection of craft beers on draught. I was way too stuffed for dessert, but a couple of friends got some pie, and they wolfed them down. Apparently they were very, very good. If you're on a diet, don't come here. I can't imagine how many calories I consumed last night. The service was very good, and they had a band last night. I liked the band well enough (did some old school covers), but with where we were sitting, we could barely hear the person next to us. Devin says they never have a band, and it sounds like they were here special for Memorial Day weekend (and will be back Labor Day weekend). I enjoyed watching all the older husband-wife couples dance together in front of the stage. Speaking of which, definitely an older crowd. I'd say the average age was about 55. The owner told us he was "happy to see some young people here for a change, instead of just all us old fogies!" I can only imagine that it's because of the location - it doesn't seem like an "old people" place. If it were closer, I'd want to come by all the time, at least for drinks and the atmosphere! Important to note: this place is CASH ONLY. If you have love for the outdoors and for fine dining, The Back Porch seamlessly combines the two. At an hour's drive from St. Louis, it's not exactly worth making a special trip, but if you're out in rural southern Illinois for whatever reason, it's definitely worth a visit. read more

We don't recommend eating at the back porch. Steak sent back twice they are unable to cook it medium! After two attempts my husband still could not chew it. The seasoning and the cut was unbeatable. The waitress only offered a free dessert. The dessert was 1/4 the size of their normal dessert's. This used to be a good restaurant with good steaks and good service. Don't spend your money at the back porch . Anywhere else is better!! read more

Great setting; food was good, drinks were great- we'll return This restaurant is cash only- we didn't realize that, so plan accordingly read more

Lovely setting and the service was good. I was disappointed to see they had taken their only vegetarian option off the menu. The food was good, but we were surprised when we got the check that not only had they charged us each $4 to substitute a salad for another side (which was stated on the menu) they also charged $1 extra for the spinach, a baked potato and a baked sweet potato, so we each ended up paying $6 more than the menu price. If they are going to charge extra they should at least let you know. read more

Went for the first time with another couple last weekend. Very impressed. Great staff and all the food we had was amazing! Will definitely be returning! Can tell the care that goes into this place! read more

The Back Porch is my mother and myself's favorite restaurant! We go for my birthday in May and her birthday in September and sometimes in between for special occasions. The atmosphere is just wonderful. I feel like i'm on vacation and the food is fantastic! The house salad is amazing! We will be going there labor day weekend with a party of 16. I can't wait! Definitely need to go when it is nice outside or even chilly. It's literally like a "back screened in porch" with a bar. This is for sure a diamond in the rough! read more

The Best Ever! When the weather is right, The Back Porch is second to none! Screened in dinning room with a piano bar. Formal or casual. I'm having steak & lobster for $19.99. Filet Carolina is my favorite. Coconut Shrimp App is the best! Seafood Tuttomare is enough to feed three people. Cheese Cake is awesome.I drink Crown Royal and they put plenty in them! I had my birthday party her last year with a party of fifteen and everyone had a wonderful time. Atmosphere like no other. Treat yourself and your friends. You will not be disappointed! read more

Andy K's review inspired me to repost my review from April of last year. It mysteriously disappeared within a few days after posting. We almost thought about giving it another try based on a good comment from someone we know, but not anymore. I wonder how long this review and Andy K's review will last STAY AWAY FROM THE BACK PORCH!! We have been going to the Back Porch for close to 10 years. The previous time we went (April 2011) we were a little disappointed, but since we had been going for so long, we decided to give it one more try, on Saturday, April 21st, shortly after they opened. It was AWFUL! Not much of a menu selection - they still have a 2007 version of the menu online, back when it was a great restaurant, and if they had had the current menu online, we wouldn't have gone anyway. I ended up with Ribs and my wife got a combination of ribs, steak and chicken. The ribs were very tough, fatty, with very little meat. My wife's steak was unevenly cooked - hard to do with a 4 ounce steak but somehow they managed, and her chicken was just OK. My baked potato was lukewarm and my wife's sweet potato was cool - obviously both reheated. Think the waitress was aware of what we thought - they have the opportunity to sample what they serve- as she asked twice how everything was - I just said a short "good". They know - especially when they buy cheap cuts of meat - even the table clothes had stuff on them (hair, small crumbs), and they hadn't been open since the previous Sunday. Also it took 30+ minutes to get our dinner. So, we are NEVER going there again - they were not that busy so the word is out - probably close down in a year or so. I had to take a couple of Rolaids that night too. The salads and bread are still good, but ever since they took the lobster stuffed chicken chardonay, and lowered the quality of their seafood pasta dish (now gone), it's just not worth going to. read more

We had not been to the Back Porch in over a year because of a bad experience with the quality of food coming out of their kitchen. We also observed a few other tables near ours having similar problems with poorly cooked steaks, cold and overdone prime rib, and overdone chicken. However, we wanted to give them another chance. We were told that things had improved and the food would be as great as it was during the six or seven years we had been going there during their summer seasons. The Back Porch had been our favorite "expensive" restaurant, and we had many wonderful meals there bringing friends and family to impress. Sadly we were again quite disappointed with the quality of the food. I am guessing that there have been many changes in kitchen personal leaving nobody with the skills and/or inclination to deliver the wonderful and impressive dishes of a few years ago. Do not misunderstand my message: The food is quite edible. It is simply bland and poorly cooked. In a word unimpressive! For these prices I think we deserve to be impressed! Our meal started out with drab tasteless rolls someone probably pulled out of a plastic bag. This in contrast to the wonderful assortment of sliced breads they used to serve. Next their salad with their sweet vinaigrette house dressing-excellent! Someone must have kept this recipe! A great way to start a meal! Not wanting to overindulge, we skipped the appetizers to appreciate their most excellent dishes of old. However, the dishes they brought did not come close to our expectations. The Tutto Mare was quite bland, with severely overcooked fish, and quite mushy angel hair pasta. The dish used to be covered with fish; now rather sparse for the 24 dollar tab. The sauce was plentiful but without flavor. I was certainly not impressed enough to ever want to spend 24 bucks on a bowl of overcooked pasta in a simple white sauce with a few pieces of fish lingering about! My wife's prime rib, was equally unimpressive! Before ordering it we had inquired if the kitchen had cooked a fresh prime rib today. Anyone at all familiar with prime rib knows that it is best freshly roasted. Yesterdays rib reheated simply does not have the same juiciness and texture--especially for my wife's medium-rare request. We were there early, actually just a few minutes after they opened. We never order prime rib anywhere late in the evening because it has been hanging around a bit. The rib came out around medium (close enough) but the entire piece was quite cold. It was obvious that it had been refrigerated and then reheated a bit before it was brought out. In addition, the meat had no juice in it whatsoever, and the texture was stiff--two more indications that it had not been freshly cooked. Lastly, the most wonderful au jus they used to pour over the rib was sadly absent again. An unimpressive plain hunk of cold dry rib. This is where the unpleasantness began with the server. In her defense I am sure she is quite sick and tired of having to explain why the food is no longer as impressive as it used to be in the "old days". Lots of folks simply hate to be told about the way things used to be. So when she got indignant about our questioning about the vintage of the prime rib, I am guessing that it is quite frustrating for her. She insisted that the rib must have been cooked today because they almost ran out last night. She then went on to say that the chef always cooked the prime ribs first thing in the mornings when he came in. She further explained that he felt he had to do this because he was overworked so he had to cook it in the morning. Well, that explains it! It was freshly cooked in the morning, and then refrigerated until folks order it in the evening. How sad is this? Do they also pre-cook the steaks and then warm them up when ordered? Again in defense of the waitress: I had asked if the rib was freshly cooked today. My mistake was not considering that they would ruin a wonderful roast by tragically precooking and refrigerating it so as to guarantee mediocrity. This was not an unusual day for them. This is the way they do things every day. We will need to find another favorite fancy restaurant. read more

Just love this place, very unique and the food is good too. There was a mixup with our drink order but was handled very nicely. Bourbon and brown sugar glazed salmon was delicious. It's a hike but well worth it. read more