Came here on a Friday night and good thing that we had a reservation! Because this place is very small, we saw multiple groups without reservations get turned away. The place steadily filled up since we arrived at 6:30 pm and by 7 pm it was buzzing with people. Despite the closeness of the tables, it still felt very intimate. This ambiance was further enhanced by the dim lighting of the room and the simple decor that encouraged patrons to focus on their dinner parties. The two waiters who managed the room were attentive, yet not overly intrusive. They were friendly and shared their favorite food on the menu. We were immediately served water and offered drinks, and the table was already set with cutlery. It was unfortunate that the utensils were wrapped in a paper napkin that although practical gave a bit of a cheap feeling at the start. Luckily, that impression was gone as soon as the food arrived. We shared a burrata for appetizer, which was greatly paired with nutty pesto and olive oil covered toasted bread slices. Then, I had the roasted mushroom pizza, which was excellent and very filling. The ricotta both refreshed the roasted mushroom flavor and added additional texture to the slices. The pizzas were just too big to finish, so I had to take the last slice to go. I will definitely come back to taste the other options! read more

I had a wonderful experience here recently. I'd recommend reservations, as we saw a few people get turned away. The host was super accommodating for our toddler sitting at the bar with us on a Sat. night. Food was really tasty! We had fennel sausage pizza (slightly salty for my taste), buratta and bread, and salad --all fresh, tasty, and quick! The bartender looked like an older teen Ken doll and was just such a nice kid (rarity among bartenders in this town, sadly). All in all, it's a cute place with tasty, quality food. read more

I've always loved this place. Great neopolitan pizza!!! Always made fresh in their wood burning oven. Good wine and friendly service. How can you go wrong read more

This place is right in downtown near dirty 6 yet it is far from that experience. Pizza - this is their business! Oh, and of course wine! :D I highly recommend getting here early for the bar or make a reservation. It gets busy and the food is worth it! They have a great pizza oven/fireplace (see pic). I have never had a bad meal or experience here to date. Ive been visiting for a few years now. The atmosphere, the warmth of the oven, the great wines, and that wonderful pizza make for the perfect formula for a great time! read more

The Backspace - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

Backspace is located in Downtown Austin right by 6th street. The restaurant is small with 6 tables and couple of bar chairs. The decor is dark and cozy. They specialize in wood fired pizzas. We were staying at a hotel right around a corner and decided to try them on NYE. We made reservations through OpenTable App. We had our first hiccup where the app allowed us to book a table for 10pm when the restaurant shuts at 10pm. The restaurant honored that and let us dine in,which was sweet. We started off with baked ricotta which was good, they serve it with a side of fresh focaccia bread. The bread is star-of the show so do make sure you try it. I tried the pepperoni Pizza . The food came in quick but to my shock the crust was completely burnt. I checked other reviews on Yelp and it's consistent problem. I did ask our server if it's supposed to be that way or something was wrong. She very sweetly requested to have it replaced. I don't blame her it's an issue that the kitchen has to filter before they send it to the table. Looks like there is no quality check before food is sent out. Our server and manager offered to not charge us for it and also gave us a free dessert. I do have a sympathy for the restaurant industry and feel some days are just bad. The second pizza turned out to be perfect and amazing. I just hope they do their quality checks before they serve their food moving forward to save such situations moving forward. read more

The Backspace - Baked Ricotta - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Service has always been the right speed when I'm here. Not too fast to rush you and not slow. Fennel sausage pizza is SO GOOD! Meatballs are also a great choice and price for happy hour! Beer on tap is a GREAT choice and also a great happy hour price! I'd love to see them add some fresh garlic breadsticks with the same sauce that comes with meatballs. Relaxing ambiance and always happened to sit next to friendly patrons. Will continue to be a regular as long as I live nearby. read more

1. Their pizza flour is imported so I could enjoy an authentic Neapolitan pizza 2. The ambiance is romantic, dim-lit and cozy 3. The prices are quite high - the menu on their website is incorrect A Neapolitan pizza is supposed to be really light and not doughy but this one was a bit. To be fair, we had just tried bufalina the prior weekend so the expectations were quite high. read more

The Backspace - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

1/2 price happy hour wine special, great wood fire pizza and fire roasted peaches for dessert!

What a delightful little nook right off the hustle and bustle and 6th. You walk in and feel like you're transported to the peaceful Italian countryside, with the wood fire oven, rustic bar and stucco-ish walls greeting you. The waiter was welcoming and attentive. There was a very nice Italian wine list. We got the Primitivo and it was a very good juicy Italian wine for a very decent price for a bottle downtown. Very small menu but what they do, they do well. The ciabatta was prefecture texture, barely toasted with a drizzle of olive oil and the Caesar salad was large (share between for an appetizer) with a variety of lettuce and veggies and a marvelous Caesar, flavorful but not overpowering. The pizzas were cooked to perfection, charred bubbles on the crust but chewy inside. It wasn't overly crispy but it held up when you picked up a piece to eat it. I did have a very large amount of mushrooms on my roasted mushroom pizza. Delicious, but overpowering the sauce and crust, so I took off about half. I'm already looking forward to going back! read more

Absolutely loved The Backspace! Zoe was our amazing waitress and she went above and beyond by making us feel welcome and giving great recommendations. We had the meatballs as an app and split a pizza for our meal. We also had the strawberry dessert which was so delicious. I definitely will be back! read more

I love finding cool, little unique pizza restaurants so was excited to try Backspace. Loved the location and decor. You could see the history in building, years of different paint layers in the walls which cool. That said I wish I could have given it higher stars. There are numerous reasons for my three - I do like restaurants with small menus and high focus but this was just a bit too paired down with one beer on the menu - and let's be honest pizza goes with beer better than it does with wine. And the wine was just okay. The olives were great and we loved the burrata appetizer which was special that night. However pizza was the let down - the meat eaters enjoyed their pizza though it was a little wet from sauce and could have been crisper. But our cheese pizza was not great - it was well cooked but the problem was the arugula salad on the top which was super salty. I could not eat more than one piece. It was also super warm - cannot tell if they do not have AC or if it was simply broken as we were sat behind a huge portable HVAC system. Luckily we got some air from that !! Just okay but disappointment as we were hoping for so much more. read more

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Small place, walked in with 9 of us, sat at the bar which fortunately holds 9. Good wine, good wood fired pizza, good Caesar salad. Attentive friendly service. Thank you! read more

The Backspace - Caesar salad, margarita pizza. - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

food and service was amazing. We had the cesar salad and margarita pizza. We came back a second night because it was so good. Servers are so nice and personable. Would highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Terrible pizza inedible because it's raw. One time I ordered the "pizze" small pizza mushroom with no ricotta , it came with a disgusting amount of mushrooms on top of the pizza. Just shocking and so unpleasant experience overall. read more

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Small space so recommend making a reservation. Wife and I were lucky to get seated at the bar. Highly recommend the burrata appetizer- great. Pizza did not disappoint. Staff was helpful and waitress made excellent recommendations. We will definitely come back next time we are in Austin. read more

The Backspace was a small place with a lot of bug taste. The pizza was great. The staff were friendly.

Fantastic food, service and overall fell of the restaurant. The pork meatballs were fabulous, and the pizza... oh my good!

As the name implies, this place is located in the back area of Parkside off of the "Dirty Sixth." After booking a reservation for 6:30pm on a Saturday night, we arrived exactly on time and were told that our table was occupied still so we would have to wait (and ended up migrating to Parkside for a drink). It took a full 30 minutes before we ended up getting our table (a quote from Seinfeld, "you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to hold the reservation"). As noted by other reviewers, this place is predominantly a wine restaurant if you want to drink, and the selection is pretty solid. We ended up sharing a pizza and dessert and both were quite tasty. The ambiance in general is intimate, rustic, and unique. One final thing to note: evidently, there was no functioning air conditioning in the place when we visited. This, combined with the hot weather, scorching oven, and small intimate space made for a very sweaty dinner. The food was pretty good, but much like its neighbor, Parkside, the experience left me disappointed. read more

Honestly we picked this restaurant b/c it was close to our hotel on our last rainy night in Austin. It was cozy w/ a rustic look. We were casual & the table next to us was celebrating a birthday & more dressed up. The food was absolutely amazingly delicious. We had a farro salad & 2 of the best pizzas ever: margherita & roasted mushroom. All 3 of us agreed it was the best meal we'd had in some time. So happy we stumbled across it! Service was great as well w/ friendly staff. read more

The Backspace - Farro salad - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

The Backspace is a great pizza/Italian restaurant right off 6th tucked behind their sister restaurant Parkside. It's a smaller restaurant so I'd recommend getting reservations early or see if you can snag some seats at the bar. The ricotta appetizer was delicious as was the wine and the pepperoni pizza. So much flavor packed in to their pizza and great dough. I'd recommend getting a few pies to share for the table. Thanks The Backspace for a great evening. read more

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I feel sad to be giving this place 3 because it should be 3.5 but here's why: We ordered a bottle of 2017 Sangiovese only to be given a 2018 and told the menu is a misprint. Well......is the price then a misprint too based on the bottle being a 2018? Secondly, we started with the baked ricotta appetizer and their homemade focaccia - man, was this a disappointment. The ricotta had this sweetness to it that we were NOT feeling when ordering an appetizer. Also, definitely had better focaccia. What was good? Ambience - I do like the dim lighting and the more intimate space. Pizza - we ordered Pepperoni Americano and the actual pizza was delicious. The pepperoni is terribly salty which I guess is somewhat to be expected but once u get past that, the cheese and dough were delicious. May give this place another shot and get a different appetizer and pizza after Ive prepared myself to head back down to basically Dirty 6th. read more

The Backspace - Baked Ricotta - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Nice small place with an excellent wine selection, good pizza, great salads and friendly service. read more

The Backspace - Sausage pizza - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Food is on par, but I think the main issue the last 4 times has been the non charismatic waitstaff. Hoping for it to exceed each expectation, but sadly, it never changes. read more

A very cure little place. Great pizza and wine selection. The pork meatballs are amazing. Our waiter was very respectful and recommended a great wine. read more

Was craving pizza and salad. Backspace was just what I needed. We ordered a farro salad, giardiniera salad, and margherita pizza to go. To be fair, I'm sure it's better dining in, but it was still really tasty. Would return and eat at the restaurant next time. read more

Best pizza I've had in a while. The Backspace is Austin's first Neapolitan pizzeria and it's a MUST try! Their delicious brick oven pizzas are made with Italian-imported flour and they have an all-Italian beverage list. Recommend x 10! read more

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Backspace never disappoints. Great pizza and pasta dishes. Their meatballs are so yummy too! Highly recommend! read more

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One of the most amazing pizza places I have been too! Very cute small restaurant with great service and ambiance. I tried the Bianca and the Roasted Mushroom pizza and both were amazing- having 1 pizza was just the right amount! The Bianca is definitley for cheese lovers, while the mushroom pizza was more of a veggie style and the capers tasted great on it. It was also a very reasonable price, so I definitely want to come back and try something else on the menu. read more

The Backspace - Bianca - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

Every time we come here it's so solid. I just had such great service from Stephanie at the bar. Here is a pro tip for eating pizza at the bar . Eat the pizza over for your plate. Just kidding ! I spilled my pie on my dress and Stephanie came To the rescue! read more

5 stars for EXCELLENT food! 0 stars for establishment. NO AC! it is 105°F today and they do not have a functioning AC. Imagine the wood fired pizza oven going at full speed and eating hot food - pizza and panini and then no central air. Horrible. I feel bad for the staff that have to work in these conditions. Owner, manager fix this! Place temporary fans in restaurant or shut down restaurant until AC fixed in the middle of Texas summer. TOO HOT! read more

Great thin crust pie. Had the roasted mushroom pie with a side of the pork meatballs and wow, so good. Great personable staff and the chef know what they are doing. read more

Excellent pizza and a great wine list. Service was good once we got seated, but expect to wait if you don't have a reservation. The restaurant is small. It was perfect for a quiet night while on vacation. read more

Rustic ambiance, close-knit dining, the smell of pizza in the air - these were some of my first impressions upon walking into The Backspace. Food preparations inspired by authentic Italian cooking, you'll find everything on the menu to be made by scratch. For pizzas I got: - Fennel Sausage: which comes with mozzarella cheese, tomato, roasted pepper, and garlic. What I like most here is the strong fennel taste that comes out of the sausage, hard to describe, but it's kinda like an onion flavor. I really like it. - Their off-menu, Leek & Prosciutto: which came with fontina and ricotta cheese, onion marmalade (jam, essentially), shallots, garlic, lemon zest, and chili oil drizzle. Given it's a white base, it was much lighter. Hints of sweet notes from the chili oil, shallots, and chili oil elevate the savory notes of the cheese and garlic which make for a unique-tasting pizza. Additionally, what I like most about their pizzas is their consistency: soft enough to chew easily and crunchy enough where it was fun to continue to eat it. Slightly charred crust, just how I like it. I always like to get a tomato based pizza and white based pizza as they contrast very well together. Now let's go back and talk about the antipasti that I started with before I got pizza: - Burrata: comes with sweet peppers, charred tomato, and cucumber. Refreshing way to start off your meal. - Baked Ricotta: comes with cherry tomatoes, roasted eggplant, oregano, and focaccia bread to dip. This one is heavier and creamier. For the cheese lover! What I noticed about both is the cheese flavors aren't overpowering which balances them out amongst the ingredients they come with. Two types of ways to start off your meal - which do you pick? Now going to dessert: I finished off my meal with their: - Chocolate Hazelnut Budino: you're essentially taking a higher quality, creamier chocolate pudding and mixing it with whipped cream and topping it off with hazelnut toffee. Rich chocolate flavors, but not overkill - enough to leave you satisfied. All in all, I was satisfied with my visit here. Balanced flavors, good amount of variety to choose from, decently priced - I suggest y'all come try them out. read more

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Stopped by this spot on a Monday for dinner. It's a very small space, about 9 or 10 tables max with a old-school, large bar and stone pizza oven in the open which added a nice touch to the space. To start we had the Burrata and the Farro Salad. The burrata was OK, but the salad was so delicious, really stood out, was hearty and had great flavor. We then got the Margherita Pizza and the Fennel Sausage Pizza. The pizzas were so good - even as leftover, the flavor in the sauce and toppings were great. Took off one start because service was ridiculously slow - again, it was a Monday Night, we were one of maybe four tables, and with a waiter & a hostess just to get a glass of water took FOREVER, the waiter did't touch our table for almost 20-min after we sat down... dinner took us almost two hours. Staff was friendly, but we (as well as the tables around us) were constantly looking for the waiter (who would disappear back of house for 20-min at a time) and the hostess was running the bar. read more

The Backspace - Margherita - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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A pleasant little pizza stop perfect for meeting a friend and grabbing a drink or two or ten maybe if you're into that kind of thing! Ha. I met a friend here for a networking, spacing can be tight so I'd be cautious if coming here during peak hours such as lunch or dinner. They offer a variety of pizzas, from the basic pepperoni to more interesting such as lamb and pork. My entree was tasty, enough where I'd return again to try another dish. Staff was also very accommodating and helpful since it was my first time there. read more

The Backspace - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

I love love pizza and this place is probably one of my favorites now! My coworkers and I waited about 40 minutes to get seated. Our server was okay, she didn't check up on us very often but overall I give them 4 stars. We ordered the meat balls and burrata for our appetizer which were okay, the burrata wasn't as creamy as I was anticipating. The meatball was a bit fattier than I was expecting but it has good flavor. We ordered the pepperoni, fennel sausage and arugula pizzas. They were all amazing, the fresh mozzarella on the pizza was creamier than the burrata. I would definitely come back for a pizza, I wouldn't share it next time though :) read more

The Backspace - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

Small and quaint restaurant with delicious napoleon style pizza in downtown Austin! Best napoleon pizza I have had in downtown Austin. Ambiance/Service: The place is nice and small (maybe 12 tables), great decor along with their pizza oven, and the staff is very friendly. Food/Drinks: The wine, the pizza, as well as the meatballs we had were all very delicious and finished everything. When we are in downtown again hungry for pizza, we will definitely be back. Recommend this place to anyone looking for really good thin crust pizza in the downtown area. read more

What a great place! We shared the Caesar salad and pepperoni pizza. Salad was delicious...lightly dressed and very flavorful. Pizza was spot-on with delicious homemade sauce and mozzarella. Great wine as well! Only complaint is that the tables are very very close together. We will definitely be back! read more

My husband and I spent our 2 year anniversary here and in my opinion, it was "A-OK," but my husband enjoyed it (or because he made the reservation, felt obligated to enjoy it). I suppose I'd give this establishment a 3.5. It's a really small space with just a few tables. We just made the cut for happy hour so I got a $5 prosecco and he got a draft beer. We had the roasted cauliflower, pickled beets, and meatballs for appetizers. They arrived in small plates and my favorite was the beets! However, I love beets and all things pickled so perhaps I'm biased. My husband thought the meatballs were okay. Very hearty, but missing a je ne sais quoi. We each got our own pizzas. He got the pepperoni and I opted to add mushrooms to my pepperoni. I thought the pizza was okay, not my favorite, but my husband enjoyed it very much. Our biggest complaint was the wait. We arrived at 6:30 PM, got our appetizers pretty promptly at 6:45 PM, but no one even came to take our pizza order until 7:15 PM. We didn't get our pizzas until close to 8:00 PM. For such a small place, you'd think it wouldn't take almost an hour to bake a couple of pizzas. They didn't acknowledge the wait time, or our anniversary, and just avoided us until our pizzas were ready. Yes, the ambiance is nice and atmosphere is romantic, which is a plus because you may need to be prepared to wait! read more

Great small space with a romantic relaxed vibe. Food was quick and I love the fennel salad.