About Us

For 40 years, Backstreet Cafe has been a Houston dining tradition. It has grown from a "watering hole" with soups, salads, and sandwiches to a critically acclaimed, chef-driven Seasonal American Bistro that is a top table in the city. Always innovating, always updating, Backstreet Cafe has served generations of families and is a communal place to celebrate special occasions and every day with food, friends, and family.

The kitchen is under the direction of award-winning Executive Chef Hugo Ortega, whose American Dream started at this neighborhood cafe. He began his career in the restaurant business at Backstreet Cafe, first as dishwasher and busboy and later as a line cook before graduating from Houston Community College's culinary program and later becoming its executive chef and owner, along with wife Tracy Vaught. A former geologist, Vaught decided to forsake the oil business for a more people-oriented profession and opened Backstreet Cafe, her first restaurant, in 1983. Together, they have created an award-winning Houston restaurant family that also includes Hugo's, Caracol, Xochi, and URBE. 

Backstreet Cafe's menu is a perfect reflection of diverse Houston, with Southern, Cajun, Creole, Hispanic and Asian influences, among others. The menu changes seasonally to capture the freshest flavors, with a nod to local and sustainable ingredients. Backstreet Café is famous for its Sunday brunch, complete with live Jazz, great food, and eye-opening cocktails! The wine and spirits program is well-known throughout the city and beyond for its depth and creativity, a perfect accompaniment to the menu.

Housed in a cozy '30s-era house in Houston's River Oaks, Backstreet Cafe affords diners several cozy dining areas on two levels. The downstairs dining room features a large marble-top bar, intimate banquette seating, and views of both the front and back patio areas. Upstairs, the restaurant has two dining rooms for brunch, lunch and dinner seating and private functions. The Solarium is a wonderful room for everyday dining and private functions, separated from the main upstairs dining room by French doors.

One of Backstreet's most popular attractions is its legendary patio. More often than not, diners opt to eat on the New Orleans-style patio amidst of flowering shrubbery and welcoming fountain. Backstreet Cafe is your home away from home.