We had comfortable seating outside, and the weather was perfect. I ordered the avocado and roasted red pepper taco. It was amazingly good with a perfect avocado and a tasty house made sauce. Our server was great and very attentive. Highly recommend this place, though I can't guarantee the perfect weather read more

Cute, lowkey spot! Really nice service and the food was pretty good! We were a large party on Christmas Day and they really accommodated us.

3.5-4 stars with a star given for service/ambiance. Quaint little cafe tucked away on a residential street near US 1. We loved the look of this location of back 40. Super nostalgic with a 50s diner feel. Plenty of parking and covered outside patio in back. Helpful and friendly service as well. On to the food. I had the poke bowl, my husband had the island bowl and our son had steak tacos. You can tell everything is very fresh. Huge portions so very good prices for what you get. My bowl was flavorful with the only big downside being the use of regular rice. A poke bowl should use sticky rice. There was also too much of it. Replace some rice with more greens is my suggestion. The island bowl was ok, somewhat bland according to my husband so not something he'd come back for. Steak tacos were delicious my son said. So all in all a fine place to stop for a meal but nothing to write home about. read more

Cute curb appeal and pretty interior with Key West vibe. Charm continues with very kind and helpful waitress, and she adds a star to my rating, but the food was just not at all worth visiting a restaurant to eat, let alone pay for it. My husband's Cuban was a 3, he says. My bowl was a 1, and my kid's mac n cheese was also a 1. Cuban was prepared like street food, which is great; that's how it should be done. My bowl with Jerk chicken was super bland and felt like they really skimped on quality ingredients, and only included cheap cheese, cheap canned jalapeños, rice (dirt cheap), beans (also dirt cheap), and a very pale tomato. The "jerk chicken" had an extremely watered-down mild herbalness, which I would not call Jerk. The flavors were just not intuitively following any specific culinary profile other than someone's favorite order at a California strip mall bowl shop. No Caribbean flavor palate, nor Mex cuisine, not even health shop-Cali flavor, just quirky and not good. I could not have been more disappointed and sorry I ever listened to reviews. Yuk! My kid's kid meal was soupy mac and cheese, worse than boxed. I was surprised the side of mandarins were canned, gross. My kid didn't even know mandarins came in a can. Yes, with sugar syrup, but it's cheap! Why go to a restaurant to pay for food I can cook BETTER at home? And I make non-boxed mac-n-cheese, and buy non-canned mandarins, so it would be tons better. This is just a joke to serve this in a restaurant. We left before dessert because it had already plummeted as far downhill as it could go. Tried to leave a decent tip for kind service (not the waitress's fault the food sucks), but as far as I'm concerned the cook robbed me of $52; it was absolutely TERRIBLE FOOD! read more

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Terrible service....only table in the entire establishment at 1pm (and we were a party of 2) and server was running around like she was waiting on 5 other parties. Gave them a Back 40 gift card (with receipt and address of the location) to pay for the meal at the end and a young busboy was sent out to tell us "we been done takin' gift cawds fo' awhile nah" --extremely unprofessional and we also became sick after eating the slop they served us. NEVER AGAIN read more

Service and ambiance is fine. The food seems a bit Mexican. It was ok. We may need to give it another try. Oh and the menu sometimes doesn't list all the ingredients in a dish so my friend was picking something out of his meal. That's a peeve of mine I tend to ask "no chunky tomatoes, mayo or capers?" Depends on where I am eating read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Dining room - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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First time and super happy I dined here! Unfortunately no photos of the food, I was hungry and dug right in. Three of us shared the sweet potato quesadilla - delish. I had a black bean and brown rice bowl- I added mojo shredded pork- super tasty and big enough for two to share. Hubby had ahi tuna salad- he cleaned his bowl. Friend had two diff types of tacos which she killed. We all enjoyed wine which were still in happy hour for $1 off. Desert was a warm brownie topped with coffee ice cream and toasted walnuts- YUMMY!!! Menu has many Mexican inspired dishes but this t a Mexican restaurant. Good tunes playing and the vibe is just super chill. I will definitely go back- and I can't wait. There is seating both indoors and outdoors. read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Inside - art work for sale - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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The owner is charming and a terrific cook. She makes sure every detail is to our pleasing and she has made the homey atmosphere of the house and patio the go to spot for my yoga group. We always look forward to being greeted so warmly and to eating and drinking and catching up at Back 40 Urban Cafe! read more

Overall we enjoyed dining here for dinner. Parking was easy although I almost drove past them, and the service was excellent, very friendly. We tried the chips and salsa and pretzel apps. Both were very good. The poke bowl was missing the wasabi sauce and I had to go ask if something was wrong because the dish was so dry and not spicy at all. The sauce was ok but not hot like wasabi should be. The Island bowl with blackened grouper was okay, but lacking real flavor. Sante Fe chicken kind of bland. Key lime pie was pretty good. The house location is cozy enough but I feel like it could use a little more warmth. While the food was okay it didn't live up to our expectations, and the missing component to a dish seems odd. We probably won't be back but other may enjoy the dishes more than we did. It is definitely worth a try. read more

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Good service, a quaint little restaurant make an excellent place for me and my girlfriends to catch up on many years that we have been apart and excellent food read more

Food was delicious! Service was fast & friendly. Enjoyed the inside ambiance of the house & the art on the walls. I would definitely recommend!! read more

Saturday lunch/early dinner - after 3 pm $1.00 off beers and $3.50 tacos. Great value. Good service good food - small place worth a visit. Parking in front and in back. read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Taco steak & pork - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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This place is great. Unassuming and casual in an old house. Really good food and nice people serving it. I don't live close but glad I found this place. Highly recommended read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Tasty tacos. Especially the jerk chicken - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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We are always on the hunt for a locally owned restaurant to try out. We stumbled on the Back 40 on the way to another destination. So glad we did. We ordered a grouper taco and a cuban sandwich. Both were delicious. If you're in St Augustine, you really should check this place out. read more

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Back 40 Urban Cafe was a real nice surprise. My wife had some family in town and they asked us to choose a restaurant to meet and have dinner at. My wife chose this spot and we had never heard of it or gotten a recommendation. We pulled in around 6pm and we got lucky because we got the last parking spot. Parking can be a bit tricky here. We had a group of six people and I think that Back 40 can accommodate a group of eight. Back 40 consists of four or so rooms of various sizes that accommodate different size groups. The front room might be the warmest and has some cups, mugs, and shirts for sale. The room we were in was right next to the kitchen and was super cold. I don't really blame Back 40 though since it was frigid outside. To start our meal we ordered the chips and queso and chips and salsa. The queso was super heavy, but tasty. For our entrees, I ordered the wet burrito and my wife ordered black bean tacos. The food came out super quick. We hadn't even finished eating our chips and our food came out for all six of us in about 15 minutes. My wet burrito was HUGE! I hadn't seen a wet burrito on a restaurant menu on the east coast ever. My wife really liked her tacos too. The staff was very good and kept checking in on our table. Our bill was pretty reasonable. I would definitely come back to eat here. It is a nice cozy spot. read more

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Wow, wow, wow! What else can I say. A special little place that makes you feel at home. Cozy, whimsical and bright! The food was to die for the service was top notch and extremely charming. Will def be returning! Highly recommended 5 Stars All the Way! read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Delicious food We had dinner here on a Tuesday night to take advantage of the Tuesday date night special - 2 drinks, 2 main meals and a dessert to share for $25. The food was delicious, and we enjoyed every mouthful. We each ordered a salad - curry shrimp and Thai chicken and peanut - and they came with lots of tasty fresh ingredients and house made dressing. The mud pie we ordered for dessert was a real winner too - chocolate brownie topped with toasted walnuts, coffee ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. There were lots of other great things on the menu too and most of the customers were regulars! read more

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When we lived in Saint Augustine, this was our go to lunch place. Now that we're visiting, it's nice to see that it's only expanded. The food is so good and staff are so friendly. Don't forget to ask for Datt'l pepper sauce. It's a pepper indigenous to this area and it's so good!! One of the things I love about this restaurant is that the food is so fresh. They also have a good vegetarian offering. But they have enough meat as well for my carnivorous husband! If you're looking for upscale, keep looking! But if you're looking for Saint Augustine local food and people, this is it. read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Barbecue chicken quesadilla - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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Never (never) had a bad meal at this St Augustine dining establishment. Love Back 40 Urban Cafe. Today I had lunch before a meeting downtown. Had the Ahi Tuna taco with pasta and it was amazing! Locals know all about this spot but visitors to our nations oldest city take note: This place rocks!!! Go here and enjoy! read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Ahi Tuna Tacos - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

I dont know what happened to this place. Well, maybe its the new owners. But the food does not taste the same and surely does not look the same. This was my second time going since years. Ive seen the same lady worked like a dog. But lets focus on the fact that the black beans taste like ham. I do not eat pork. Regardless, i feel like thats odd. They never tasted this way before. The presentation is HORRENDOUS. It looks like a child throw food in a box and shook it up. (Also i asked for extra cheese and this is what i got) A couple years ago, I totally loved this spot. Not so much anymore :/ read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Jerk Chicken Nachos - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Was excited to stop in this spot again last week and was less than impressed. There were tables not cleaned despite it being late in the afternoon, the server seemed if she would rather be anywhere but there and the burrito seemed to have something sour in it. I will admit I did not complain to her, but she should have questioned why I had a few bites and left the rest and did not take it to go. The salad was great. Very fresh and the peanut dressing was delicious. I was so looking forward to the delicious vegetarian burrito I had on the last visit, but that did not happen this time. The place is cool but needs some attention on the cleanliness of the entire restaurant, food quality and service attitude. read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Side salad with peanut dressing - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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Fun & funky spot in St. Augustine! It looks like someone's house & not a commercial restaurant. Good service and food for a reasonable price! My only regret is that we didn't sit outside on the deck this evening. Can't go wrong with 1/2 price for a bottle of wine-you can bring the rest of the bottle home. read more

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I love this little hole in the wall, mom and pop establishment! We wanted a good dinner out of the touristy parts of St. Augustine and wanted a non chain restaurant. So glad we stumbled upon the Back 40 thanks to Yelp! At first we thought we were lost as it is in a very residential location lol. Parking is ample in a rock and gravel area so if you need new tires, you've been warned. I can tell they do get busy with locals but we went on a Thursday :) Upon entering, it's as if you were greeted by a long lost friend and you went to their house to visit lol a friendly hello and we were told to select a table in any if the rooms. Yes, i said rooms. It's like a house that was converted to a little restaurant and the kitchen is well the kitchen lol. We selected our little ocean theme table our waitress gave us our menu soon after and took our order. The menu was easy to read and understandable and the price is average and reasonable BETTER than if you dined on A1A or anywhere near the fort. The food took a little while but it was so worth it. It was very delicous and unique in taste. The ingredients and combination is a good fusion and I liked it! I had a yummy jerk chicken and pineapple quesadilla, super packed with chicken and it's ingredients. I will say that there was no jerk chicken flavor to it but still delicous. My husband ordered gumbo which we shared and it was ok - not something out of this world but average. His entree was the Island Bowl and that was delicous and well worth it. Overall, I will definitely come back to this location for food. It is very different and I like the cuisine it has to offer and love the homey establishment. read more

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Alway love the atmosphere here. Laid back vibe, groovy decor and local art. Was surprised by the new menu and missed several items but I get the changes in order to keep food cost down and reduce waste. Was disappointed that there wasn't beef/steak option. I for one would pay more, I am everywhere else. Knowing that is no longer an option I will still go back. I just know beef/steak isn't an option during that meal. I'm looking forward to trying breakfast and I hope it works. There aren't many options at that hour. Service was good, had to ask for a couple of things that should have been on table but she was quick to accommodate. We did get an order of chips and they were not to normal standard. read more

This place is amazing. My wife and I came to st Augustine on our honeymoon and stumbled on this place. Service is excellent as well as the food and I loved the decor. It's like a little hidden gem. Definitely a must have! read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Chicken bacon Avocado Sanndwich - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

I have visited Back 40 Urban Café twice now and have not been disappointed either time. The food they serve is quite unique, fresh, and nicely-priced. The wait staff is courteous and attentive, yet leave you to eat in peace. The decor is my favorite part of this restaurant as art pieces are strewn throughout that are made of recycled materials. During yesterday's visit, I thoroughly enjoyed the Jerk Caesar wrap with a side of Island Slaw! DELISH!!!! PS - Thank you to Kandy for recommending this gem of a place! read more

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I'm not a go 100% local/piss on every chain restaurant person like seemingly every millennial pretends to be on Yelp, but every family vacation I try to find one solid local spot to go outside our comfort zone on. Now for this exercise I sure as hell am not using Yelp so I searched on T/A and Back 40 came up as hands down the best place to try in the area for local reasonably priced food. As others have mentioned, don't be thrown off by the location. I was sure we were going the wrong way as we ventured into a residential area only to find the converted house that is the restaurant. Parking is tight as there is a small lot on the one side of the building but there is no street parking that I saw. If things get really busy you're supposed to go...? Another quirk is the seating. We made the "mistake" of going in the front door which took most of the wait staff by surprise as the few other people that were dining were all out back on the patio. We took the last two tables out back but I did notice later on that the locals/regulars just park and go around back without even stopping inside. Odd, but everyone seems to accept this as a standard practice. Upside down Chicken Pot Pie - Shrimp Tacos - Mojo Pork Tacos Let's start with the pot pie. The pot pie is essentially the innards of a standard pot pie served in a bowl with some hunks/strips/squares of noodles or in this case puff pastry mixed in. This one I've seen before and at least where I'm from it's not really unique. It's more or less a take on Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Pot Pie. You can find this at most area farmers markets and at some old school restaurants in the Lancaster County area. It's cheap, simple and very filling. The tacos in particular the Mojo Pork are very, very good. Well put together, nice seasoning of the meat and the ranch sauce they come with is really good. One small drawback is price. Are two tacos along with a huge pile of flavorless rice and beans worth $13? Not, so much. The service was very good as drink refills came quick and often and there was barely a wait for any part of the process. Normally I wouldn't go five because to me the food here is overpriced but the sum is greater than the parts for the overall experience and when we come back to the area no question we'll stop by to try more of the menu. read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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I used to love this place for years. When I visit home I come here. But I guess there are new owners. Menus the same. But the food was drastically different. Especially the jerk chicken wrap. Just didn't taste as fresh. The pasta salad as well. The ingredients are the same but diff sourcing of them, so quality seems not as good. Hoping this doesn't affect it in the long run. Overall the service was amazing as usual. read more

Will absolutely NEVER go back. This restaurant is rated 5 stars on bringfido.com... we brought our dog along to grab a taco at 4:15... intentionally not at a super busy time. We were the only people there when we arrived and sat outside. We sat at the table and were asked to move by our less than welcoming server to the back corner where the tables were wet and puddles from earlier rain.... We moved accordingly and got resettled. Another couple came to sit outside, she barked with a friendly excitement- the other couple greeted her. Another employee flew out of the door and rudely exclaimed "you need to leave with that dog or lock it up in your car!!! We've had issues with getting bit and she just barked and clearly you can't make it behave." and flew inside. Our waitress was mortified by this employees behavior but said "your dog looks scary and she is the one who got bit one time but she could have handled that differently" ..... We had just received our drinks of which I proceeded to pay for while my husband got in the truck with Greta. The other couple sitting outside were also appalled by the exchange and told us and the staff our pup was not bothering them one bit and thought the employees should have simply asked if she was bothering them. They also inquired about the yelling, rude woman being the owner or a staff member really hoping it was the owner and not someone being paid for customer service. It really left quite the impression on not only us but the other customers. We are in the process of training and had our training supplies with us... I get it, she barked... she's a dog... we were not given a chance to handle the situation especially while trying to move our drinks and dry off the table... Maybe a "We're not pet friendly" sign is in order. read more

Disappointed. I ordered the pork nachos based on the description on the table placard. 1st - they came with a pile of black beans on them. These were not in the description. If it had been, I would have ordered it without them. 2nd - The description said they were covered with a house-made cheese sauce. When they arrived at the table, they had a covering of two different colors of cheese shreds that had been melted under a heat lamp or something similar. There is a big difference between sauce and melted hard cheese. The small amount of pork on the top was very good but in no way made up for everything else. Truly disappointed because I drove up and walked in, I thought, "Wow, what a cool place." Sadly, there are so many other places to eat in St. Augustine that I can easily pass this one by in the future. read more

Best place for tacos! Come between 2:30pm to 5:00pm for the best tasting cheap tacos ever! read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Chimichurri Pork Taco - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Really nice for lunch & probably more. We stopped in Saturday, October 5 about noon for lunch sandwiches. My wife went for the Cuban, I tried the jerk chicken. Both were good, we thought the jerk was better. The Cuban had too much mayo for us, & the mustard & mayonnaise were not mixed together before spreading on the bread. The ham& roast pork were on terrific bread and perfectly pressed. The sides were island slaw, cabbage & fresh pineapple, good but maybe more dressing, and more time marinating the slaw. Tortilla chips were fine, the salsa was a bit sweet for us. We added the local datil pepper hot sauces to our sandwiches, delicious and very welcome. We tried two local IPAs (Ancient City & Old City) both excellent complements to our sandwiches. Total ticket with tax was $31.95, very reasonable. A previous poster grumbled about political something or other, we didn't see anything at all, except a note asking for guests to consider our plastics use and impact on sea life. That's science, not politics; we know not to eat plastic, animals don't, so we have to use good stewardship over our planet. read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Local IPAs - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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Very disappointed in our meal today. I was really looking forward to the sweet potato quesadilla (especially the poblanos) but the half I ate had none in it. The other half had what looked to be a single slice of poblano. Just a mediocre quesadilla for $12. The others in my party ordered their favorite curry chicken wrap and they said it tasted like the chicken had been reheated, was tough and dry. After asking for more curry sauce it helped but they said they would not order it again and probably wouldn't be back. So sad. This place was very good but not so much now. read more

Food ordered: Burrito, Island Bowl We looked forward to checking out this place. Not sure if the great reviews gave me high expectations but for people who love flavor their food was sub par. I mainly give it 3 stars versus a 2 for their eco-friendliness and quaint style. Their service didn't standout either. My husband who mostly finishes his food didn't this time around. We got some of the wet burrito to-go but ended up throwing it out as no one cared for it. read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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Huge portions of way above average food at reasonable prices served by a great staff. Best meal I've had yet in st augustine. read more

Back 40 Urban Cafe - Wet burrito - Caribbean Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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Perfect little restaurant! Service was friendly! Mojo pork taco and jerk chicken taco are so delicious! Happy hour for tacos is a great deal! read more

This is a "go to" spot for my family and it never disappoints  The food is fresh and delicious.  The staff is friendly.  We love the environment that the little house provides as well as the outside dining area. This restaurant works great for me as a vegetarian because there are so many options on the menu and also works great for my carnivore family.  I'm always in the mood for the Back 40. read more

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Always love Back 40 but they really need to address the air (kinda hot) and the smell inside. Smelled like straight up urine as soon as we walked in read more

Love love LOVE this place! It's off the beaten path and definitely seems to be in a sketchy area. However, the building it super cute and quant. Staff is super friendly and accommodating! They made our drinks were full and checked on us at the right pace. Food is just amazing!! Salads, sandwiches, tacos - anything and everything is great! I wish I lived closer or they had one in Jax because this could easily be a regular spot. The food is so fresh and affordable, with a huge variety! They even have a happy hour daily. 3-6pm it's $2 Coronas and Modelo and $3 tacos!!!!! The tacos ain't skimpy either. Definitely stop in here - you won't regret it. read more

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SERIOUS EATS! This is a hidden gem located in St. Augustine which offers what I would call Cal-Mex fare with a little southern influence. I have come here a few times with my sister (because she knows the best places in her town) and I have never been disappointed with the freshness of their ingredients and the flavor of their food. It's totally satisfying for the palate and the tummy! This restaurant is situated in a little converted house that serves up some BIG food with reasonable prices! The decor is cozy and colorful with divided dining areas for whatever fits your mood. Your plate is always served beautifully decorated with generous portions to boot. But wait to you taste it.... For starters, be careful as some of their appetizers are big enough for a meal (i.e. jerk chicken nachos ($9) corn tortilla chips piled high with melted cheese, black beans, marinated jerk chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and jalapenos topped with sour cream, green onions, and fresh cilantro served with a side of salsa add avocado $2. Leave room for your actual meal as they have an amazing menu that seems to change and evolve with the seasons. If you're a newbie, you really can't go wrong with their wet burrito ($7): black beans, brown rice, roasted red peppers, cheese, jalapenos, tomatoes and lettuce rolled in a flour tortilla, smothered in our red chili sauce topped with more cheese and baked. served with sour cream on the side add jerk chicken $2 or avocado $2 add shrimp or mahi $5 OR my personal favorite: avocado and roasted red pepper tacos or any of their tacos for that matter! Whatever you get to eat, they offer a nice selection of beer to wash it all down. And if you want to shine food altogether, they have a little space towards the back for the serious drinkers. But why on earth would you want to do that? AMAZING! read more

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