Look, the food scene in these parts sucks. Backbone has a leg or two up on everyone else around here when it comes to eating good. However, for the price, it does not hold up. Way too expensive for what it is. But hopefully this will lead to more quality places opening up. Service was excellent. Wish they had cocktails but they would probably be $30 a drink here so maybe I'm glad they don't. read more

CURB YOUR WHEELS! After parking your car and before entering the restaurant for a wonderful dinner, be sure to check your wheels are turned toward the curb. Several cars, including ours, received a ticket last night. It would be greatly appreciated if there were a verbal or written notice when entering the restaurant regarding the parking. That being said, we had a delicious dinner at Backbone. Every morsel that hit my mouth was delicious. We shared the Barbajuan as a starter and then the mushroom risotto as an appetizer. Both were beautifully presented and sumptuous. My husband had the Bass as a main and I had the NY Strip Steak and Short Rib. His fish was wonderfully cooked, with a well seasoned crispy skin. My steak was medium rare with a taste of pepper that was delicious. The short rib rested in a tasty sauce that worked with the mouthwatering potato puree. The short rib was so tender that it needed only a fork for cutting The chocolate cake with Amarena cherries was almost too beautiful to eat. Dusted in gold it was just sweet enough while keeping the cake light and airy. Service was impeccable. Our server, Autumn, answered all of our questions and offered suggestions. She was well informed and a pleasure to have as a server. Backbone is a lovely addition to the Glendale/Montrose area. I highly recommend dining at Backbone. You will not be disappointed. read more

Excellent food and service. Menu items vary and are all great tasting. Have returned many times.

Unbelievably delicious. Great service & ambiance. Chicken liver is creamy & smooth. Short rib & strip steak was incredible. So much flavor! The presentation of the dishes also impressed me. This place cares about food and creating a nice space to enjoy a meal in. read more

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As a Montrose resident and a very experienced diner, I can't express the delight I felt eating at the new, superlative BACKBONE, an 8-week-young, quaint-but-upscale eatery that deserves your immediate attendance. The tender, melt-in-your-mouth lamb shoulder over polenta with a reduced white grape and hazelnut sauce was an epicurean delight. You will find yourself swooning over the contrasting flavors and textures of this dish. Pair it with one of their amazing Pinots from their excellent wine list -- you'll be glad you did. But wait, there's more! Don't forget dessert! Nathan McCall's wife, Karen Yoo, is some kind of pastry chef genius. Unknowingly, I smuggled home (in a very cool brown paper bag ) the best reimagining of a key lime pie I've ever had. Trust me, this one is the best! To summarize: If BACKBONE were a movie, it would win an Oscar for Best Supporting Dessert and Best Lead Lamb in a Polenta Role. Don't walk, sprint to this place -- but maybe stretch first, because you're going to need room for all that amazing food! read more

The food and service here are fantastic. The servers and hostess are super duper friendly. Unfortunately one of their best servers, Noah, is moving on but we will absolutely be back. Ambiance is great. Food is great. Good little date night spot. read more

Wow.. just what montrose needed! Everything was amazing and we were literally licking the plates clean. Get in there before they blow up even tho that won't stop me from going back! read more

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It's so refreshing to finally have a high-quality, boutique-style restaurant in La Crescenta. The chef and the entire staff work hard to ensure every guest has an amazing experience. While the wine selection by the glass is a bit limited, the overall food quality is truly excellent. read more

Food, service, and ambiance were great. Unique and delicious food and wine options. This restaurant is a wonderful addition to the Montrose area. read more

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Hallelujah! The Montrose area is great but I've always said the area lacks sophisticated restaurants. An average Chinese place, average gastro pub but nothing more detailed and nuanced. Well, welcome to Backbone. A very small restaurant with the open kitchen so you can see all the chefs do their careful preparation of thoughtful and artistic work. The hostess on the night we went, over the top friendly. The waiter, attentive, knowledgeable and also friendly. The food, the word that keeps coming up is sophisticated. The food is delicious but also delicate and unique. I'm going back for sure. Now if we can get a few other restaurants around there to make the area a chic dinning location, I'd thank Backbone for being the initial change maker. read more

Arriving at 5:45 for a 6 pm reservation, we were told that because the restaurant was fully booked, we had to finish our meal and leave by 7:30. No previous warning was given. Wednesday nights are free corkage nights, unbeknownst to us ahead of time, so we ordered several glasses of the restaurant's, probably neighboring in the area of $160 for the evening. All other patrons brought their own wine, knowing in advance the restaurant's policy. Our food was promptly served and on a scale of 1-10, rated about a 6. At 7:15, the hostess informed us that the party who reserved a table for 7:30 was early and that we needed to leave or finish our meal at the bar. I KNOW we spent more money that night (over $450 for two) than any other diners, yet we were treated poorly. I won't go back. read more

Portions very small for price; lackluster service; disappointing; had high hopes but not met; Will not return though it is in my neighborhood. read more

Walked in right at 5pm, managed to get bar seating- couldn't be happier with the food and service! Kyle was the best- approachable and knowledgeable/ Food was top notch, beautifully presented-had the uni waffle, the barbajuan, the pate, agnolitti, wild mushroom risotto, lamb and the short rib.. finished with the key lime delight! it was a wonderful culinary journey! Hats off to this team! read more

What a great experience, from service to ambiance to food to wine selection. Backbone hit all the notes and very much looking forward to going back to experience more of the menu. We ordered the Grilled Octopus, Butternut squash Agnolotti, New York Strip with Braised Short-rib and Seasonal Pumpkin dessert. All around a great meal and the wine selection is excellent. So lovely to have an elegant restaurant in the neighborhood with an upscale/refined menu. While we live in La Cañada, this is hands down our new favorite restaurant in the surrounding area. read more

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Love Backbone! From the welcoming staff to the amazing food and incredible deserts, you will not be disappointed.

I recently visited a newly opened small fine dining restaurant in my neighborhood, and it exceeded all my expectations. You could really feel the care and attention given to each ingredient, and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I would highly recommend the Butternut Squash Agnolotti and the mushroom risotto as appetizers. For dessert, the pumpkin pie is the perfect way to finish everything off--it was absolutely divine. I'm so happy to have such a great restaurant now in La Canada. read more

I honestly don't get it. We showed up early, we were two, but they sat us at the bar. Wasn't happy with the attitude we got when we simply ordered appetizers and no drinks. The food was very salty and we tried to share that feedback with them but then we just got more attitude. I don't care about the pedigree, but this is Montrose and that doesn't fly with me. Won't be returning. read more

Incredible. I've been twice and each experience was great. Great service, consistent and delish dishes. We are lucky to have this in our neighborhood. read more

Great local restaurant in La Crescenta. The food was tasty and great service as well. My favorite dishes were the steak, fish and agnolotti. read more

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Vibe was cool, wine was good, service was great. We really enjoyed the starters - beef tartare was very flavorful and fresh, and the mushroom risotto was excellent. Happy to have this type of energy in the Foothills. read more

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Great food and an even better staff. The food was damn near perfect...just the right amount of food and extremely tasty. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. We will be returning read more

This restaurant is phenomenal! The lamb was succulent and divine. The key lime pie was the best dessert I've ever eaten in my life. I cannot wait to return. 10000/10 read more

My wife and I went to Backbone this evening and had a great experience. Our server was great (I wish I had gotten his name), he went over the menu and gave some recommendations and was very patient and helpful with questions we had. The atmosphere of the place is nice and clean with upbeat music playing that created a nice vibe. On to the food which was outstanding also. The dishes were all beautifully plated and clean. We had the tuna tartare, beet salad and the prawns to start and all three of those dishes were winners. For main course we had the duck and the steak and short ribs. Both of these entrees were very good and the portion sizes were a bit better than you sometimes get at this price point. They also have a nice selection of wines and they had a Yuzu beer that was great too. It was a very nice meal and we will definitely be back. Cheers! read more

Sooo delicious! Beautifully presented and innovative. Can't wait to go back. Also very welcoming and attentive. read more

Absolutely delicious. The place is so quaint and well thought out, but still fun and relaxed and not stuffy. Service was attentive but not suffocating. The wine list is IMPECCABLE and every single bite of food was wonderful, and I don't say that lightly. We will be back for sure!! read more

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Greatest thing to hit the Foothills since the actual foothills! Love this place! Small but amazing menu! Everything on it is a hit. My non-foodie wife proclaimed it is "better than Daniel" which is an amazing statement in itself. (Daniel in NYC.). This is a definite rinse and repeat place. Service is spot on-for a fairly casual place it focuses on treating you high end in every regard. Small but energetic. Thank you for being here in our neck of the woods! read more

This is our absolutely favorite restaurant!!!!!! We first went about a month ago and have gone back four times since. The food is absolutely incredible. The Chef (Nathan) and Pastry Chef (Karen) are the owners and they make all the food themselves. The NY Strip & Short Rib, Beet Salad, and KEY LIME PIE are to die for!!!! Everyone that works there is SO lovely. Perfect date night!! Perfect family night out!! read more

stellar. Service was so friendly and helpful. Food was absolutely outstanding. We had: Tuna Tartare Pickled Yellowtail Mushroom Risotto Shrimp (Insanely good) Lamb Lasagna Hangar steak frites Everything was 10/10 can't wait to go back, highly highly recommended. read more

From the people who started McCall's Meat & Fish Co. in Los Feliz, this is a great addition to the Verdugo/La Crescenta-Montrose area. Since they used to own a meat company, we set our sights on the New York strip and short rib dish and it did not disappoint. The strip steak was so flavorful and cooked to perfection. The other highlight of the meal was the incredible pumpkin cake dessert. read more

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Very exciting for a restaurant like this to open up in our sweet town. Had high hopes for our meal but it fell a bit flat. The food was good, solid but nothing was amazing. Let's be real- If this restaurant was in the DTLA/arts district food scene, it would not survive. Portions are sooo small for the price point. Like so small it felt awkward in our group- no one wanted to really dig into the dishes and eat for fear of taking all the food! Server rec we order Barbajuan and wow for $15, it was basically 3 tiny fried puff pastries that are small enough to eat in 1 bite w scant filling. Save yourself the letdown and do not order this dish. Honestly don't know what I even ate, just tasted fried bits. Risotto and octopus were good but again such little portion. Flavors good but again, nothing special. NY Strip dish...holy moly for $65, it should be a bit more substantial. Amazing service. Kind staff. I really want a place like this to succeed but unfortunately the portions are not worth the price...and the flavors/dishes are also not interesting enough to keep paying these prices. Ambiance was nice, elevated but still casual and comfortable. Glad I tried once and that is enough for me. read more

The Food was incredible and the service was spectacular. If you are thinking of trying them out, just do it. You won't regret your decision!

Food and ambiance and service were all great. My friend and I shared appetizer, pasta and the meat dish. They all tasted great

By far the best restaurant in Montrose, La Canada, or Pasadena. Amazing food and awesome unpretentious service. Will definitely go back

Everything about the place was perfection. The food was outstanding. Beautiful presentation and just the most balanced flavors. The staff was warm and wonderful and fun. The ambiance was perfect too, I could hear the music, I could hear my friend, I could hear the wait staff, but I couldn't hear my neighbors. Nice lighting, look and I could read the menus. A+!!! read more

my visit here was awesomely wonderful, and I recommend this place for a certified service of clean and observant workers . I enjoyed the food as well, and I will say that they are good. but need to work on the time for serving. Thanks read more

Omg! I almost don't want to review last night because we want to be able to come back again! Obviously with Nathan and Karen at the helm it's going to be AMAZING! And it was! 5 stars isn't enough! We ordered as much as we could for the four of us plus entrees. The service was also 5 Stars!! Needless to say we will be back! So nice to have them on this side of town! read more

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Delicious food, meticulously prepared and presented. Friendly and well-informed service. Upscale yet welcoming ambience. This restaurant is exactly what our Foothills community needed ! Chefs McCall and Yoo deliver an incredible dining experience. read more

Food and service was excellent. The atmosphere was very comfortable. We were there for a special event and they went out of their way to make us feel special read more

This restaurant is phenomenal. The cheerful greeting from the hostess began things on a positive note. Our server was very helpful. And then the food!! An amazing hamachi. This mushroom risotto that's beyond delicious. And some fantastic fish dishes. All so tasty and mindful of flavor. A great wine list! And the desserts! The key lime is not to be missed. Go and enjoy! read more

Tonight was my third visit to Backbone in Montrose. I love everything about it. it is elegant yet casual, sophisticated without pretension and the food is amazing. I have had the uni appetizer 3 times and loved it. The lamb confit, steak and short ribs and the mushroom risotto were our shared entrees for tonight and it was difficult to pick the favorite. Our apple Paris Brest was perfect, but the earl grey Madeline's straight from the oven were heavenly. . the staff are very warm and professional.. we're already look8ng forward to our next visit. read more