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Another Powder Day at Dante's! - Backside Bistro, Durango, CO

Backside Bistro

4.6
4.6
17 Reviews
$31 to $50
Contemporary European

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 4 times today
  • Great for scenic views
  • Lively
Ranked one of Colorado’s top on-mountain lunch spots, Backside Bistro features panoramic views of the San Juan Mountains in a relaxed setting with full table service. Enjoy authentic European alpine cuisine, including schnitzel, steak frites, French onion soup, and a specially curated wine list with stunning European wines, featuring Bollinger Champagne. Join us at 10,300 ft in elevation and feel on top of the world.

Additional information

What 17 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.6
4.6 based on recent ratings
  • 4.4Food
  • 4.3Service
  • 4.9Ambience
  • 4.3Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Backside Bistro, also known as Dante's, offers a charming on-mountain dining experience with "delicious & awesome" food. Despite occasional service delays due to staffing, the staff are "lovely humans." The nostalgic atmosphere, spectacular views, and standout dishes like porcini ravioli and crème brûlée make it a "great retreat" for skiers.

17 Reviews
  1. susan

    Dallas16 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Grill was not working today so had to change order!! What we had was very good and a nice break from skiing the powder at Purgatory - best place on the mountain to eat!!!

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  2. susan

    Dallas16 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on February 27, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Food and service excellent- food very slow to come out, they must have been short kitchen staff!! Love this place for a decent lunch on the ski slopes ;)

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  3. susan

    Dallas16 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on February 24, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    They were out of several items that we wanted :( Like this restaurant for eating on the mountain!!

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  4. Alejandro VIP

    El Paso20 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on February 20, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    Outstanding views of the beautiful mountains across. (San Juan I think (?)). Mantels on tables definitely a step up from typical ski mountain fast food. Have to say: food wasn’t great at all. I’d give it a 6 out of 10. Service… well, could easily be improved.

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  5. ValerieM VIP

    Austin22 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on February 14, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Galentine’s celebration! Sofi was GREAT!

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  6. OpenTable Diner VIP

    Austin4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 12, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    One of our favorite things to do when visiting Purgatory is lunch at Dante’s Backside Bistro. It gets crowded at lunch but the staff are lovely humans and the food is yum. Thank you Austin and Sebastian for a great lunch experience yet again!!

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  7. MarkW

    New Mexico3 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on February 23, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    Happy that they held our reservation. Hard to gauge wait times on ski lifts leading to our late arrival. The service and ambience were great. Two of us ordered beef sliders which were overcooked (read: well-done) and carelessly assembled. One ordered French Bistro Steak which was of good size and a perfect medium rare, but lacked flavor and came with old fries. One us us ordered an entree salad, only to be told they were out of lettuce! French Onion Soup was tasty, but almost all onions and no liquid. I guess you pay the price for being the last table to be seated.

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  8. MichaelS

    Denver1 review

    4.0

    Dined on February 23, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    On a Friday at 1:30pm you did not have any lettuce. The food tasted like it was premade/ frozen/cand and warmed up.

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  9. Megs

    Los Angeles2 reviews

    1.0

    Dined on February 10, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    I can not express how bitterly disappointed myself, husband and guests were. This was a surprise birthday lunch for my husband as he had mentioned he had eaten here last year whilst filming for 'Visit Durango' and raved about it! Firstly, After waiting for 20 minutes my husband asked if we could place a drinks order another 10 minutes later we placed our complete order drinks and food. Again we waited another 20 minutes for our drinks to be brought out, only to see the bottle of champagne we had ordered was half size, nothing had been mentioned to us. My salad had old, black, slimy leaves in it and the salmon was way over cooked. I moved the slimy leaves to the side for the kitchen to see. My husbands schnitzel was dry, overcooked and tasted like rubber, the gravy too looked like it had been sitting for sometime. What ever was under the schnitzel some potato resembling cardboard was horiffic. Our guests steak frites was also overcooked and dry and his wifes salad with chicken resembled mine, we were all so disappointed as it was a special occasion and I felt so embarrassed in front of our guests. We are locals and love the mountain, support it wholeheartedly and up there weekly, but this was just plain bad.....I really hope this is a once off.....

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  10. OpenTable Diner VIP

    Charlotte1 review

    5.0

    Dined on January 23, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    Really nice to sit and have a nice meal while skiing

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FAQs

Backside Bistro is rated 4.6 stars by 17 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 4 times today
Google Map for Backside Bistro

#1 Skier Place, Durango, CO 81301

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Contemporary European
  • Hours of operation
    Daily 11:00 am–1:45 pm
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    None
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