A Park City, Utah Weekend Food Guide
This post was sponsored by the Park City Chamber of Commerce & Red Rock Junction. All Opinions are my own.
A couple weeks ago, Dustin and I escaped Salt Lake City and spent a long weekend in the gorgeous mountain town of Park City, UT. I shared a complete photo diary of our amazing trip here – and man, am I wishing we could just hop in the car and go back now that the weather is so dreamy. We had an amazing time exploring this beautiful time and had an even better time eating at so many unique and fun places. I rounded up all of the places we tried below because we were a little overwhelmed by all the places to choose from when we were there:
PARK CITY DINNER RECOMMENDATIONS:
Draft’s Sports Bar
Draft’s Sports Bar is located in The Westgate Resort (where we stayed for the weekend.) We ate here the first night that we got there since we got in the early evening and didn’t want to drive into town to eat. Since it was Thursday, it wasn’t very busy and we were able to be seated right away on the balcony.
We started off with their Tatchos appetizer – which was a fun play on nachos and super delicious. This. was. freaking. delicious. Instead of chips, this play on nachos was based with tater tots! It was covered with sour cream, bacon bits, cheese, green onion, diced tomatoes, and some form of fry-sauce. I’m seriously considering trying to remake it because it was so delicious and hearty. It was also a HUGE serving, so it’d be a great appetizer for a larger party.
Dustin was stoked to see that Draft’s had been voted best burger in Utah, so he promptly ordered the Garlic Burger. IT WAS MASSIVE! It was stacked with smoked bacon, mushrooms, caramelized onions and garlic aioli and came on a pretzel bun. Dustin said it was by far one of the best burgers he’s had in Utah (next to Lucky 13’s) which is saying a lot since Dustin is a burger connoisseur.
I choose to try the Steak & Frites dish – a boneless rib eye with a rosemary demi-glace and roasted garlic and herb butter fries. My rib-eye was cooked perfectly and the fries were really flavorful. It was a spendy dish, but I would order it again because I really enjoyed it.
Red Rock Junction
Our friends at Red Rock Junction hosted us for dinner Saturday night and we were so excited to eat there. Red Rock has three locations throughout Utah and a lot of our friends love the SLC location.
First of all, we really enjoyed the atmosphere at Red Rock Junction. We watched the general manager walk around all evening, greeting guests as if they were old friends and taking the time to check in with everyone. The waiting staff was kind and gave great recommendations, and even brought me a rootbeer float half-way through our meal just because.
We started out with their deconstructed bruschetta appetizer and I’m not even kidding when I say that it BLEW OUR MINDS. The platter came with full cloves of roasted garlic, tomatoes drenched in seasoning and olive oil, and walnut-crusted goat cheese. The goat cheese (which I’ve never been a huge fan of) was some of the best cheese I’ve ever had. period. We’ve actually talked about driving up to Park City just to eat this appetizer again.
For entrees, I choose the Alaskan Halibut Fish & Chips and Dustin choose the New York Strip. I’m always hesitant to order fish from a landlocked state, but the general manager assured me that the fish was as fresh as it could get and that it wouldn’t disappoint. He did not lie. The fish was soft, flaky, and had the perfect beer-battered crust. I also got a HUGE portion of fish – so much so that I could barely finish the last piece. I would easily put this fish & chips up against any from New England – it was that good.
For dessert, we tried their carrot cake. We’re normally not huge carrot cake fans, but the staffed raved about how good it was, so we figured we would give it a go. It didn’t disappoint. It was extremely moist and soft and the cream cheese frosting transformed it. Definitely worth a try.
Finally, I have to give a shout out to their home-brewed root beer and cream soda. Both were so delicious-the cream soda tasted like butterbeer from Harry Potter world (which, you know, is basically my favorite place in the world.)
Out of all the places we ate in Park City, we would recommend Red Rock Junction the most for anyone to try!
Flying Sumo Sushi
Dustin and I are huge Sushi people and we decided to try out Flying Sumo after our day at Park City Mountain. I’ll be totally honest, while the sushi was fine, it wasn’t the best we’ve ever had. It was also kind of overpriced and their air conditioning was out, so it was really warm and uncomfortable to sit there. We heard that they were offering half-priced rolls on weekdays, and I think we would go back if the sushi was cheaper, but other than that, I wouldn’t put this restaurant on the top of our recommendation list.
PARK CITY LUNCH RECOMMENDATIONS
Freshies Lobster Co
If you are from New England, you might recognize this name. This place (in UTAH) beat out all other restaurants for the title of
“Best Maine Lobster Roll.” Seeing as I’m a born and raised New Englander and Dustin LOVES lobster, we knew we had to come here for lunch. We actually got to chat with the owner (who is a native New Englander, herself) and watched them make the Lobster Rolls. They did NOT disappoint. They were packed with lobster and served in the traditional New England way: a hot dog roll. Plus, their brick & mortar was so adorable. It was bright and clean and had modern nautical decorations on the wall. It just FELT like home to me and if there weren’t giant mountains out the window, I would have thought I was back in New England.
Red Banjo Pizza Parlor
I love pizza almost as much as I love tacos (ALMOST.) Red Banjo Pizza Parlour was recommended to us by one of our friends here in Utah, so we definitely wanted to check it out. It’s located at the top end of Main Street, so you definitely get a beautiful view from the balcony when eating there.
We ordered their Ontario Pizza (chicken, fresh garlic, and artichokes) and asked if they would do half red sauce and half alfredo sauce, because Dustin and I just cannot agree on a sauce for pizza, ever. The kitchen happily obliged and made us a customized pizza. The pizza crust was thick and warm and the pizza was loaded with toppings. I could only eat one piece before having to put the rest away to eat later.
The best part about Red Banjo Pizza Parlor? They have a giant bulletin board where people from all over the world pin up their money to donate to pediatric cancer charities. So many people, from all over the world, had put up money to donate. We saw Yuan from China, Pounds from England, and even some Pesos! As a pediatric cancer survivor, this really touched a spot in my heart. Very rarely does pediatric cancer get the support and acknowledgment that it deserves compared to other kinds of cancer, and it was really great to see a business raise awareness and support children with cancer.
OTHER PLACES TO EAT IN PARK CITY
Atticus Coffee, Books & Teahouse
Ever since we went to Portland, Oregon, a few years back, I’ve been on the hunt for an eclectic coffee shop similar to the ones we explored while we were there. Atticus Coffee, Book & Teahouse finally filled that void in my heart. Filled with mismatched chairs & tables and a whole corner dedicated to used books for sale, it really felt like we were back in Oregon. We shared a sunrise smoothie (pineapple, banana and strawberry goodness) and a piece of coffee cake and then just sat and took in the atmosphere. If we were staying in Park City for an extended amount of time, I know I would be here every day to do some work. It was such a fun place to hang out in!
Java Cow Coffee & Icecream
We wanted to meet up with some really good friends who we hadn’t seen in a long time while we were there and they suggested this cute little ice cream shop. They had SO many different ice cream flavors and let us sample as many as we wanted before we choose what to order. I almost ordered their honey-lavender flavor, which was so unique but decided to go with their ultimate peanut-butter icecream instead. It did not disappoint! It was creamy, thick, and had lots of different flavors. Definitely a must-stop on a summer’s day!
We had a great experience at almost every place we ate, but if I had to give you my top three recommendations, it would be Red Rock Junction, Freshie’s Lobster Co, and Atticus Coffee, Books & Teahouse. Each place is so different, but they were all true unique experiences and the food was fantastic. I literally am drooling as I type this up and look back at all the pictures. I seriously can’t wait to go back to Park City and eat at these places and discover more places to try.
Have you been to Park City? What places did you eat at/would you recommend?
