This is Thanksgiving weekend and the official start of the ski season. Park City Mountain resort and Snowbird opened up last Saturday. Alta and Snowbasin opened today and the Canyons will open tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day. Deer Valley Resort always opens the first Saturday in December, which this year falls on December 5th.
With the upcoming ski season it is always fun to review the new restaurants in town. As I travel around to different resorts, when I mention that I live in Park City a frequent reply is how good the restaurants are in Park City compared to other resorts. This year we have four new restaurants in town, Spruce at the Canyons Resort, High West Distillery on Park Ave, Talisker on Main Street and a restaurant in the new St. Regis Hotel at Deer Crest.
Spruce is a very high end restaurant located at Dakota Mountain Lodge just below the base area at the Canyons Resort. Dakota Mountain Lodge features a Golden Door Spa and is operated under the Waldorf Astoria brand. As one would expect from Waldorf Astoria Hotel, the décor is exquisite and quite contemporary. The bar overlooks the hotel swimming pool and is very comfortable. The restaurant itself is beautiful and the menu is delightful with a variety of fresh seafood’s along with unique presentations. I highly recommend this restaurant for a romantic experience during your stay here.
For a fun and informal dining experience, the High West Distillery on Park Ave is a must visit. The restaurant is a restored historic building on Park Ave and only seats around 40 people. Built in 1907 by E.J. Beggs, the broad wooden building started out as the Beggs & Buckley Livery. When the horseless carriage was replaced with the automobile, Beggs and Buckley began servicing cars and changed the name to National Garage. The High West Distillery menu is a more casual “mountain” cuisine and along with sampling their local whiskey’s they will also be offering a variety of wine flights. For more information on the historic building and the distillery visit highwestdistillery.com.
Talisker on Main Street is scheduled to open early January and will feature a small dining room with a maximum of 40 guests. The chef, John Murko is preparing the menu which will be excellent judging from the other Talisker restaurants. This restaurant will be open to the public however Talisker club members will have preferred reservations, for more information visit talisker.com.
The St. Regis will offer, as expected, a five star dining experience. I will have an opportunity to experience a sampling from the menu in about two weeks and will give a review at that time.
While these new restaurants are certain to be worth visiting, I cannot leave out my long time favorites. Always consistent and excellent on my list of recommended restaurants are Riverhorse on Main, Chimayo (an interesting take of southwestern cuisine), Wahso (Asian/Pacific Rim), The Seafood Buffett @ Deer Valley (a must for families and groups) and the Fireside Dining in Empire Lodge at Deer Valley. For an intimate and romantic dining experience, the Mariposa at Deer Valley is not to be missed. For more casual or family style dinners, Windy Ridge and the Wasatch Brew Pub located on Main Street are my favorites.
While these are a good sample of restaurants to visit, Park City offers many more restaurants and when you are in town give me a call and I will be happy to recommend other restaurants that I really like.
With the ski season upon us start planning your trip to Park City now. You can always call me for the current ski conditions or restaurant/ lodging recommendations. I hope to see you this winter!
