Luxury-minded winter sports enthusiasts know Aspen, CO as one of America’s top luxury ski destinations with its lineup of five-star hotels, shops, and restaurants that have evoked comparisons to Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive, New York City’s 5th Avenue, and Miami’s Worth Avenue. Park City, Utah, in contrast, began as a silver mining hub that in recent decades expanded into a gold mine for adventurous travelers. Until recently, it was home to the Sundance Film Festival and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, where upscale restaurants on Main Street and Deer Valley were primarily places to be seen and talk business transactions.
Although Sundance is relocating to Boulder, CO for its 2027 edition, the 2034 Winter Olympic Games in Park City are on the calendar. This means there is nowhere for the mountain town to go but up, and hoteliers and restaurateurs have hit the ground running. A myriad of five-star luxury hotels have or are in the process of springing to life in Deer Valley (The Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, and Grand Hyatt ) and the Canyons (The Pendry) just above Main Street.
Both existing and new restaurants are pushing culinary originality and technical proficiency quotient to greater heights. This creates an environment where higher-end and higher-concept restaurants thrive, and three restaurants are stepping up to the proverbial podium to show how a competitive concept with an ace team of front- and back-of-house pros should perform to be more than just a place with a scene, celebrity following, and posh interiors.
Since Edge Steakhouse debuted in 2012, it has emerged as the gold standard of steakhouses in the West. Even with a few OG steakhouse elements thrown into the service and the menu, executive chef Wayne E. Christian and sous chef Evander Gato endeavor to be cutting-edge no matter what major restaurant awards have been bestowed on it (including “Top Steakhouse in Utah” from local press). Acclaimed executive chef Wayne E. Christian and sous chef Evander Gato channel their sense of culinary adventure into dishes that consistently feature a liberal dose of Asian and Southwestern influences, turning classic steakhouse appetizers, sides, main courses, and desserts into Edge originals.
“Chef Wayne has won numerous awards by consistently paying attention to details when using sustainable ingredients from local purveyors in Utah and, when necessary, other places to ensure the best version of the recipe is achieved,” explains general manager Matt Brewster. “Gato, meanwhile, has been his protege for about seven years, and of late, he’s done a phenomenal job taking the reins. Our wine list, meanwhile, has made the Wine Spectrum Top 100 every year through our take on service and wine curation.”
The menu is anchored with top-quality USDA Certified Prime Aged Beef and Wagyu Beef sourced from Utah, Colorado, and Washington State, and wild-caught fish and seafood flown in daily. The most popular cuts include the Certified Prime Angus Ribeye, Wagyu Rib Cap, melt-in-your-mouth Miyazaki A5 Wagyu Filet Mignon, and the 45-day dry-aged New York Strip. Artfully prepared locally and organically grown produce fills out the appetizer and main course selections, while the updated classic desserts are hard to pass up.
Case in point: Wagyu tartare and steak sashimi on wasabi mashed potatoes; lobster dumplings in lobster bisque; creamed corn brûlée with butter, parmesan cheese, caramelized sugar crust, and a dusting of savory spices. Locally grown and made ingredients are also front and center. Black and white truffle mac-and-cheese features Utah Irish cheddar in its cheese blend. Honey sriracha Brussels sprouts integrate beehive honey from the Salt Lake Valley.
While most of the desserts are traditional steakhouse favorites, including a sublime expression of Tahitian vanilla crème brûlée, the standout is the Chocolate Sphere, filled with brownie, praline crunch, and mousse. The wine program, meanwhile, has a life of its own as a star attraction within Edge Steakhouse.
“I feel very privileged to be the manager here as I grew up in Park City, so I got to see this building grow, and I started my wine journey,” continues Brewster, who was completing his training at the Court of Master Sommeliers. “Although I got my start in wine in California, I moved back home because I really wanted to be in a place that premieres great wines against a backdrop of excellent food.”
While dinner inside the Edge Steakhouse’s main restaurant is seductively splurge-worthy, Brewster notes that the distinctive “Alpenglobe” outdoor dining pods immerse you in another world for an extra special occasion like a milestone birthday, wedding proposal, or anniversary. “In addition to getting the full fine-dining experience, you get to DJ your own music, as well as service with special attention to small details,” he says. “We think of them as ‘snow globes,’ because when snow is pouring down in high season, you get to experience it in an intimate, cozy space.”
Within the property, visitors and hotel guests will encounter Drafts Burger Bar, which has its own identity, fan base, and Best of State® Award honors. While family-friendly, the gastropub features more than 50 beers from around the world, including 20 on tap. However, the hand-crafted burgers (“I ♥ Garlic” and “Vote for Pedro” were favourites in my group), playful sides, and mountainous hand-spun milkshakes were all presented on a menu revealing that kitchen team members take food seriously, but not themselves.
Deer Valley remains the premier address for top-tier properties in the area, and with those aforementioned hotels coming to life in the next several years, high-profile destination restaurants are bound to reshape the food landscape. Sushi by Scratch at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley is an offspring of Los Angeles-based Scratch Restaurants that is already setting the tone for what’s to come. It artfully blends exclusivity, technical culinary precision, and a lot of whimsy to balance things out.
The restaurant, designed for groups up to ten people, is a speakeasy within a speakeasy. With three seatings at night Wednesday through Sunday ( 4:00 PM, 6:15 PM, and 8:30 PM), guests are required to arrive on time and are shown into a plush lounge, where they are greeted with several impeccably constructed canapés prepared a la minute and a visually unassuming but sophisticated cocktail of Japanese sake, Japanese whiskey, and ginger syrup. This is over and above the 17 omikase courses that the party will enjoy during the main event, but it is executed with intention, opening up the palate 30 minutes ahead of the main event.
After a half hour, the group enters a tiny speakeasy setting, with 1920s-40s-era Japanese big band music softly playing in the background. Each individual is shown to a seat at the counter with his or her name on a placard and a stone slab where one of the sushi chefs in the lineup will place each tiny course with a touch of theatrical flair. There is also freshly grated wasabi, lead chef Josh Schrader’s signature house-fermented soy sauce, and a palate-cleansing pickled cucumber, ginger, and shiitake mushroom salad that is continuously refilled and perilously easy to fill up on.
Liquid chef Asia Dove, meanwhile, stands to the side of the chefs, but is impressively quick on her feet with the right sake, whiskey, Japanese lager, or light sake cocktail to further supplement the flavors, be they delicate or bold, depending on the protein. The flow of service is flawless, from the chefs slicing and torching seafood or Wagyu, or using condiments in preparation including prawn butter, black lava salt, Fresno chiles, bone marrow, and herbs.
“Dave is passing out some hot orchid-scented towels, and this is because we don’t carry chopsticks in this restaurant,” explains Schrader, setting the scene for his audience. “We use Koshihikari short-grain rice that holds together well, so we prefer using prehistoric chopsticks–your fingers and hands. Therefore, you should get your hands ready for the evening. The black slab that you see there is not a coaster but the place where we will hand you every bite throughout the evening. While it is convenient to move it closer to yourself when you are eating the course, we just ask that you put it back ahead of the next one. I will be giving a brief 10 to 15 second description of the bite, and if I can have your attention at that time, it would be greatly appreciated.”
On the back wall, the lineup of courses is arranged into a visual bento box that underscores why the order of the courses is the way it is. It also serves as a starting point for master of ceremonies Schrader, who steers the narrative to explain the unique qualities of each protein showcased in the night’s presentation. While this natural storyteller discusses the origins, the special rice foundation, and condiments that bring out the best flavors, chefs Frank and Austin on either side of him stay in step to ensure each course comes out perfectly formed, almost too pretty to eat but too delicious to pass up.
In effect, the interactive approach to sushi omikase sets it apart. While conversation is politely discouraged during the meal, it guarantees Sushi by Scratch will be talked about long after the mochi-ice cream bite is presented. Although Edge is a modern steakhouse with a traditional underpinning, talking practically stops when they dig into the courses. The old adage of the room quieting down if the food is exceptional applies in both cases.