Arctic Circle — Restaurant in Bountiful

There's something I find charming about authentic 70's/80's decor in a fast foot drive through. When you see it, you understand why it's impossible to reproduce.

The care that goes into cleaning and maintaining the same equipment for ~50 years glistens on every surface. Theres a fine balance between "how can you trust something so old" and "why bother with something new". As things age, that balance gets sharper.

Eventually, the realization that this place understood what it is decades ago and found no reason to change dawns on you. You begin to question what value a marketing department brings and at what cost. Other restaurants need to reinvent themselves every few years just to entice customers to try them again. This place has the confidence to say "we don't need to dazzle you with the hottest new trends" and "feel free to go to those other places, we'll still be here when you're ready to come back and we'll still be the same."

I've often considered Artic Circle in the same arena as In and Out. As In and Out has expanded and franchised, it's easy to see how they've tried to package and export their image. It's never the same as going to an In and Out in Southern California. You can still get similar food at those franchised locations, but it's just an imperfect copy. There's no new franchised Artic Circles and based on how it changes In and Out, I'm thankful.

Don't be confused. I'm not saying the food at Artic Circle is the same as In and Out. I am saying they're examples of the area they originated from. Their food is wildly different and changes the further they've extended from their origin. Artic Circle hasn't extended very far, so it remains true to its roots.

As for the food... Salty burger with mayo. Decent french fries with fry sauce. Really, you're coming here for a shake. Everything...

WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS PLACE!?!?!

I visited this location a couple of weeks ago (in July) and at the time I was thrilled with it. The manager was kind and caring and made sure we were taken care of. He was a young man with dark hair and a goatee and I was impressed with his amazing service and how the employees looked up to him. One of our burgers had been made incorrectly, and the manager has one replaced and out to us within a couple minutes, I was absolutely thrilled. He truly made us feel like we were important to the business.

Just a couple of days ago (Saturday august 8th) I went back to this location and I was utterly disappointed. There was no friendly service this time. It seemed like everything had fallen into complete chaos. The tables were dirty. The floor was a mess. That bathroom looked like it had not been cleaned for several days. The employees didn't so much as great us, but ignored us and didn't seem to care if we were there or not. There was a major difference with the atmosphere of the store from my first visit. The burgers were over done and tasteless with hard buns. Our fries were soggy and not crispy. and the chicken stripes almost looked raw inside. I am very disappointed in this location and how it has gone down hill so fast! I will no longer be taking my family to this location! There are much better places where you could spend your money than this restaurant. If arctic circle knew what they were doing, they would make sure that every visit was like my original visit, and not like the poor excuse for a restaurant that I went to...

This is a new review as of December 2023: the quality of this AC has taken a big dive! I will not be eating here again! The burger meal I ordered was $12, and it was seriously the worst burger ever!! The meat patties were about 3" in diameter and extremely thin (they didn't even extend to the diameter of the bun), there was next to no ketchup or sauce on it, the bun wasn't fresh - it was terrible!!! IT WAS A WASTE OF MY MONEY! The fries weren't any good either. Such a disappointment.

We've eaten here many times in the past, but this time was not the most enjoyable dining experience we've had @ an Arctic Circle. The food was less than well prepared - the wife's taco salad looked nothing like the pictured taco salad (it was missing a few items and looked like it had been through the wringer), and the burger seemed like it was just thrown together haphazardly. Then there was the counter staff (Maria)! She seemed like an unhappy person and, consequently, employee. She did not seem happy to be there and treated customers rather rudely - that is, when she wasn't on her cell phone. Customer service was definitely not a priority at this location! Sadly, this Arctic Circle wasn't up to the standard we've encountered at...