Eight Settlers Restaurant & Distillery — Restaurant in Cottonwood Heights

Review on 4/29/25: I gave a 3-star review 4 years ago. I'm now moving it down to 2-stars. We keep trying, really trying to like this restaurant. To have a positive experience. Unfortunately, that has yet to happen. The time before our visit today started as us planning to have dinner, however after poor and abrasive service, we left after a drink and an app. Tonight, we chose to try this restaurant AGAIN because it was a beautiful evening and we wanted to enjoy the sunset from the second floor. First of all, when we got to the front steps entering the restaurant, we were assaulted with a septic smell. Not the first time. That sure whets your appetite. 🤨 Then when we entered the restaurant at 7:45, we were very matter-of-factly and coldly told that the upstairs was closed. So we left. I truly do not understand the management or owners at this restaurant. Clearly a significant amount of money was sunk into this establishment. Yet, when I've been there it's never been close to being full. And I can't think of a restaurant in the valley that has a better sunset/valley view. Yet you close the upstairs??! Before sunset??? This should be a key marketing ploy!! This should be advertised and exalted!! So anyways, we were once again disappointed. It just seems like such a waste of a place that could be a real gem.

Review from 4 years ago: We live within walking distance of this restaurant, so we have been able to watch the whole building process and have been excited to give your restaurant a try. It’s very apparent that a huge amount of money went into constructing such an amazing restaurant. And it is beautiful....inside and out. Unfortunately, the menu prices also require a huge amount of money. I’d love to see the prices come down a bit. And while the interior is incredible (and we’re excited to visit when the windows and skylights are all opened up to create an outdoor eating experience!), it felt ‘cold’. Not temperature cold, just ambiance cold. My other comment is related to the food and service. The food was not amazing, but it was decent. But the timing with how it was served was horrible. We ordered an appetizer, a salad to share, and two entrees. The appetizer arrived and about three minutes later, the salad was delivered. We were only a few bites into the app, hadn’t started on the salad, and our entrees arrived (a couple minutes after the salad). This is my biggest pet peeve when dining at a restaurant....for everything to arrive at the same time. So we felt rushed through our app and salad while meanwhile our entrees sat and got cold. And when the entrees had arrived, I commented to the waiter that our eating space was full with the food we were still eating and requested that the entrees be set on the other side of the table. He should’ve been more observant and maybe offered to keep the entrees warm, but he seemed pretty oblivious. I don’t know if this sort of service is typical or if it’s because it was the end of the night (we arrived at 8:45 on a Friday night) and they just wanted to get us fed and out. Either way, that was a big...

Let me start with the comment that the stars are given for the overall experience and not for the food and drinks, which were really great. We were a party of 3 and we all loved our food and drinks (seared ahi tuna in the picture. Amazing !). Service was really great too, thank you Monika for your attentive service even if it wasn’t probably the most convenient to serve us at a small table. However, the hostesses need a bit more training into customer service. We didn’t have a reservation and from the start we were told we could sit in the lounge area, a nice couch with a living room like table or the bar, because they were completely booked. Fine by us either one so we chose the couch. The entire time we were there (over an hour) there were at least 3-4 tables empty around us. Not a single person sat there. Maybe charge for no-shows or give the tables away after 15-20 mins of no-show? Why creating a less comfortable experience for those already there when there are obviously available tables ? That was one thing. The most awkward part was that right when we were paying our bill, one of the hostesses came by and literally asked us scooch together so she can fit another party of 3 people right next to us ! Excuse me? We were having dinner and drinks there, basically like our table/area, and you want us to sit like in an airplane so you can fit 3 other people next to us while 4 tables were empty? Why ? It was the most awkward thing. We paid our bill and decided to leave right when the hostess returned with the other round of people to sit on the couch. We decided to go downstairs (since it was out of season, it was empty) and continue our conversation there. There was a party of 4 on the other couch set near us and they witnessed the entire exchange with the hostess. On their way out, they told us how awkward it felt to witness the entire exchange and how uncomfortable they felt staying there after that. Management: take a few minutes and train the staff facing customers on how to deal with clients. We spent probably over $120 for a dinner and drinks there. I would like to come back, but I don’t want to be rushed to finish my meal nor drinks. Nor do I want to sit with strangers at dinner. I can do that at McDonald’s. Figure out your reservations system and no shows, and make sure people who are there already have a great experience. I will consider changing my rating if this is...

This wannabe “trendy new place” 😆🤣 is genuinely awful on all counts. It’s clearly a cash grab restaurant for unexpecting tourists at the bottom of the canyon, designed to overcharge people and give nothing special in return. The servers don’t want to be there, spend all their free time looking at their phones and scowling at the manager behind his back. The food is greasy, unoriginal, and downright childish. $38 pork chops and soggy appetizers are not at all what people should be eating after an otherwise healthy day on the slopes. This place is essentially a cafeteria with the food quality standards of a third world country street vendor. Please don’t waste your money here. This neighborhood can and needs to do way better. Cash grabs like this fast food auditorium shouldn’t be rewarded.

UPDATE: After posting my review, people affiliated with this restaurant left multiple 1-star negative reviews on Google for my business in retaliation! Wow!!

They even subsequently mentioned as much in their reply below, noting my score of “3.3”, and then insinuating that I was merely trolling, and arguing that negative reviews should not have any influence. In other words "Positive reviews only!" Well, my own business’ rating was a perfect 5.0 until just the other day, when they sought revenge in this way, bringing me down to 3.3. It’s not a coincidence. What they didn’t realize is that my business has not even been open to customers at all in the last two years, so it’s impossible for these new reviews to have come from anywhere legitimate. The timing is obvious. These folks are clearly willing to play dirty. Check out the screenshot I’ve attached. Then read their Yelp reviews. I am not the only person who has felt similarly about the food and atmosphere, and who feels disappointed as a nearby local who was hoping for more from this giant new construction at the base of the canyon. People living in the neighborhood would do well to avoid this place. And let it be known that they have willingly engaged in cyber warfare. I’ll be reporting to Google....