Market Street Grill — Restaurant in Cottonwood Heights

We reserved a private dining room for my birthday in September for about 20 people. We were provided the opportunity to create a fixed menu and was instructed guests could order adult beverages to their liking. The birthday dinner was far from our usual experience at Market Street. Here is what we reported to the management after the experience: The staff that night was not very attentive and not that friendly. We were told that we had no choice on how the steaks were cooked and that they would be medium. Most of our guest like medium rare however, they were able to compromise to medium but the steaks were actually served well done. The guest of honor was brought cake for desert even though it was made clear to you that he has celiac. The staff was quite surprised at this and had to scramble to find something they could serve in place of the cake. One of the staff slightly opened two of the doors to the patio which prompted our quests to go out for some fresh air while we waited for our food. I pushed one of those doors further open and was instantly scolded by the staffer saying I was going to block the server from getting around the table and he stormed over to the door and shut it.

The manager, David Crabbs, replied very defensive and dismissive. Here is his reply:

I am also surprised by your comments below regarding your event on the 17th. The staff from that evening does an incredible job for us and they are known for going above and beyond for our guests. For example, I know that Sarah spent some time going down to the Oyster Bar to get drinks for guests that are not readily available in our bar upstairs. Bar service for private events is somewhat limited, as outlined in our contracts and private dining policies, but Sarah wanted to make sure that everyone received what they requested and happily went the extra mile.

As for the steaks, I personally prepared your food for that evening and checked the temperature on them. All of them were between 130 and 135 degrees which is a textbook medium. Had any of your guests mentioned that they were not happy with their steaks that evening, I would have happily prepared a new one.

Unfortunately, the note that the guest of honor was celiac did not get relayed to the staff. That is something I will speak with Peggy about, but I know that they prepared a crème brulee as a replacement and got it out to him as quickly as possible.

The staffer that spoke with you in regards to the doors upstairs is my kitchen manager and he was attempting to find a different solution to allow your guests to go outside that would not impede service. We have multiple doors that we can open to allow use of the deck and are always happy to open them, however guests are not familiar with how those doors open, so we encourage our guests to ask the staff for help in opening any doors. The staff is familiar with how to open the doors and can open some that will accommodate use of the deck without detracting from service.

I am happy to hear that you have received such impeccable service from us throughout the years and hope that you will continue to do so. I am disappointed that you were not as pleased with our private dining offering. For future reference, we are able to accommodate parties of up to 16 in our dining rooms, but parties of more than 16 can only be booked through our private dining spaces.

We will never return to this location again. Do yourself a favor and do not use this location for a large event - stick to the dining room, as...

Market Street is a renowned restaurant in Salt Lake, popular for its upscale ambiance. It sells sushi grade fish, has a decent wine list, and a menu packed with delicious meat and seafood options. My husband and I decided to have a holiday dinner (for 6 people) there and make a 7:30 reservation on a Saturday. We showed up at 7:20 and were told that they were behind and would need to wait. We were directed to sit in their closed bar area. By 7:45 we were still not seated and inquired about the wait. We were instructed that people at our table were done eating and they were just waiting for them to leave. Then 8 pm rolls around and I decide to point out that they were 30 minutes past our reservation and that they should find a table for us to sit at. This is also after 3 other groups of people came in after us and got seated before us. The hostess, who lacked any ability to be accountable, used her most disinterested tone to inform me that it was a busy time and there was nothing they could do. By around 8:15 and after a second time of pointing out we were not seated, we were given a table.

The waitress was apologetic and did offer a free appetizer. They promptly brought drinks and food, which at best was a 3 out of 5 stars. Do note, I am more discerning when it comes to food than the typical consumer. Many people think the food at Market Street is quite good; however, I feel that tartar sauce should not be served with crab cakes and they should be made with 95% crab meat, rather than bread crumbs.

I could have gotten over the mediocre crab cakes but the bad experience was elevated as I watched the waitress walk by multiple times as my wine glass sat empty. She even brought more Coke for my father in law but I had to get her attention and ask her for a second glass of wine. Typically a waitperson is eager to refill glasses since it is something that will increase the bill and therefore increase their tip. I just chalked that up to ignorance. The waitress took the empty glass and said she would bring another one, but after waiting 20 minutes nothing showed up, I figured she had forgotten about it. I took a deep break and asked for the check so we could go home. The cherry on top of the cake was when I saw she had billed me for the 2nd glass of wine. It was the perfect ending to the most ridiculous dinner experience I...

This place basically tried to scam me (though I was also a bit of an idiot for actually paying instead of going full Karen).

I ordered tempura fish and shrimp and the waiter was like "do you want the halibut it's a big upgrade" and I was like, sure that sounds good.

Food came and it was literally the fish and chips others at the table ordered, the waiter even said "fish and chips". I was like whatever, I don't care that he messed up, fish and chips is almost the same as fish and shrimp, and it looks delicious.

Bill came and the price was double ($41) the price of fish and chips ($19). I pointed it out and he was like "oh well you ordered the halibut which comes with extra stuff like the veggies you got" and gestured to the placard on the table. I think he was trying to convince me that the coleslaw that comes with the fish and chips is like some fancy thing (placard said the halibut comes with rice and sauteed veggies, plus clam chowder which is definitely not what I received).

Waiter was like oh actually it comes with clam chowder so I'll get you some to go. Came back with a to go bag and was like "hey I hooked you up with clam chowder a full slice of bread". (Basically the $15 item from their to-go counter).

In the end I didn't get what I ordered, and paid $41 for $34 of food. Not the end of the world and certainly not gonna wreck me financially. But I just really hate the feeling of getting scammed, and it felt like the waiter was aware of the mistake, otherwise why just throw free food at me? Also if you're a waiter and put in the wrong order why not just admit the mistake and adjust the bill to what was actually delivered?

As other reviews mentioned.... I'm willing to bet the wait staff here is under a lot of pressure to upsell (I showed up late, but others at my table said the waiter had tried to upsell all of them). I'm kind of an idiot for taking the bait, and not just refusing to pay the bill at the end when I realized it was wrong. Still, I won't be back here, and if this kind of thing is happening frequently (frequent upselling and several billing issues mentioned in other reviews) then it's almost certainly a management issue and not just the one...