Porcupine Pub & Grille — Restaurant in Cottonwood Heights

To the Senior Management of Porcupine Restaurant in Cottonwood,

I am writing to express our profound disappointment regarding a recent experience at your Cottonwood location on Sunday, June 15th, at approximately 2:20 PM. As regular patrons, particularly on Saturdays, we have always valued your excellent service, making this past Sunday's encounter all the more shocking and unacceptable.

Upon arrival, we were informed by the male host with black curly hair that our wait for a table for two would be about 20 minutes. During this period, between 2:20 PM and 2:40 PM, we observed a significant number of tables opening up—over 14 people departing from upstairs, and the host repeatedly calling out for a party of five that was clearly no longer present. While we understand the operational challenges of seating and staffing, and recognized the presence of open tables in the dining area that may have required additional server allocation, our frustration began to mount when a couple with a child (a party of three) who arrived at 2:40 PM was immediately seated.

My partner inquired with the host about this discrepancy, and he attributed it to a "space issue for three." However, upon looking into the dining room, it was evident that over six tables designed for four people were currently occupied by only two individuals.

At approximately 2:50 PM, the host offered us outdoor seating. Despite the temperature being around 100 degrees, we politely checked the option but declined due to the heat. Our simple and direct question to him was: "Why are only two people being seated at tables designed for four, while we, a party of two, are left waiting?" Rather than addressing this reasonable query, he abruptly stated, "I'm getting my manager."

What followed was an even more unsettling interaction with the female manager, also with black hair. Her very first words, spoken in front of other patrons, were a baseless accusation: "We don't raise our voices in a family restaurant." I immediately clarified that no one had raised their voice and calmly reiterated our core question: why we had been skipped and not seated. Her response was dismissive; she asked, "What are you here for?" When I replied, "For lunch," she simply suggested, "You can sit at the bar," and the curly-haired host twice interjected that "it's going to be a while to be seated."

This entire experience was deeply disheartening. To be treated with such disrespect, to have our legitimate questions about unfair seating practices met with rudeness, accusation, and evasion, is simply not what we expect from Porcupine Restaurant. As long-time regulars, we are genuinely appalled by this level of service. We sincerely hope that senior management will investigate this incident thoroughly and take appropriate action to ensure that no other patrons endure such a frustrating and unwelcoming experience.We would be glad to speak with you as we are very respected honest couple and this was...

The Porcupine Pub came highly recommended by friends who swear it's the greatest place they've ever been. I have to assume that they don't get out much because I thought this restaurant was just okay (and that's being generous).

The airy, mountain cabin style atmosphere is great even in the summer (ask to sit outside on the small upper deck), but I can imagine it would be really great after a day of skiing. Parking is a real issue here so park along the road if you can (or risk getting stuck in the far too cramped parking lot).

After a brief 10 minute wait we were taken to our table in the upstairs loft area. There are several large wooden booth seating areas that are really nice if you are dining with a big group. Our server was very professional and had a funky look and vibe that totally added to the atmosphere. She somehow was always there when I needed a refill and I never once had to ask for one (and I drank like 8 glasses of their delicious iced tea). The service was absolutely top notch and some of the best I've ever had anywhere.

The menu is small but varied. The weak link are the salads, there's no simple salad option, they are all crazy combinations (even the caesar is only available with spicy dressing and it has artichokes in it, for example). The pizzas looked the best (we didn't order one), but I'll try one next time I eat here.

We opted for the artichoke dip appetizer ($13), the ribs ($20) and the grilled shrimp caesar salad ($17). Let me say that while the food was quality was high across the board, the prices were in outer space -- to the point where I left the restaurant angry about how expensive our meal was. I understand that quality food comes with a higher price, but the portion size of my salad in particular was outrageous. OUTRAGEOUS. Six little shrimp, three artichoke hearts, and about 12 bites of lettuce in a teeny tiny bowl was not worth $17. Heck, that was a $6 salad, tops.

The dip was okay but again, the portion was far too small. To make up for the small amount of dip, our plate was packed with garlic cheese bread (which admittedly was delicious). I would've preferred more of the cheesy artichoke goodness than bread. We ran out of dip way earlier than we did the bread. The ribs took a long time to prepare, and I wish our server had alerted us to this fact ahead of time instead of 10 minutes AFTER we had ordered. The wood roasted veggies were the best part about the meal. They had a interesting sweet wood flavor to them and they were killer good. My salad was advertised as "spicy" in big red letters on the menu so I was apprehensive but it was no problem for me to eat. I had forgotten this it Utah, home of the blandest of the bland food!

The food was good but not really memorable or something that I'll crave. I won't beg to go back here but I would if my...

We have wanted to go here for quite some time. We finally were in the spot to go for lunch, hoping things weren’t crowded. We got right in! The hostess seated us and was very helpful in getting us a booster seat for our daughter. We looked at the menu for a few minutes and set them down, awaiting our server for our order. And we waited. And we waited. At one point they brought food to our table that was meant for our neighboring table. We still waited. It was busy. The wait staff passed our table countless times, and we watched while several more tables were seated and served drinks. After 20 minutes I went back down to the hostess and asked if they could send our server and explained we hadn’t been helped yet. We waited 5 more minutes, watched at least three servers pass us again, and when no one seemed to be coming, we decided to leave. When we got to the entrance and asked for a Manager, our server, Lance, came down and asked if we had been helped yet and tried to seat me! I told him we had not and we had been sitting upstairs for almost 30 min! He said that was his table and he apologized. I told him he passed us numerous times and never once acknowledged us. I told him I was upset and he said he would tell the manager, I told him I would let him know myself. A few minutes later Dylan came as the Manager on duty. I explained that we had been waiting for 30 minutes and no one had approached us. I also explained it was our first, and probably last visit and it was disappointing since we had read great reviews. He said he was sorry, that Lance was just taking food out to a table and would help us, but I cut him off and told him we would be leaving and would most likely not be back. He apologized again and said he hoped to see us in the future. It was a very busy place, but that is no excuse to completely ignore a table of guests. There were at least 3 servers we saw upstairs and we were looked over for a half hour. Several times they looked at us in passing, never once offering assistance, or even to find our waiter. Luckily for us our 2 year old was uncharacteristically well behaved and patient. So...