Grappa — Restaurant in Park City

We were recommended to try this restaurant. Unfortunately, we had a very disappointing visit. First time there. Made an 8:30 reservation. This was a Thursday. Checked in with front desk hostess at 8:20. We were not seated until 9:00pm. While having already waited 20 minutes past our reservation time, the hostess sat another party that arrived much later than us who also had an 8:30 reservation. I asked why this happened as we were there first and had reservations for the same time. Hostess said that they could not seat us at a 4 top table since there was 2 in our party. Mind you, this is almost 9pm and they close at 10pm. Interestingly enough, we were seated at a 4 person table 10-15 minutes later which contradicts their reason for not seating us before the other party. There were other parties who had reservations as well that were waiting over 30-40 minutes past reservation times. We would have cancelled most likely but the restaurant traps you into keeping your reservation by making you hold your spot with a credit card and stating they will charge $100 if you cancel under 24 hours. The rules they have in place also state you have a cap of 120 minutes per table. Clearly this was not being followed and the restaurant was overbooking reservations they could not keep. If you want to take reservations, keep your commitment to your customer or manage your restaurant better by not promising reservation times you cannot honor.

How are you going to force people to hold their reservation with their credit card or pay $100 to cancel while simultaneously not honoring the reservation time?

After all of the above transpired we did eat here after being seated at 9:00pm. My food was decent. I had the Bolognese. My wife on the other hand had the salmon. It was not warm when it arrived and she did not eat much of it due to being unsure if it was done as the middle was cold and it did not appear fully cooked. Honestly as it was almost 10pm, we just wanted to get out of this place so we just let it go and did not mention it there. Very frustrating experience though for such a highly recommended place.

Our sever was nice, and the ambiance is great but we will not return here.

Hopefully the restaurant can use this information to improve on things for other diners...

4.5 stars - Grappa was very good. The setting and outdoor patio on a summer evening is exceptional and the reason we came to Park City and escaping the triple digit heat at home. Our server, Bobby, was on top of his game and added a great personal touch.

The mushroom soup is fantastic. Great depth of flavor and richnwss without being too heavy - complex and delicious flavors.

The calamari was well above what you would typically expect of this American Italian restaurant staple.

The Lobster Frigola Sardo was underwhelming. I like salty dishes but this was a little too salty. The seafood was fresh and chorizo just acceptable but there was just something disjointed about the dish.

The eggplant parmesan is a hearty meal with thick cuts (1/2 inch) eggplant that give you much more eggplant than breading in each bite.

The Bolognese Bianco was delicious. Lots of depth of flavor and just the right amount of richness.

The three desserts we tried were fantastic and had a lightness that didn't make them too much after a large meal.

The wine list is well selected and has some great gems, especially the by the glass choices. It's disappointing to see so many wine list in Park City sell $8 or $10 bottles of wine for $15 per glass. At Grappa, you can get some delicious wines like Vietti Barbera for $15 or Felluga Bianco for $16. Great glasses at a fair price. However, most of their bottle selections see the standard Park City 4-5 times markup.

And the grappa selection is well thought. There is a wife range on the list. I was happy to see that one of the best grappas, Nardini Aquavite, was the cheapest grappa in the list at $8. No need to buy a fancy and slightly hyped Sassicaia grppa for $25 when you can get this gem for $8.

Overall, the food, service and atmosphere at Grappa was exactly what we were looking for on our last August evening...

This was probably the worst dining experience of my life. I have been thinking about our horrible waiter for a 24 hours now and can't get over how horrible I felt about myself when I was leaving. The story goes like this - we arrived at Grappa around 9 o'clock Thursday evening and we were seated on the outside patio on the second floor. I believe our waiters name was Mac, but I am not 100% sure. I asked him how the risotto was and he said "I don't eat pasta, but the salads are really good." My family and I are not huge, but we definitely aren't the skinniest people.. and all of his food answers seemed to suggest we need to lose weight. Next my mom asked him how the chefs flat bread was and again he said "I don't eat bread I don't even eat it before meals, I suggest the salad. Would you guys like some bread?" I honestly didn't think much of it until after we were finished eating he comes to take our plates and says "WOW! You guys really ate a lot! Most people can't eat that much. Especially the pasta." When we asked him questions about the activities to do around town he had very condesending answers and spoke to us as if we were stupid. My problem is A. How do you work in an Italian Restaurant and not like pasta and bread? B. How do you work in a tourist town and get rude and speak down to people when they ask for your opinion? and C. How have you not been fired for treating customers this way?

This is the first review that I have ever left. I literally have not been able to get this experience out of my head all day. I went to bed upset and work up upset. The food wasn't that great either. My Risotto was bland and my mom "salad" (yes she was so uncomfortable that she didn't get what she wanted) was literally a cut up beet on a plate. It's safe to say if I could give it zero...