Juniper at Vertex Sky Bar — Restaurant in Rapid City

Edit 10/2025: I wanted to provide a quick update because I know there have been some changes. For one, Juniper is now in this space. We have not eaten here since our last meal, but we had eaten at Juniper several years ago when they were in a different location and it was very good. I also heard that they have done away with the non-member cover charge. We will try them again and I can change my rating at that time, until we confirm it has improved the 2 star rating will stand.

My husband and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary, and had made reservations for Vertex through Open Table for Tuesday, July 19th at 6:00 pm. We were aware of the $20 cover fee for non-members, but we were willing to pay it as we have been wanting to try their food for several years. We arrived a few minutes before our reservation time and were seated quickly, and our waiter was very sweet and attentive. I had high expectations of the food, having frequented the Alex Johnson restaurant many years ago. Vertex also calls itself "the pinnacle of luxury" on their website, so this heightened our anticipation of the experience. Our elk ravioli appetizer was very good, and the pasta appeared to be fresh. My husband's steak was excellent, tender and perfectly seasoned, as was expected of a $72 dry aged steak.

The rest, however, left a lot to be desired. First, they were out of the duck I initially ordered which I found unusual for as early as we were dining. I was mildly disappointed, but I was also interested in the bison osso buco, so that was a pretty easy fix. Until the osso buco came. Osso buco should be meltingly tender, but this was so tough it was difficult to cut, and collagen that should have broken down during the braising process was hard and gristly. I do not like to send back food, but this was expensive and inedible. In fact, when I mentioned to the waiter that I couldn't eat it, the way he said "is it tough?" made me think they were already aware of this and just hoping I didn't know any better. My third attempt was their beef tenderloin with shrimp "curls"; while not my favorite cut, the steak was cooked perfectly, but completely unseasoned and the shrimp was tough and overcooked. By this time my husband was almost done with his entrée so I only ate about half of mine, boxing up the rest so I wasn't holding us up. I needn't have worried, though, since it took over a half hour to get our dessert after ordering it. We decided on the panna cotta for dessert, something we are both very familiar with. I have never had panna cotta served as a liquid in a glass, but that's what we got. The flavor was nice, but panna cotta literally means "cooked cream", and this was not panna cotta.

At some point during our dinner, our waiter accidentally broke our wine bottle while clearing the table. It was a complete fluke, and the restaurant made it right by giving us half off our bottle price; I mention it only to highlight that the night seemed to be a comedy of errors, and we just had to laugh. I think my husband summed it up perfectly when he said that it seemed like it was the chef's night off. The check was $200 ($250 with tip), and for the money I just cannot recommend Vertex to anyone else. I think the worst part was the $20 cover fee for the "privilege" of enduring one of the worst restaurant experiences I have ever had. At least the company...

For my birthday my husband booked us a room at the Alex Johnson and we decided to have dinner here at the Sky Bar.

It took us a few minutes to figure out the elevator (you have to scan your room key to use it - sounds like it should have been obvious but we weren't the only guests having trouble figuring it out - that's on the hotel, though) but once we got to the 10th floor, it was easy to get in. It was a Tuesday night so there was plenty of seating. We weren't greeted or sat until we grabbed a waitress to ask about seating. She seemed annoyed but told us to sit anywhere. We went upstairs since there was only 1 small group and it was relatively quiet.

Our waitress was much more friendlier than the first and was a dear. We ordered a charcuterie- meats, cheese, cracked, nuts and olives. It was a decent amount for the price - only complaint is they had 1 salami and just a few slices of it. But the cheese was good - we discovered we enjoy a Guiness Porter cheese. There was also an English white Cheddar and another white cheese I liked but our waitress wasn't sure what it was - that was a bummer as I would love to buy some for at home. They also had a lot of crackers on the plate, which was a bit too much given the 1 type of meat and 3 cheeses but not a big deal. I was quite full from the cheese so we decided to share a dinner - some pasta with little neck clams. This wasn't my favorite- the clams were fine but the pasta was bland-i think they were going for an Aglio e Olio type thing but it just lacked flavor. No flavor to the sauce and pasta, so I mostly ate the clams. It wasn't a super expensive dish so I can't complain too much.

I didn't feel like I drinking that night but my husband ordered 2 drinks. He said they were fantastic, although he preferred one over the other. I got sparkling water with cucumber. I wish I could remember the drink names - I believe they change their drinks seasonally and they are made by the staff. My husband had one with the word "dog" in the name that he raved about. He also tried a Japanese whiskey inspired one that he liked but preferred the "dog" one over it - i took a sip of the first drink and it was really good. Like dangerously good. I'm not much for hard liquor or mixed drinks but even I could have enjoyed that. Sorry I can't remember the name.

Because it's a hotel, you get all sorts of guests that come into the bar. A small group came upstairs and was loud and clearly drunk but thankfully they left just after a minute or two. Our neighboring table was none too pleased to be interrupted for their meal, but I don't think the interruption should have been a suprise - it's a bar and a tourist attraction, it's to be expected. If you want a quiet Romantic dinner you should be prepared for drunk tourists that are guests at the hotel. The weekends, summers and holidays are much worse so take advantage of a week day if you can.

This was our second time to the Vertex - I can say we would definitely come again. I should note that the Vertex is free for guests but there is a fee to access it if you are not staying at the Alex Johnson. I'd think of it as a...

Ever since Juniper has moved in it's awkward. When you come up the elevator with the intent just to go to the vertex (with membership or room reservation), the hostesses give you an unwelcome feeling for walking through "their" restaurant to get to the bar. Next, when you're ordering at the bar, the waitresses aren't friendly and are rude as they will step in front of you behind the bar to get a drink for THEIR tables. Thankfully some of the OG bartenders stuck around, but I don't think for much longer, as the Juniper staff treat them rudely too and you can feel the animosity in the work environment.

Lastly, bc you can just tell the front desk you have a reservation, even if it's a lie, and get on the rooftop bar where they have proceeded to smoke weed and make the whole place awful. There doesn't seem to be a feeling of exclusivity any longer with having a membership. I used to love going to Juniper when it was in the gap. But now it seems the prices have risen and portions have shrunk. Last time our food wasn't even warm once received and when you're spending $100 for 2 people plus drinks, you'd think they would care. However, once again you get this feeling from the wait staff that the bar and its customers are an inconvenience to them, so they had the bartenders service us for food.

It would've made more sense to keep a "light fare" menu or had options from patties for the bargoers but instead when you're buying a drink that's already spendy, you won't be ordering a $60 steak that's subpar. In this economy and city, nobody has that type of income. So while my husband and I wait for our vertex membership to lapse that we certainly will not renew due to the issues listed, we will probably eat ahead of time or bring up food from Patty's or Hardees for that matter.

I know the journal said that AJ was helping Juniper with this move, but I don't think firing all their staff, so they could bring on Juniper feels more like a kick in the teeth. Based on their pricing model, it's more likely the bar is doing better financially than the restaurant so perhaps treating bar patrons with loyalty, smiles and better pricing could go a long way to melding Juniper and Vertex.

The bread basket is the only thin affordable on the menu at the restaurant so if you want to spend $15 on small bread with fancy butter, you certainly will not...