Up the Creek — Restaurant in Vail

The food at Up The Creek was decent. Nothing to write home about, but solid. We were having a lovely meal until the last 45 minutes (2nd half) when a family w/ 4 children came in and the kids proceeded to play TV on their phones without headphones -- 3 separate TV shows going on as if we were in a sports bar. Our whole bill was upwards of $350 (my entree alone was $45). All of a sudden, with this level of noise and distraction, we couldn't talk to each other and it felt like we were in a Chuck E. Cheese. The staff did absolutely nothing and let the family play loud TV/cartoons from the phones the whole time. The whole atmosphere changed! It went from a nice meal at an upscale restaurant (did I mention that my entree was $45?!) to a bit of a circus. I talked to the manager about it after the meal and he didn't seem to understand the issue. The first sign of his lack of understanding was when he said that the restaurant is a family restaurant (If you google "What is considered a family restaurant?" the list includes IHOP, Chuck E. Cheese, and Denny's. I think he meant to say family-friendly). It's unclear to me how a restaurant that can get away with $45 entrees (and it wasn't even the most expensive entree on the menu!) can also call themselves a restaurant on par with Chuck E. Cheese. Pick a lane. The second clue that the manager didn't get it was that he told me that the family had the right to enjoy their meal and keep their kids entertained. I agree with that...but NOT at the expense of other diners. As soon as those kids put on those loud TV shows on their phones (without headphones) and the staff did nothing, the restaurant made the decision that the airspace was no longer everybody's --- it belonged to that family. We had to leave and go finish our conversation with our friends outside and it was cold and uncomfortable (BTW - you could hear the kids' TVs/cartoons when standing at the front of the restaurant, even though the family's table was about 60 feet from the door. That's how loud it was). No matter the restaurant, everyone deserves to enjoy their meal EQUALLY. We shouldn't have to go outside to talk because the staff refuses to enforce boundaries around a respectful environment and this is DOUBLY true for a restaurant that charges this much money. I wouldn't come back here because we only got to enjoy half of our meal. It boggles the mind to think that the staff wouldn't want to maintain some level of "this is a nice restaurant" by going up to a family and saying "hi folks, we're glad you're here and are happy for you to use the space with your children, but TVs need to be accompanied by headphones." Literal...

I’m just really baffled as to why people think this place is so amazing. Truly a disappointment for the price. The ratatouille was crusted in a tomato sauce that was dried out and old. I’m not sure why, but this was served covered in micro greens that definitely didn’t go with the dish. Perhaps they were just trying to hide that they were serving what appeared to be a day-old ratatouille. Honestly one of the worst I’ve had. It was served with a mushroom stuffed with quinoa and a bland pesto sauce... and that was the only highlight of the dish! Strangely enough, the mushroom was quite hot while the ratatouille was nearly room temperature. We ordered a side of the macaroni and cheese with bacon that barely filled the bowl and absolutely seemed to be reheated... you know, when the cheese starts to separate and there’s a film of oil that forms on top? We asked the waitress for truffle oil to drizzle over the top in an attempt to salvage the dish. I will give them this though, the elk was well prepared and had a nice balance of flavors. Oh, and they served warm bread. At least that was nice. For dessert we ordered the warm brownie. I’ve had far better brownies from the supermarket. My nephew requested one scoop of ice cream and the waitress said that it was only possible to serve it as three scoops. I find this strange in a restaurant that has numerous children present and a children’s menu. For the price, it should be much better. Take your money and your appetite elsewhere....

Bad experience during Oktoberfest. My husband, parents, and child sat down for a break during Oktoberfest… the wait staff pushed us off the patio seats (which was understandable, we didn’t know these were only for restaurant guests!)… we said “hey if we come back though and order drinks from the restaurant, can we sit back here?” And he said “sure no problem”… so we came back, since he was nice, ordered 4 drinks, and an appetizer. Our sons grandparents went out and got a brautwurst and wanted to find a place to sit, so they took one second to finish their bratwurst on the patio with us…. And the waiter rudely said they can’t eat that at the table…. Ok so all this is not enough warrant a bad review… it’s rude, and there was literally only 2 other parties in the ENTIRE restaurant, but ok, fine, restaurant policy.

Then, my husband goes inside to change our sons diaper, and on his way out, this waiter is bragging to the rest of the staff about calling out our table saying “I wanted to flip the table over at them” for bringing a bratwurst from Oktoberfest. It’s Oktoberfest! We’re sorry! You have like 3 tables of people in the place.

Ridiculous. So rude. We are locals, and will not be recommending this establishment to guests…. Will actually tell people to avoid due to the rude staff.

The calamari was...