Bartolo’s in Park City

There is certainly no shortage of dining destinations in booming Park City. Even out in Kimball Junction, where only a handful of eateries used to exist, there are now a plethora of them. One of my favorites is a fairly new restaurant called Bartolo’s, which opened in December 2018.

The restaurant is the creation of chef Alex and his wife, Rhia Bartolo. Alex has been cooking in and around Park City for years.

Originally from Brazil, he’s cooked at restaurants such as Pizzeria Nonno Giorgio (where he was chef/owner), Deer Valley Resort, The St. Regis Deer Valley, Tupelo, and others. He’s got skills, and the menu at Bartolo’s is a very enticing one.

Bartolo’s breakfast

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served at Bartolo’s, seven days a week. And there’s plenty of free parking on the street or in the nearby Best Buy parking garage, so access to Bartolo’s is easy peasy.

Breakfast items range from the now-ubiquitous avocado toast ($13) made with house-baked focaccia; and egg white frittata with asparagus, tomatoes, goat cheese, and herb salad ($12); smoked trout Benedict ($15); and a summer veggie waffle with zucchini, squash, quinoa, kale herb salad, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce ($13).

Or, you could always do breakfast old-school style and just order up some bacon and eggs.

Lunch & dinner at Bartolo’s

The lunch and dinner menus are similar, with a few more entree options at dinnertime.

One small criticism: I never quite understand why some restaurants charge more at dinner than at lunch for the same exact dish. I guess it’s just because they can. For example, spaghetti and meatballs—featuring both homemade spaghetti pasta and homemade meatballs—is $17 during lunch but $19 for dinner.

If you’d like to taste those luscious meatballs but would prefer to forego the pasta, they are also available as an appetizer served with rich pomodoro (tomato sauce), grilled focaccia and parmesan ($13).

However, I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to dig into a plate of pasta at Bartolo’s, all of which is handmade in-house. Even gluten-free diners can enjoy pasta here, such as the gluten-free housemade fusilli pasta with pea pesto, zucchini & squash, fresh peas, mint, pine nuts, Fresno chilies and parmesan ($18).

Personally, my favorite pasta dish at Bartolo’s—especially in warmer weather—is spaghetti with shrimp ($20).

It’s a very fresh tasting, generous portion of tender shrimp atop perfectly cooked al dente spaghetti with a light “sauce” of fresh tomatoes and garlic, arugula, lemon zest, pepperoncini to give it some zing, and shredded parmesan.

Before diving into pastas and other entrees, you might want to enjoy sharing a salad. The grilled peach Caprese ($13) is excellent—a colorful plate of heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and arugula with basil oil and a balsamic glaze, sprinkled with black pepper.

What about drinks?

There’s a limited beer and wine list at Bartolo’s, but you can also BYOB if you’d prefer.

A good glass of wine would be terrific alongside one of Bartolo’s killer entrees, such as the grilled Idaho trout ($29), which comes with barley-corn risotto, dairy-free yogurt, dill, spicy tomato relish, crisp mushrooms, and basil oil.

What about the children?

Kids aren’t overlooked here, with a variety of kid-friendly fresh pastas and a choice of sauces: olive oil, Bolognese, cheese, marinara ,or butter. Kids can also add shredded chicken, meatballs, broccolini, or chicken tenders to their pasta dish. I imagine most kids will opt for the chicken tenders over the broccolini.

Bartolo’s Dessert

For dessert, there’s Brazilian-style soft chocolate “brigadeiro” (the national truffle of Brazil) with fresh berries and toasted nuts ($10). Or, you could opt for tiramisu trifle with brandy mascarpone, coffee cream, and chocolate lady fingers ($10), or perhaps cheese cake in a jar ($10) with graham cracker crumbs, macerated berries, and lemon zest.

For a tempting taste of Italy via Brazil, Bartolo’s is a very appealing Park City dining destination indeed.

Culinary quote of the week:

The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again. — George Miller

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Originally trained as an anthropologist, Ted Scheffler is a seasoned food, wine & travel writer based in Utah. He loves cooking, skiing, and spends an inordinate amount of time tending to his ever-growing herd of guitars and amplifiers.

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