After a day of playing in the snow, Empire Canyon Lodge's Fireside Dining is the perfect way to warm up as you eat in the timber-framed lodge surrounded by several stone fireplaces. You'll feel like a medieval lord as you go from fireplace to fireplace to be served hearty fare like veal stew, elk, or a slice of perfectly roasted lamb cooked over a spit. Feast in old-European style for hours and savor the raclette cheese melted by the fire paired with bread and charcuterie with house-made pickles, basil jam, and fig mustard.

No dining experience has Swiss ski chalet energy quite like a four-course meal at Deer Valley’s Empire Canyon Lodge. Located at 8,300 feet, you can watch skiers zoom down the famous corduroy-textured, groomed runs as you enjoy dishes served from stone fireplaces. Reserve a table early during the winter season (December to April) to dine on stews, cured meats, and warm raclette cheese.

If you're looking for something more...cooked, families also enjoy Fireside Dining at Deer Valley Resort. This prix-fixed four-course Swiss-inspired meal featuring its famous raclette served from one of five stone fireplaces is neither cheap nor fast, but families love it returning year after year. Similarly, nestled in scenic Millcreek Canyon in Salt Lake City is Log Haven, the place many kids counter-intuitively request when they want mom and dad to take them to a "fancy" or holiday meal.

Situated in Deer Valley Resort’s Empire Canyon Lodge, Fireside Dining offers guests an unsurpassed, European-style winter dining experience. Featuring four main courses served from the lodge’s stone fireplaces, menu items vary weekly but typically include gooey raclette, fireplace-roasted leg of lamb, savory and sweet fondues, veal and mushroom stew, charcuterie, and more, including a full bar. 9200 Marsac Ave, 435-645-6632, deervalley.com/dining $$$$ D K P R

Fireside Dining is an experience that combines delicious food with the cozy ambiance of multiple fireplaces. Guests are invited to explore a rotating selection of European-inspired dishes like Swiss raclette, roasted leg of lamb, and delectable fondues — all prepared over open flames. Set at the Empire Canyon Lodge, Fireside Dining captures the essence of alpine hospitality with its hearty fare and picturesque setting.

However, Deer Valley has some excellent restaurants worth the very short commute from town (5 minutes), including the resort’s famously decadent weekly Seafood Buffet, the unique open hearth Fireside Dining experience, and the restaurants at the Forbes 5-Star Stein Eriksen Lodge and 4-Star Montage Deer Valley, which among other things offers a unique gourmet burger, bourbon and milkshake spot that is a ton of fun.

When it is time to eat and guests are seeking a dining experience, not just a quick meal to fuel their bodies, Fireside Dining, 9200 Marsac Avenue #306, is the only restaurant to try. Offering Prixe Fix 4 course meals entirely prepared in stone fireplaces, floor to ceiling windows offer unobstructed views of the Deer Valley landscape and their Swiss-centric meals are guaranteed to warm, comfort, and delight.

Sure, the on-mountain, alpine dining experience is overwrought, overpriced, and a gut bomb. But sometimes, it must be done, and at this Deer Valley restaurant, they get it right. With five namesake stone fireplaces offering up Dutch oven specialties like stews and other hearty, meaty fare (try the fire-roasted Leg of Lamb), the signature Raclette, and Dessert Fondue, it’s a fun way to spend a snowy night.

Our final distinctive Park City restaurant experience was Fireside Dining, an evening transformation of the Empire Canyon Lodge high atop the Deer Valley Ski Resort. Their muse was to bring the European Alps to the mountains of Deer Valley in four fireside dining vignettes. The first, a notorious guest favorite, was raclette cheese, served from a stone fireplace.

On another night, take the hourlong guided moonlight snowshoe tour through Deer Valley Resort’s Empire Canyon prior to dinner at Fireside. After working up an appetite, fill up on food, drink, and romance at Fireside. You'll have a four-course European dining experience where each course is cooked over an open fireplace.

But at Fireside Dining, they aren’t just for ambience — they are where much of your meal will be cooked. You’ll enjoy four courses served from stone fireplaces high up in the mountains of Deer Valley, just above Park City. The dining room features large windows that provide lovely views of the surrounding mountains.

Repeat winners include BTG Wine Bar, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Log Haven and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, all in Salt Lake City; the Steak Pit in Snowbird; 350 Main, Cena Ristorante and Edge Steakhouse in Park City; and Fireside Dining, The Mariposa and Seafood Buffet at Deer Valley Resort.

Rent a House on Deer Valley Mountain (I prefer skiing Deer Valley and they have tons of great rentals you can book that are great for families; only downside is that the hotel/condo rentals offer more full service, from rides to ski valet that you don’t necessarily get with a house)

For the ultimate end to the day, ride your horse-drawn sleigh to Fireside Dining at Empire Canyon Lodge at Deer Valley Resort. Here, you can indulge in an all-you-can-eat European feast including melted raclette cheese, served from stone fireplaces. You’ll have earned it!

Get the feeling of being transported to the Alps when you dine at Fireside. Another classic Deer Valley experience, Fireside begins with an optional horse-drawn sleigh ride. Then, cozy up for the long haul as you partake in four delicious courses heated by the fireside.

Fireside's alpine inspired menu features four courses, including raclette cheese, served from stone fireplaces. If you're visiting in winter, take a horse-drawn sleigh ride, or consider a pre-dinner snowshoe trek.

9200 Marsac Avenue Park City, UT 84060 Phone : (435) 645-6632 Website: www.deervalley.com. Cuisine: Contemporary European Ratings : Menu Make A Reservation

Fireside Dining at the Montage Hotel in Deer Valley offers guests a European Alps-inspired four-course dinner served from four different stone fireplaces.

Fireside Dining – Swiss raclette-style four-course meal with the option to add a sleigh ride before, during, or after dinner.