Up The Creek

We had lunch here the first week in June and it was awesome. First time I have had a Buffaloe Pastrami sandwich with Truffle fries and it was outstanding! My wife had a burger and was very pleased. Great outside area to dine and listen to the river flowing.

What a cozy little restaurant on the river. Lots of people out enjoying the patio dining and charming view. Stopped here for a quick lunch. I ordered the chicken enchiladas but had them hold the brown sauce. I hate that I’m so picky but they were excellent, and I would highly recommend them.

Hands down, my favorite meal in Vail! Of course, we had to try the truffle parmesan fries. Very good, but almost too much of a good thing and we had plenty left over. I had the ruby trout lunch entrée. Generously sized piece of perfectly cooked trout and an interesting hash made up of potatoes, spinach and crab. The entire dish was perfectly balanced by a vinaigrette. There is nothing I would change to this dish and would absolutely order it again if I were to return to Vail. Also, it is about $ 10 cheaper for lunch and I don’t think the portion size changes significantly. The view of the creek was pretty but a little breezy (late May). The service was good and they made a really good «Dark and Stormy» cocktail. Perfect lunch!

Everything was absolutely wonderful! We enjoyed the calamari, lamb, short ribs, red snapper, smoked potato-​leek cake, berry cobbler, crème brûlée and a variety of cocktails. ALL were incredible. Thank you for making our night wonderfully-​special!

I had an enjoyable meal here with my husband. It had a bit of a European café vibe and the view of the creek is lovely as we were there during lunch and had a nice table by one of the large windows. We were fans of the truffle fries, the tortilla soup, and the short rib. It was pricey, as are most restaurants in this area, but that wasn’t a surprise so I didn’t dock any stars for it. The service was excellent as well.

Every single flavor that graced the dishes of our dinner had its exact purpose. Fun spins on classic cocktails got the conversation flowing while we mused over whether to order the special bison steak instead of one of the delicious-​sounding menu regulars. We settled on a few appetizers, one of which was the richest clam chowder I’ve ever tasted.
Our entrees:
The scallops paired with roasted pork belly melded together in a melt-​in-​your-​mouth fashion, while maintaining its intent of being one of the lighter dishes we chose for the table.
The New York Strip steak was perfectly fired, seasoned just right, and very tender.
The braised short rib entrée was the coup de grâce. An intro — it was presented with only a fork. I turned to ask my server for a knife, and his response was a sly, «Oh…you won’t need it.» It was drenched in a veal reduction, and served over a bed of roasted asparagus and (my favorite), truffle mac and cheese. We’ll just say the plate was mopped clean with some of the leftover rolls — which were delicious as well.
We didn’t anticipate eating dessert when we showed up, but we also didn’t feel like eating a meal like that should end any time soon — so we got the apple and blueberry cobbler, topped with vanilla bean gelato. Holy cow.
Logistics — almost every table in the place had kids varying in ages from 4 months (ours) to teenage, and there was a kids’ menu with something on it for everyone. The service was great, with personal and family recommendations that you could believe.
We hope to return to Up The Creek on our next trip up to Vail!

Beautiful view, great cocktails, delicious food, and good service. We loved every bit. The truffle frites indeed were to die for.

The BF and I had 4 different places scoped out for dinner during our week in Vail. Our first stop was Up the Creek.
We were greeted immediately and given a choice of sitting in the window or in the back. I prefer being in the back for some reason so that’s where we sat. The ambiance was different than I expected — not really upscale, more like being in a comfortable but nice house. Definitely can come more casual if you want. Once we were seated, our waitress got our wine order going and we perused the menu.
This place has appetizers like truffle frites, calamari, and crab cakes and entrees like elk, lamb, salmon, and steak. A menu for everyone really… except maybe vegetarians. But I’m not a vegetarian so yay me!
So our waitress (Heidi) told us about a charcuterie plate that was the special appetizer so we wanted to get that plus the frites or the crab cakes since we were starving. She stopped us and said «well, those are all really big appetizers so I just wanted to let you know». Nice of her to stop us from wasting a bunch of food rather than keep jacking up the sales on the table. So we just got the charcuterie plate that included wild boar sausage among other meats and numerous different cheeses. It was enormous and plenty for two of us that hadn’t eaten all day.
For the entrees… the BF got the elk cooked medium rare with huckleberry jus (must be a thing in Vail because my elk at Game Creek also had huckleberry sauce). It was rubbed with a coffee rub and served with risotto and brussels sprouts. The bites I had were awesome.
His may have been delicious, but my entrée was divine. I have talked about it for a week since eating it. The braised short rib served with bacon-​smoked gouda mac and cheese, asparagus, and a cabernet veal reduction. OH. MY. GAWWWD. This was melt in your mouth tender, succulent short rib. The mac and cheese was smoky and creamy. It was rich. It was decadent. It was like comfort food but dressed up. I did my best to eat it all and didn’t even care if I was being a glutton… I mean, after all, I hadn’t eaten all day!
After completely pigging out to the point that Heidi told us «good job», we chatted with her and got some bar recommendations and other restaurant recommendations. She was friendly and chatty and did an awesome job the entire evening.
This place doesn’t have as much buzz as some other places in Vail and it isn’t as upscale as other places, but the food was on point and the wait staff was great. Give Up the Creek a try, at least for the braised short rib.

Callous and cold.
We’ve eaten at several Vail restaurants. This review is based on an unusual circumstance.
My husband was injured that day, facing hand surgery in the morning. We ordered dinner, and as we were eating the first course, he realized he was too anxious about his upcoming surgery to eat the entrée. We informed the kitchen. We were then charged for that entrée, and told «it was too late to change.» While we understand this from a restaurant-​finance perspective, it was terrible management. We will not return.
Otherwise, the experience was as described in other reviews on open table and Unilocal.Great truffles fries, and server was attentive.

We had our wedding rehearsal dinner at Up the Creek, and we could not have chosen a better place. The staff (especially the manager, Beau) were all wonderful. They worked with us to create a three-​course menu that had a great range of options. The space was the perfect size and ambiance for our 50 guests, although it certainly could have accommodated a larger group. Most importantly, the food was amazing. We received so many comments from our guests about how much they enjoyed their meal. I personally had the short ribs, and they were out of this world. Highly recommend!

Need more Vegan options. Arugula salad was delicious. The french fries are made in oil that meats go into, so they cannot be made Vegan.
Niece said, «The mac and cheese was like liquid gold but a bit rich with too much cheese compared to the mac. And the truffle fries were simply delicious.»

This food was amazing!!! Service was super friendly. I had the turkey and Brie and my wife had the trout. All excellent! We had the truffle fries as well, which typically never like, but there were on another level. All around great experience!

My Husband and I wanted to celebrate our anniversary somewhere special and didn’t mind spending more $$ than we usually do. Up the Creek was not only right down the street from where we were lodging but it was highly recommended!
We ordered the calamari for the appetizer and we were underwhelmed. It didn’t seem fresh and the sauce was pretty bland, so we were really hoping the entrees would be better. My husband ordered the elk and it was phenomenal! The presentation was beautiful and it was cooked to perfection. I ordered the halibut and it was pretty tasty and fresh but after trying my husbands, I wanted to trade!
The service was pretty good, nothing to write home about and the atmosphere was casual and cozy.
Overall it was a good night and we left satisfied but were wanting a little more for how much we paid. But hey it’s Vail, so it was expected.

We came here for dinner on a Friday and really wish would have gone elsewhere. The service was just horrid. The waitress came around literally 3x. To take our order, deliver food, then give the check. Never asked if we needed anything else (like more wine!) or to see if our food was good. That was the reason for the 2 stars vs 1 star– the food was good. We split the trout dish and it was amazing. We had a patio table by the river which was also nice. Ii feel like they just don’t care that people choose to spend money and time there, which is sad, because even with the economy getting better, they should still attempt to win people over!

I should have Unilocaled this before choosing to eat here. Lesson learned. I had the Huevos Rancheros off their brunch menu. It was very good. The Bloody Mary was the worst I’ve had. I sent it back and it was still terrible. I mean, awful! The server never followed up to see if it was ok or if we wanted something else. In fact, she never checked in on us period. That to me is the worst customer service. We left both drinks on the table. Too bad because there were a few other restaurants we wanted to try. Next time :)

Order the braised short rib on smoked Gouda and bacon Mac and cheese. It is heavenly and rather light. Did not feel overstuffed afterwards. Service is attentive and friendly. Plus dog friendly patio!!!

Beautiful outdoor seating, right by the creek. The food is amazing! They have great gluten free options. .we started with the calamari which is not fried but is in a spicy tomato sauce with asparagus. I had the braised short rib and my sister had the trout, everything was delicious and well prepared, very tender. I didn’t need a knife for my short rib at all. The cocktails are very inventive as well, I had the beet infused vodka martini and my sister had the Colorado cucumber martini and they added fresh jalapeños to make it spicy. But drinks were not sweet at all which is exactly what we were looking for.

Up the Creek is our favorite restaurant in Vail. We have made it a must every trip we make here. Prices are reasonable for Vail, staff is super friendly and the food is excellent. Definitely make a reservation for the patio in summer. There is nothing like having an excellent meal within view of Gore Creek. We have been to many of the restaurants in Vail Village and Lionshead at Vail, Up the Creek remains at the top of the list with dishes like Colorado Lamb, Ruby Red Trout and local Goat Cheese and beet salads.

4 stars for the food, 1 star for the atmosphere. Very casual for the price. Too many kids. Will not return.

My boyfriend and I decided to dine lavishly (because, hey, we were in Vail!) at Up the Creek, located on the edge of Gore Creek. Up the Creek is Vail’s only creekside restaurant and I highly recommend going there to dine– if not, at least to have cocktail. The dishes were exquisite and expensive, but delicious. I ordered the brunch special aka the crab cake benny and the crab cakes were out of this world, especially being that they were served to me in a landlocked state and not closer to the sea. For my drink, I was torn between the build-​your-​own Bloody Mary bar and the enticing Bloody Marytini because the server mentioned there was a green Bloody mix at the bar and a Bloody mixed with a dirty martini sounded eclectic and awesome.
I ended up ordering the Bloody Marytini and my boyfriend made his own Bloody at the bar using the green mix. And man… was that green tomatillo Bloody mix gooood! It was full of spices (lots of different types of pepper) and had citrus notes. The end bite was spicy and there were hints of habanero. I would go back to Up the Creek to order my own green Bloody Mary. The only downside of the cocktail was that it cost a whopping $ 12. but it is Vail! Check out my full review of Vail’s Bloody Marytini here:
Prices were a bit expensive, but as mentioned before we were in Vail. With tip, we probably spent about $ 35 a person.
Service was decent– not the best, not the worst. We had a table in the sun and did try to move under one with an umbrella at one point, but we were scolded by the old man working there. This would be my only complaint of the experience, that, maybe since we were people in our early 20s, we weren’t treated with the service we would receive if we were wealthy, middle-​aged tourists.