Earlier this summer I road tripped with my husband and some good friends for a weekend around my more undiscovered places of Southern Utah. I posted a full blog about our road trip here but left out the details of our dining experience at Hell’s Backbone Grill, saving the savory details for another post.
The initial reason for this expedition was to visit the well known restaurant Hell’s Backbone Grill. I picked up their recipe book at a local Salt Lake neighborhood garage sale. I’ve wanted to visit the place ever since.
In the small town of Boulder, with a population of about 100 (most of which are employed by the restaurant) this small dining place rests on a large plot of land where they grow and raise all of what is served to their guests. Every ingredient is fresh and seasonal. The accolades for the grill are impressive – Sunset Magazine, New York TImes Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler and National Geographic reviewed it. Oprah loves it. 1,000 Places To See Before You Die put it on the list. Regardless of the awards and recognition, the restaurant remains humble and friendly as you would expect from a small town restaurant.
The lodge next door to Hell’s Backbone makes for a quiet weekend retreat from the city life. Even better, the next morning you wake up to a delicious breakfast. Without cell phone coverage, one literally escapes constant botherings from their phone in trade for rainbows and comfort food.

We enjoyed everything we ordered, from tumbleweed quesadillas to peach cobbler. Every taste was filled with flavors of fresh herbs and spices. Their menu changes depending on what they are harvesting but what you can always count on is their homestyle black pepper biscuits and a variety of fresh vegetables and a fruit cobbler on the menu. No matter what is in season their menu always bursts with creative flavor.
The peach cobbler that we devoured quicker than I could catch a photo of it.
If you have an open weekend this summer or fall, plan a road trip to Boulder to check out Hell’s Backbone Grill, one of my favorite long distance dinner adventures in Utah thus far!
No. 20 N Hwy 12
Boulder, UT
Breakfast 7:30am – 11:30am
Picnic lunches to go
Dinner 5:30pm – 9:30pm
I love Hell's Backbone Grill. I make their lemon chiffon cake and it's so good. You can't bet the scenery either.
this literally makes me want to drive there now. excellent review! everything looks wonderful.
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