Shaken or Stirred? Have it your way. There are two ways to drink at Grand America. One is the classic hotel bar way—the Gibson Lounge has some of the glamorous décor implied by its Gay Nineties name, and it’s inhabited mostly by guests of the hotel or post-partyers from a hotel event—wedding guests with loosened ties who won’t go away or the one last cocktail conventioneer. Our bartender, Christopher Stephenson, is dressed in proper black and white, as if Bertie Wooster or Nick Charles had been the last gentleman he served. He garnishes your Grand Old-fashioned with an expertly simple orange zest.
The other way is to join the party in the Lobby Bar. Open to the crossroads halls of the Grand’s mazeways, the Lobby Bar feels posh. Chairs are overstuffed and comfy, gathered into groups for easy conversation. The tall ceilings, grand piano and fireplace give the place the Continental feel it’s striving for and the servers pay attention and pamper you—maybe this is where Nora Charles hangs out. On the weekends, live jazz gives the room some rhythm, but not too loudly. They know they’re playing background music, though everyone applauds politely at the end of a number. Either way, you can order from the Grand’s menu to fuel the final effort towards home for the night.
By the way, if you don’t know who Nick and Nora Charles or Bertie Wooster are, you deserve to drink sweet and sour mix. Look it up.
555 S. Main St., SLC, 801-258-6000, grandamerica.com
