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The Base Restaurant and Bar, is a casual, family-friendly restaurant, complete with a full bar section to the side, with 20 television monitors for game-day action, and an amazing outdoor patio, where you can enjoy their fine cuisine while enjoying the beautiful Utah weather. This fine restaurants salute the proud men and women who serve in the armed forces, and the decor and the menu reflects on management's respect for the military. As with all of reviews that I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: It's a little before 6:00 in the evening, Sunday, October 04, 2020, and my friends and I have arrived at The Base Restaurant and Bar, located in Layton, Utah, for a fine dinner. If the front of this fine restaurant looks familiar, you may recall until June of this year it was formerly Boston's Restaurant and Sports Bar.
Photo: The parking lot on the back side of the restaurant offers ample free, safe parking, so you don't have to negotiate busy Antelope Drive. The large patio stretches from the front of the restaurant around to half of the parking lot side. You enter the restaurant from the front.
Photo: As you enter the restaurant, you'll be greeted with a "Please Wait to Be Seated" sign, and a "meeter/greater" at the desk, who will cheerfully seat you, and provide you with silverware.
Photo: The dining room is large, spacious, and very comfortable. Furniture is a mixture of booths and open tables. Lighting is a tad on the subdued side, but unlike other restaurants, you can easily read the menu. The dining room is very family friendly, and all ages are welcome. The restaurant is divided and separated into three sections: Dining room, bar and patio. In the bar section, you must be 21 or older, as per state law to dine, but if you're younger, you may pass through on your way to the patio, or when you exit the building.
Photo: The rear of the dining room features luxurious furniture, with lots of realistic looking artificial plants. It's comfortable, "squeaky clean," and much of the furniture has been rearranged to allow for "social distancing" during these COVID-19 virus times.
Photo: Our friendly server, Mattie, takes our dinner orders, after bringing us our beers. Steve, Chris and I chose the HUGE 20-oz beers, while Robert went with a smaller version.
Photo: After placing my order, I got up to walk around, take photos, and explore the restaurant. The door to the kitchen was open, and I couldn't resist taking a peek inside, and snapping a photo.
Photo: The second page of the menu features "Handhelds," which seems to be the catch-phrase that The Base uses to describe burgers and sandwiches. The availble "Sides" choices are also listed on this page of the menu. All of us ordered from this page of the menu. Click on this link to be directed to the complete menu The Base Restaurant and Grill offers.
Photo: The bar section features a long, curved bar, that serves every variety of mixed drink available, with many beers on tap or in the bottle. Yes, Layton is located in the greater Salt Lake City area, but enjoying your favorite mixed drink isn't a problem. The bar section of the restaurant features high tables, a few booths, and has a very definite "sports bar" feel.
Photo: It's early Sunday evening in early October, 2020, and that means N.F.L. pro football is playing on the many television monitors in the bar section of the restaurant, and many patrons are dressed in football jerseys, and watching the game on television. Tonight the Eagles are playing the 49'ers, and ultimately, the Eagles emerged victorious, with a score of 25 to 20.
Photo: The Base Restaurant and Bar takes it's name from nearby Hill Air Force Base, and the restaurant and many members of the armed forces frequent the restaurant and bar, as it's a patriotic establishment, and super friendly towards Air Force personnel. Throughout the restaurant and bar, there are many framed photos and paintings of various military aircraft.
Photo: The large, spacious patio makes for pleasant dining on the warm, early Sunday evening at the beginning of October.
Photo: Our server, Mattie, waits on a nearby table. The dining room is large, spacious and very comfortable.
Photo: Meet Mattie, our amazingly friendly server, as she brings out all four of our orders, simultaneously, and a large tray. She definitely has strength and talent! Mattie provided us with friendly, efficient service, and always had a pleasant word to share.
Photo: Our "gang of four" are ready to enjoy an amazing dinner at The Base Restaurant and Bar. Left to right: Your author, Eric, Robert, Chris and Steve. Robert and I were visiting Chris, and were working on Robert's Jeep to get it ready for the upcoming The Trail Hero four wheel drive event to be held in just a couple days from today.
Photo: Chris opted to go with the "BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich," which the menu describes as, "Slow roasted, hand pulled pork marinated in savory barbecue sauce, topped with housemade coleslaw, and served on a toasted bun. Along with his wonderful sandwich, he ordered seasoned fries as his side dish. He loved his pulled pork sandwich!
Photo: All items on the "Handhelds" section of the menu come with seasoned fries, or one side of your choice, and it you're a "healthy" type of person, a "Side Salad" is an option for your side dish. Steve chose a "Side Salad," which the menu describes as "House salad with mixed greens, carrot, onion, tomato, croutons and mozzarella cheese, OR Caesar salad with romaine lettuce, croutons parmesan cheese and Caesar dressing." Steve chose the "House Salad," with "Thousand Island" for his choice of dressing.
Photo: Like me, Steve went with "The Base Burger," but where he and I differed, he ordered his burger straight from the "Handhelds" section of the menu, without any upgrades. His burger included a juicy half-pound beef patty topped with melted mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle and mayonnaise, served on a toasted bun. Doesn't it look a little lonely without a mountain of fries? Rather than fries, Steve chose a "House Salad."
Photo: Like Steve, Robert chose to order a "House Salad," for his burger, rather than enjoy a side of fries. His salad was nearly identical to Steve's, except he opted for a couple of small cups of "Ranch" dressing. All dressing at The Base is served on the side, which is a trademark of a fine restaurant.
Photo: Robert turned out to be the most adventuresome member of our group, as we ordered a "BBQ Blue Burger," with a side of "Waffle Cut Sweet Potato" fries on the side, even though he'd order a "House Salad." My friend has a great appetite! The menu describes the "BBQ Blue Burger" as, "A half-pound patty topped with melted blue cheese, tangy barbecue sauce and a crispy onion ring. Served on top of our housemade coleslaw on a toasted bun."
Photo: We're fans of dipping our fries into sauce, so requested our friendly server, Mattie, for more sauce. To our surprise, she brought out a plate with cups of ketchup, Ranch dressing, and 1000 Island dressing! Thanks! Such great choices for fry dipping...
Photo: During the course of our meal, the friendly evening restaurant manager, Cat, came over to chat with us, ask how we were doing, and to thank us for enjoying our dinner at The Base. You're welcome, Cat, and your friendly company was most welcome to us.
Photo: From the "Handhelds" section of the menu, I went with "The Base Burger," along with seasoned fries. I upgraded my burger by adding diced jalapenos and a crispy, deep fried onion ring. Today was my first opportunity to dine at The Base Restaurant and Bar, and in keeping with what I like to do when I'm visiting a "new" restaurant, I like to start out with a "signature" item, that bears the name of the restaurant. On this early Sunday evening, "The Base Burger" worked perfectly into my plan. The menu describes the burger as "A juicy 1/2 pound patty topped with melted mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle and mayo, served on a toasted bun." The menu goes on to state that you can add jalapenos and an onion ring for a small extra charge, or you can substitute a plant-based patty, instead of the meat. Forget the "veggie" option... I added the diced jalapenos and the onion ring! The foundation of this delicious burger is the half-pound patty, and it's cooked to your taste, in my case, I ordered my burger cooked medium. My patty arrived cooked just the way I ordered it - medium - and it was lightly seasoned, tender and juicy. Yes, when you bit into the burger, there was lots of juice from the meat patty, but thanks to the quality bun, the burger held together perfectly. Mattie didn't ask me how I wanted my bacon cooked, and I was pleased to find it was cooked just the way I like it - medium - and not "burnt," the way bacon is fried in lesser restaurants. Perhaps it came that way because I ordered my burger cooked medium? You get TWO slices of cheese on your burger, and both of them were gooey melted over the meat patty, with the bacon sitting on top of the melted cheese. Oh baby! Let's not forget the deep fried onion ring, as it was placed on top of the patty, cheese and bacon, and the whole burger was held together with a knife, for a dramatic presentation. The lettuce, tomato, red onion and pickle slices were crisp and fresh. The jalapiņo pepper slices were simply pickled jalapiņos and added a little heat, but not much taste, as there was a lot going on with this burger. This burger was SO DELICIOUS that I didn't bother to add any mustard, as the mayonnaise that came on the burger was all that was needed. The "seasoned fries" were seasoned with a just enough salt to make them very tasty, but the salt wasn't overpowering, and the fries were super fresh, and not greasy. My order of fries was cooked to a light golden brown on the outside, and a tender white inside, which made for a perfect side dish, and a perfectly-cooked order of fries. The chef has talent... As in a truly crafted burger, the meat, cheese, bacon, onion ring and the bun arrived warm, and the tomato, lettuce, pickle and jalapenos were chilled. The combination of hot and cold makes for an amazing burger taste sensation! As far as my taste buds go, "The Base Burger" is an outstanding burger, and a great place to begin... and maybe stay... on The Base's menu.
Photo: Cross section of my "The Base Burger," showing all of the goodness this amazing burger has to offer. The Base Restaurant and Bar is obviously very proud of this fine burger to name it after their restaurant, and to make it the "signature" item on their menu. They have every right to be proud of the outstanding burger they have created, as it's amazingly delicious, and you'd have to look really hard in the greater Salt Lake City metro area to find a better burger, if one even exists. You don't have to be serving in the armed forces to enjoy an amazing meat at The Base Restaurant and Bar, as the food is simply amazing, the dining room is both casual and elegant, and you'll love the friendly, attentive service the well-trained staff offers. We absolutely LOVED our dining experience at The Base Restaurant and Bar, and you'll love your fine dining experience too! The Base Restaurant and Bar Copyright(c) 2020 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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