At 4118 Kitchen + Bar, somebody is probably watching a game, somebody else is ordering wings, and the burger special has already changed by the time lunch rolls into dinner. In a town often defined by destination dining and polished white-tablecloth evenings, 4118 has quietly built something different: a restaurant rooted less in occasion dining than in habit, familiarity, and the steady rhythms of local life.
Opened on April 1, 2018, by owners Ryan Aydelotte and Richard Errington, 4118 takes its name from the elevation of Highlands itself – 4,118 feet above sea level – a detail that feels fitting for a restaurant so closely tied to the town’s year-round crowd.
The atmosphere lands somewhere between sports bar, comfort-food kitchen, and neighborhood gathering place. There are burgers and wings, karaoke every other Tuesday, live music throughout the summer, and a lunch-and-dinner schedule designed for regulars as much as visitors. Pianist Matt Molesworth performs on alternating Thursdays, while guitarist and singer Zorki Nastasic fills the room on the others.
But what increasingly defines the restaurant is the kitchen itself — and the family behind it. Head chef Samantha Alvarez, who has been with 4118 since 2021, now leads a tight-knit crew that includes her father, Miguel, who prepares the soups; her mother, Lilly, who handles much of the daily prep and salads during service; and her brother, Angel, the sous chef, who often drives the daily burger specials. It is, in every sense, a family operation, one that Aydelotte describes simply as “the nicest people you could ever meet.”
Alvarez herself represents a newer generation of Highlands culinary talent. She started cooking at 18 and spent four years at Ugly Dog Pub, where she trained under then-executive chef Kim Vos, who later opened Highlands Tavern with Aydelotte. Today, her menu at 4118 leans unapologetically toward comfort food — but comfort food with personality.
One recent addition is the Mexican cigar, a crisp phyllo-dough appetizer filled with cream cheese and jalapeños and served with avocado and sweet Thai chili sauces. Another favorite — an idea from Angel — is the elote-inspired corn dip, which arrives bubbling in cast iron alongside house-made corn chips. Then there are the pickle bombs: fried pickle medallions stuffed with cream cheese and served with ranch dressing.
The menu moves easily between bar-food indulgence and Southern comfort staples. A pulled pork smash burger comes topped with slaw, pickles, and housemade barbecue sauce. A Cuban sandwich layers pulled pork, ham, and Swiss on pressed Cuban bread. The hand-breaded chicken tenders, served with housemade white barbecue sauce, have their own devoted following. The garlic butter sirloin arrives with mashed potatoes, gravy, and honey-glazed carrots. Then there are the wings, which Aydelotte flatly calls the best in town — crisp, generously sauced, and usually one of the first things to disappear from the table.
Daily specials remain central to the restaurant’s identity, with the kitchen collaborating on everything from rotating soups to off-menu plates, including occasional Mexican-inspired features. Miguel’s chile poblano chicken soup, with its subtle Hispanic influence, has even been served in recent years at Highlands’ Empty Bowls fundraiser.
Even now, the operation remains hands-on across the board. Aydelotte still works lunch shifts at 4118 before heading to Highlands Tavern for dinner service, while Errington runs the night side. Behind the bar, manager Ryan Henry anchors the room, mixing cocktails, tending bar, and shaping the restaurant’s voice through its social media presence.
4118 is not trying to be the quietest dining room in Highlands. It is trying to be the place people drift back to – for a burger and a game, for live music and wings, or simply for the comfort of walking into a room where somebody already knows your order.
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