Salt Lake City Restaurants

The 2002 Winter Olympics cast Salt Lake City in a new, contemporary, more diverse light. Visitors discovered a panoply of cultural influences, brewpubs, ethnic flavors, and progressive chefs. Salt Lake City may not have the depth of restaurants seen in other big cities, but there are a couple of outstanding choices for nearly every budget and cuisine. Restaurants like Lamb’s Grill Café, Hire’s Big H, and Ruth’s Diner trace their roots back five-plus decades, and their colorful proprietors are more than willing to share the history they’ve witnessed from their kitchens. Returning LDS missionaries have brought back their favorite flavors from Asia, Europe, and Latin America, with impressive results. Seafood, Japanese, Tibetan, Indian, Spanish, and Italian are all suitably showcased in Salt Lake eateries, and when all else fails, there are great burgers and Rocky Mountain cuisine, a fusion inspired by frontier big game, seafood fresh from the great Pacific ports, and organic produce grown in Utah’s fertile valleys. You'll also find creative wine lists and knowledgeable service. Bakers and pastry chefs defy the 4,400-foot altitude with rustic sourdoughs and luscious berry-filled treats. Multiple weekly summer farmers' markets are thriving, and chefs are building more and more of a food community.

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  • 1. Blacksmith Ice Cream

    $

    It's worth the 15-minute drive north of downtown Salt Lake to sample what may very well be the finest small-batch ice cream in the Rockies, or at least Utah. Innovative flavors at this bustling shop in cheerful downtown Bountiful include lavender studded with chunks of honeycomb and mango sticky rice. Offerings change according to which ingredients are available in season.

    180 S. Main St., Utah, 84010, USA
    801-683–8951

    Known For

    • Charming sidewalk seating in downtown Bountiful
    • Unusual ice-cream flavors
    • House-baked waffle cones

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
  • 2. Fillings & Emulsions

    $

    Employing a team of world-class pastry chefs, including acclaimed owner and Food Network competitor Adalberto Diaz, this sumptuous little cake shop produces artful and delicious sweet treats. Stop by and treat yourself to a guava tart or a slice of raspberry chocolate cheesecake. There's an additional location in Salt Lake City International Airport.

    1475 S. Main St., Utah, 84115, USA
    385-229–4228

    Known For

    • Colorful French macarons
    • Savory baked Cuban sandwich meat pies
    • One-day classes on myriad topics

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner
  • 3. normal ice cream

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    Begun by a pastry chef from acclaimed HSL restaurant, this off-beat artisan icecream shop turns out exceptional all-natural soft-serve ice cream in a riot of interesting flavors (brown butter, spruce tip with salted caramel, apple cider sorbet, olive oil), along with "composed" cones with interesting toppings mixed in—like house-made cake bits, gingersnap cookies, and honeycomb. If you're looking for sweet picnic treats, pick up a pint or a slice of ice-cream cake. 

    169 E. 900 S, Utah, 84111, USA
    385-299–5418

    Known For

    • Vegan sorbets in cool flavors (pomegranate, blood orange, etc.)
    • Choco tacos with horchata ice cream
    • Creative ice-cream sandwiches
  • 4. Publik Coffee Roasters

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    This ubercool artisan-coffee purveyor has several locations around town, with this simple, streamlined shop in a converted service station in the Avenues arguably the most inviting, in part because of its handsome wooden tables and for its location along a block of lovely historic homes. Publik sources its fair-trade beans from high-quality farms throughout Latin America and Africa, and always offers an interesting array of seasonal espresso drinks, like the wintertime favorite Sweet Melissa, a honey syrup–infused latte with lemon balm, sage, and sweet mint.

    502 3rd Ave., Utah, 84103, USA
    385-229–4836

    Known For

    • Completely solar-powered
    • Inviting, historic building
    • Exceptional coffee and espresso drinks
  • 5. The Copper Onion

    $$$

    Celebrated chef-owner Ryan Lowder brings joy with the basics—artful salads, house-made pastas, and charcuterie—and then dazzles with mouthwatering locally sourced dishes, from Cast Iron Mary's Chicken to rainbow trout with charred lemon and Greek yogurt. Stop in at this chic modern downtown bistro before or after a film, gallery tour, or live theater on Salt Lake's Broadway. The youthful Lowder studied with some of the nation's most famous chefs before bringing his own brand of sophisticated American cuisine to his hometown.

    111 E. Broadway, Utah, 84111, USA
    801-355–3282

    Known For

    • Cocktails and after-dinner drinks next door at Copper Common bar
    • Warmly lighted, romantic dining room
    • Delicious charcuterie board

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch weekdays
  • Recommended Fodor’s Video

  • 6. Blue Copper 2000

    $

    This cozy branch of a well-established minichain is in an atmospheric old building a few blocks west of the capitol and is a perfect place to relax on the patio with an Earl Grey latte or flat white, maybe while enjoying a slice of raspberry shortbread. It's also a great stop for grabbing cold brew or kombucha to take with you on a hike in nearby City Creek Canyon.

    401 N. 300 W, Utah, 84103, USA
    801-225–2092

    Known For

    • Sidewalk seating
    • Carefully sourced coffees
    • Rich pastries and fluffy muffins
  • 7. Eva's Bakery

    $

    Skip the overpriced breakfast at your downtown hotel and make a beeline for this enchanting Parisian-inspired boulangerie with tiled walls, marble café tables, and sidewalk seating out front. Start the day with beet-avocado toast, stuffed French toast oozing with lemon cream cheese and blueberry compote, or a fruit tart or almond croissant. The espresso and cold brew are first-rate, too.

    155 S. Main St., Utah, 84101, USA
    801-355–3942

    Known For

    • Short walk to Gallivan Center and Temple Square
    • Exquisite French pastries
    • French toast stuffed with lemon cream cheese

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 8. Goodly Cookies

    $

    It's all about the cookie at this delightful little shop whose best sellers include the cobbler-inspired Peachy Keen and the ethereal White Chocolate Raspberry Delight. It's open till 11 pm most nights and midnight on weekends, making it ideal for satisfying your late-night sugar cravings.

    432 S. 900 E, Utah, 84102, USA
    801-784–4848

    Known For

    • Unusual flavors like pumpkin chai and strawberry banana
    • Gooey Brookie (a hybrid of chocolate chip and brownie)
    • Ice-cream sandwiches

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
  • 9. Hatch Family Chocolates

    $

    For a sweet treat, stop by this friendly ice-cream parlor and candy shop. Jerry Hatch uses his mother's secret recipe for creamy caramel, and each piece of chocolate is hand-dipped and sold by weight. 

    376 8th Ave., Utah, 84103, USA
    801-532–4912

    Known For

    • Frozen chocolate-dipped bananas
    • Espresso drinks, Italian sodas, and decadent hot chocolates
    • Milk shakes and sundaes using house-made ice cream

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon.
  • 10. Salt Lake Roasting Company

    $

    Since 1981 the Roasting Company has sourced, bought, imported, roasted, and sold dozens of varieties of coffees. Great pastries, desserts, light breakfast and lunch fare, free Wi-Fi, and friendly, knowledgeable staff make this a Salt Lake institution. You'll detect the distinctive aroma of their coffee in the lobby of the public library, where there's a satellite location.

    820 E. 400 S, Utah, 84111, USA
    801-363–7572

    Known For

    • Lots of space to spread out and work, read, or socialize
    • Great selection of herbal teas
    • Opens very early

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner
  • 11. Tulie Bakery

    $

    This cozy neighborhood bakeshop between Trolley Square and 9th and 9th turns out absolutely ethereal cookies (the salted caramel bars are legendary), tarts, and cakes, as well as sandwiches on soft and crusty savory breads. The soppressata and provolone and prosciutto-fig-gorgonzola sandwiches are among the favorites, and there's a full roster of espresso drinks and fine teas. There's a second location south and east, near Wasatch Hollow.

    863 E. 700 S, Utah, 84102, USA
    801-883–9741

    Known For

    • Fine Japanese green teas
    • Breakfast toast with apricot honey and garlic chevre
    • Olive oil–orange cake with brown-butter buttercream

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner

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