Restaurants in Salt Lake City

The idea that food culture in the mid-west still suffers from the pioneer hang-over of limited choice compensated by giant portions is now truly a thing of the past, and nowhere proves the point better than Salt Lake City. In fact, the range of international cuisine here is startling. Such diversity also means the city provides dining options to suit every budget.

The restaurants in Salt Lake City below have been classed into three different pricing categories:
Expensive (over US$75)
Moderate (US$25 to US$75)
Cheap (under US$25)
These prices are based on an average three-course meal for one person; they do not include drinks, tax or service charge/tip.

Metropolitan

Price: Expensive

One of the most expensive restaurants in town, the Metropolitan is all about delectable and inspired New American cuisine. This is food that’s crafted from fresh, regional ingredients and reflects the seasonal bounty and farmstead culture of the region. The cuisine at Metropolitan has earned a string of national awards, and, since its inception in 1995, it has also gained enviable recognition as Utah’s culinary jewel.

Address: 300 South, 200 West, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Telephone: (801) 364 3472.

Forage

Price: Expensive

For those in search of the authentic flavours of the Utah region served as gourmet cuisine rather than ‘down-home cooking’, Forage is the perfect destination. This restaurant seeks out and uses the best and most unusual local ingredients from the surrounding area to create a series of dishes as imaginative as they are mouthwatering. Food is kept seasonal and fresh often prepared using local traditional methods yet served with an exciting, contemporary twist.

Address: 370 East, 900 South, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Telephone: (801) 708 7834.

Log Haven

Price: Expensive

Just outside Salt Lake, this award-winning fine-dining establishment housed in an evocative log-built mansion up in Millcreek Canyon, is a restaurant where the view actually rivals the food. Alfresco dining in these spectacular surroundings is the popular summer option, while customers cosy up at tables by roaring log fires during the winter. The menu includes stone-grilled chicken, coriander-rubbed ahi (tuna fish) and pepper-seared filet mignon, as well as some excellent vegetarian options. Wine and cocktails are also available.

Address: 6451 Millcreek Canyon Road, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Telephone: (801) 272 8255.

Cucina Toscana

Price: Moderate

Located in downtown, this is one of the city's best regarded Italian restaurants; in fact, it’s probably simply the best. This is a true Tuscan tratottoria in the heart of the US, where award-winning chef Valter Nassi serves authentic Tuscan cuisine to regulars and tourists alike. The food is simple but always fresh and tasty, the prices more than reasonable for the quality you get, and the service excellent.

Address: 307 West Pierpont Avenue, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Telephone: (801) 328 3463.

Market Street Grill

Price: Moderate

When you’re running a seafood restaurant this far inland you’d better be sure it’s good, and Market Street Grill is widely regarded as the best seafood place in town. Here the fish is flown in specially from around the globe, fresh each day, and eager patrons work their way through over 600 pounds of it daily. From lobster and oysters to bay crab and jumbo shrimp, there’s also a good wine list available for washing it all down.

Address: 48 West Market Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Telephone: (801) 322 4668.

The Tree Room

Price: Moderate

Just a few miles south-east of Salt Lake City is the scenic Sundance Resort, located on land purchased for preservation by Robert Redford in 1969. Here an award-winning restaurant serves seasonal mountain cuisine in a romantic setting; candlelight, white linen tablecloth, log walls and great forest views. Cosy yet elegant, the private Native American art collection belonging to Redford (the region’s local super-star) adorns the walls.

Of course this is the mid-west, and that’s ‘cattle country’, so dining here still has much to do with the myriad ways of cutting up a cow, from the cheapest burger joints to the most expensive culinary establishments.

Address: Sundance Resort, Sundance, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Telephone: (801) 223 4200.

Blue Plate Diner

Price: Cheap

An authentic piece of the great American diner experience. With that classic retro ambience in its atmosphere and furnishings, The Blue Plate is open all day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Staying true to the diner ethos, it delivered piled-high portions and service with a smile all the way. Eggs how you want them and wobbling stacks of syrup pancakes, what more could you want?

Address: 2041 South, 2100 East, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Telephone: (801) 463 1151.

Lone Star Taqueria

Price: Cheap

Only Arizona separates Utah from the border into Mexico, as this colourful restaurant will remind you. Decorated in a mélange of hubcaps and cowboy boots, with brightly painted rural Mexican furniture, this place serves great tacos. The authentic fish ones, using marinated and grilled fish topped with cabbage, tomato, cilantro and jalapeño mayonnaise, are some of the best you’ll find outside Baja.

Address: 2265 Fort Union Boulevard, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Telephone: (801) 463 1151.

Sawadee Thai Restaurant

Price: Cheap

This restaurant established in 2005 in a charmingly restored old house is authentic Thai, from the imported original art and carved décor to the owners, Wilati and his wife, Chef Pom. This is home-cooking in the US, but Thai style, with the tang of fresh herbs and infused with the fragrance of coconut and lemongrass. Dishes are delicious and there’s a staggeringly wide range. No wonder Sawadee has won an award for Best New Ethnic Restaurant.

Address: 754 East South Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Telephone: (801) 328 8424.
Website:
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