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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.
Celebrated for its art-filled dining room and lushly tree-shaded terrace, this romantic spot occupies a converted house in a historic neighborhood near the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. The kitchen specializes in modern French and American fare, such as preserved-heirloom-tomato pie with cilantro aioli and toasted-Parmesan sabayon, and Franck's signature meat loaf with whipped potatoes and a champagne-lavender sauce. There's a superb wine list, too.
Within a short, pretty stroll of the Avenues and Capitol Hill, this outpost of the original, nationally acclaimed Handle restaurant in Park City turns heads with its stunningly plated, locavore-driven cuisine and a fetching interior with marble-top tables, a wood-beam ceiling, and a gleaming, tiled open kitchen. What's served on any given night varies according to what's in season, but you might encounter truffled agnolotti pasta filled with Swiss chard, corn, and goat's whey cream or slow-cooked pork shank with carrot-frisée salad, whipped ranch dressing, and apple butter.
This elegant 1920s canyon retreat brings inventive takes on American wild game–focused cuisine by incorporating Asian ingredients with a Rocky Mountain style—consider grilled bison steak with charred Brussel sprouts and truffle aioli or roasted hen of the woods mushrooms with Calabrian chile–ricotta dumplings. With its romantic setting in a beautifully renovated log home amid the pine trees, waterfalls, and wildflowers of Millcreek Canyon, this is definitely a restaurant to remember. The restaurant is 4 miles up the canyon, across from a waterfall.
Serving artfully crafted modern American fare in a sceney cathedral-ceiling restaurant with tall black leather booths, a pair of esteemed chefs have created one of the most alluring dining destinations in the city. The five- and seven-course tasting menus change frequently and are based on what's in season, but recent offerings have included locally raised lamb shank accompanied by smoked and pickled alliums and saffron lamb jus and a vegetable "steak" topped with plum-zucchini caponata, leeks, and nasturtiums. Wine and nonalcoholic pairings are available. The on-site bakery dispenses fine coffee, breads, and pastries Wednesday through Saturday.
One of the most memorable and dramatic restaurant experiences in the state, dining in this secluded yurt begins with a guided ¼-mile snowshoe trek beneath a canopy of nighttime stars, and the dinner price—$175 per person—includes rentals, guides, corkage fee, and a grand four-course meal. The seasonally driven menu changes regularly, and The Yurt's chef describes the meal as he prepares it before your eyes in the cozy exhibition kitchen. With seating for just 26, dinners here book up early—reserve well ahead.
In an ornate former bank lobby adjacent to swanky Hotel Monaco, the city's most esteemed hotel restaurant is as notable for its setting as for its exceptional food. The kitchen crafts big plates of seasonally sourced modern American fare, including seared elk loin with berry compote, sea scallops with corn and cannellini beans, and fillet of beef with duck-fat potatoes and truffle aioli. A marble-fronted exhibition kitchen, big windows framed in fanciful hammered metal swirls, and a definite "buzz" make Bambara a hot spot even after many years. You can also dine in the bar, or simply enjoy a cocktail while cozied up in a velvet-lined booth.
With its sleek, contemporary vibe, warm lighting and wood accents, open kitchen, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the fantastic ski terrain, this upscale restaurant in the ritzy Snowpine Lodge is Alta's hippest dining destination. The kitchen takes a farm-to-table approach to its hearty but creative mountain fare, with standout dishes like hamachi crudo and a succulent peppercorn-crusted rib-eye steak with mashed potatoes and Merlot-braised mushrooms. Service is top-notch.
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