Local Restaurants

Who doesn't enjoy going out to eat? Eating is more than just filling your empty belly; it's the experience that keeps you coming back.

Popular Off-Campus Dining[]

Popular Off-Campus Dining Options[]

Salt Lake City is filled with fun and exciting restaurants. Each restaurant has an atmosphere that makes your dining experience unique.

The Pie Pizzeria is walking distance from the University of Utah. It is open till 3am on weekends. Suprisingly they tend to stay pretty busy till close. If you want the most bang for your buck head to the Pie. Their pizza is mouth-watering. You can't walk out of that resturant still hungry. They also offer delivery if needed. However they tend to get busy fast so make sure that you plan ahead of time and that you call the correct resturant, delivery can be tricky but they are more than willin to get you to the closets store.

Cafe Trio, located downtown on 680 South and 900 East, is a perfect place to sit down and enjoy some great Italian food. The decor is sleek and hip, and the food is simple and almost rustic, with great authentic flavors incorporated in the dishes. When visiting the restaurant, one can enjoy a full meal with a great wine list. To end the meal on a sweet note, one can order a delicious dessert. For an entree, I would suggest trying the five cheese pizza with balsamic reduction. If feeling extra naughty, try an olive oil cake for dessert.

The Mazza Cafe, also in the 9th and 9th area, serves Middle Eastern cuisine (Falafel, Shawarma, Kebabs, dips and salads) and has a liquor license. Their menu has many meatless options and is a great place for vegans and vegetarians.

Aristo's is a great place to get gourmet greek food. They have a large menu with many delicous greek dishes. They also cater to vegetarians. They have a beautiful peaceful atmosphere within both their indoor and outdoor seating. You'll find yourself going back to Aristos for more.

The Park Cafe, located at 604 East 1300 South, is a traditional American restaurant is a popular breakfast and lunch establishment. If you are going on the weekend, be sure to expect a 45 minute wait to be seated. But don't worry-it's worth it! The Park Cafe is open daily from 7:00 am until 3:00pm.

Finn's Cafe is a Norwegian style diner on 1100 E and about 1700 S. They are open until 3:00PM everyday and offer breakfast, brunch, and lunch options. You will find many classic items that you could find at most restaurants, but most have a Scandinavian twist. You get a lot of very delicious food for a very good price. Finn and his wife opened the restaurant and still manage it today. On any given day, you can go into the restaurant and chances are you will see them both happily serving their customers with a smile on their face.

The Blue Plate Diner, located at 2041 South 2100 East, is a family run restaurant that serves traditional comfort foods as well as other dining options to appeal to many different crowds. The restaurant was modeled after the mom and pop restaurants and has unique memorabilia that was donated by its customers, creating a fun family oriented atmosphere. They are open 7 days a week, from 7 am until 9 pm serving breakfast all day, as well as lunch and dinner.

Hectors is one of the most popular hometown Mexican restaurants in Salt Lake City. It's located on the East Bench at 2901 E 3300 S. It was formely known as Moca Salsa but has come under new management by Hector himself. The restaurant is especially popular among local skiers and snowboarders and is also a popular local hang out.

Ruths Diner is the second oldest operationng restaurant in Utah and remains a classic. It is a short drive up Emmigration Canyon and definetly worth it! Ruth's has been featured on TLC'S "Diners, Drive-in, and Dives" and is best known for those amazing biscuts!

Flat Bread Pizza This is a brand new pizzia restarunt orginally from Boise Idaho that has just opened in downtown Sugarhouse. This is a must eat great authentic italian style pizzia along with many other great dishes.

Eva Small in size, but not in flavor! Eva is a cozy restaurant located in downtown Salt Lake City on 317 South Main Street. Rustic and warm, this place specializes in small plates and interesting flavors. They are open everyday for dinner and also brunch on Sundays. They have an amazing take on different comfort foods and always dream up great cocktails to go along!

Red Rock Brewery A fantastic alternative to the fancy dining you'll find in downtown Salt Lake. Red Rock boasts a laid back atmosphere with a great menu and amazing beers to go along with anything you order. If you're not in the mood for a beer you can try one of their tasty cocktails. A great place to go to mingle and catch the next game. Located at 254 South 200 West, open every day at 11 a.m.

Melty Way A great place for families or a group of students. Melty Way has taken the classic grilled cheese and put some major twists on it. I guarantee they have a grilled cheese that will please anyone! What's even better is they're a local restaurant and buy everything local! And to top off your meal don't forget to try a classic rootbeer float made with locally brewed rootbeer! Located at 2121 McClelland Street.

Dickey's Barbecue Pit This is a great place if you love BBQ. It is not super expensive and gives you the feel of a small diner. One nice thing is that the cup you use for soda becomes your own cup you get to take it home with you. During the summer but also year round they offer free kiddie cones of icecream. This is place I feel has a little bit of everything for people who love their BBQ.

Roots Cafe This quaint little cafe is located in the Millcreek area of Salt Lake City. The menu offers a variety of breakfast and lunch items created with locally sourced ingredients. Meals range from healthy juices and salads to killer breakfast sandwiches and beefalo burgers. This place is very popular on the weekends and in the summer when the patio is open. A great location for a brunch date. Prices are reasonable for a sit down restaurant, and the food is downright delicious! Personal favorites are the Peeto breakfast sandwich, bread budding french toast, and the Peeto french dip.

Shogun Sushi: Located in the heart of downtown Salt Lake, you wont find a better deal on shushi. This is a very authentic restaurant with a unique atmosphere. A place where you take your shoes off in keeping with traditional Asian practices. As for the food, they have an excellent price on late night sushi.

Este Pizzeria: This is an amazing pizza joint that just recently moved into the old Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta building. Este is located in downtown sugarhouse on 2148 south 900 east. With great deals on pizza by the slice, to the great atmosphere Este is a place everyone should go to. Don’t miss out on the great new restaurant right in lovely sugarhouse area.

On-Campus Dining[]

The University of Utah has so many on-campus restaurants. Campus is full of delicous places to eat.

The Union Building:[]

Food Court (Breakfast Station,Panda Express,Chilitos,Chef's Table, The Grill,The Deli, Papa John's, Chop'd, Jamba Juice, Grab-n-go items.

Crimson View Restaurant (A casual sit-down restaurant with 180-degree view of the Salt Lake Valley.)

Chase N. Peterson Heritage Center:[]

Dining Hall (This is where students with meal plans will dine.)

Crimson Corner (Freshly made pastries and coffee.)

J. Willard Marriott Library:[]

Moms' Cafe (This restaurant provides so many different items and is even open late during finals.)

J. Willard Marriott Library Plaza:

Click here for more details on Food Trucks on campus

Eccles Health Sciences Education Building:[]

England Hub (Small little cafe with outdoor seating.)

Annex General Office Building:[]

105 Café (This cafe serves hot breakfast sandwiches and freschetta pizzas during lunch.)

Carolyn Tanner Irish Humanities Building:[]

Tony Caputo's Deli is conveniently located in the center of the campus. This deli serves a variety of Italian sandwiches, salads, pasta, and also has coffee.

Donna Garff Marriott Honors Residential Scholars Community:[]

Honors Market (Order to made sandwiches and to-go snacks.) Through out campus you will find "Outtakes" which is a walk through store with drinks, snacks and much more. You may also find vending and drink machines in almost every building.

[more information about dining, nutrition, and menus check out the Universities dining .] [1]].

Delicious Sushi Restaurants[]

There are many Japanese restaurants in Salt Lake City.

One is called Hi Sushi and is located at 1400 Foothill Drive. The owners are Koreans but achieve an authentic Japanese style. Sometimes, they even do events for the customers such as Korean BBQ parties.

The next one is called Blue Finn located on 3245 So. State Street. The sushi here is very good and sweeter than the taste at Hi Sushi. The recommended menu item here is Tsunami and Lion King.

My favorite sushi restaurant in Salt Lake CIty is Sapa on 722 South State Street. For the student on a budget, they offer very affordable prices on most menu items. They don't charge more than $10 for any roll and feature great lunch specials. I highly recommend the String Beans for an appetizer and the sashimi platter for your entree. The atmosphere is fun, trendy and cool. For a special event you can rent out one of their 300 year old Vietnamese tea houses.

Ginza is located at 209 W 200 S. The cost for food is affordable and worth a try. If you want more information, Urban Spoon provides a variety of reviews on this close to campus sushi restaurant. To read the review by Urban Spoon click here

Ichiban Sushi is located at 336 S 400 E in Salt Lake City. The restaurant is located in a former church. Ichiban is full of architectural wows and the atmosphere is very warm and inviting. For the student on a budget, they offer a happy hour Monday-Wednesday 5:00 pm to 10:00 with many sushi rolls half off. Click here to read a review by City Weekly.

For a more traditional Japanese experience, try Kyoto, in the sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City. This restaurant does serve many traditional Japanese meals (such as a giant cast iron pot of udon that could serve a whole table), but the sushi is very high quality as well. Guests are invited to remove their shoes and the booths are in the zashiki fashion of a low seat. The waitresses wear wooden geta shoes, and the tea house style architecture and decorations can transport you to Japan, right in the heart of SLC.

If you are ever around the south end of the Salt Lake Valley, check out Tepanyaki. Not only do they offer delicious sushi, they also offer hibachi style cooking. This style of cooking is where a trained chef prepares your meal in front of you on a grill top. The chef also puts on an entertaining show while cooking your meal and will have you attempt to catch a cooked shrimp in your mouth. They can get busy on the weekends, so reservations are recommended if you don't enjoy long wait times.

More "Authentic" Chinese Restaurants

In Utah, there are not many Chinese restaurants that are "authentic". However, there are some that are closer to the actual taste of Chinese food. A lot of Chinese restaurants are known to be dirty. However, these are the ones that are cleaner in my opinion. They also have the Chinese dining atmosphere as well (except the food court one). My list includes:

and the tea house style architecture and decorations can transport you to Japan, right in the heNew Golden Dragon

Cafe Anh Hong

Sweet Ginger

L&P Food Court in Ocean Mart

Wing Coop

Located at 3971 Wasatch Blvd this Buffalo Wing restaurant has one of a kind sauces that range from tangy and delicious to instanly hot to inedible. Some of the sauces have won national awards at the Buffalo Wing Festival and they are all concocted by the owners and employees of Wing Coop.

My Personal favorite sauces, ☠ = level of heat 1-4.

Black Diamond ☠☠☠

Honey Habanero ☠

Santo Tabasco ☠☠

Confucius ☠

A full menu can be found here!

The Eleven Challenge

Wing Coop also has a challenge sauce called Eleven ☠'☠'☠'☠'

Tthis sauce is literally fire in your mouth and extreamly hard to eat. In the challenge, a contestant must eat 11 wings covered in Eleven Sauce in 11 minutes. During the 11 minutes the contestant is not allowed to eat anything other than the wings, and not even water may be consumed! Here is a video of the challenge in action.

Wing_Coup_Challenge — Wing Coup Challenge

Local Breweries

Squatters

Hoppers

Wasatch

Epic

Uinta