39 cheap eats places in Salt Lake City, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Salt Lake City: the places editors actually return to. All Salt Lake City food.
Eva's Bakery ★ 4.8
downtown · 155 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Eva's Bakery on South Main, chef Charlie Perry's French bakery named for his great-grandmother Eva Coombs, runs French pastries and breakfast plates daily.
Three Pines Coffee ★ 4.8
downtown · 165 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Three Pines Coffee on South Main since 2015, the quiet focused cafe with no trendy gimmicks, has built a fiercely loyal following on disciplined small-batch.
Tulie Bakery ★ 4.7
downtown · 863 E 700 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Tulie Bakery on East 700 South, the central-city French-leaning bakery cafe, runs croissants, viennoiserie and espresso alongside daytime sandwiches.
Eva's Bakery ★ 4.7
downtown · 155 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Eva's Bakery on South Main, chef Charlie Perry's French bakery and cafe named for his great-grandmother Eva Coombs, runs French pastries and breakfast plates.
Publik Coffee Roasters ★ 4.7
granary-district · 975 S West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Publik Coffee Roasters on West Temple, the small-batch specialty coffee roaster with citywide cafes, runs a flagship roastery in a converted warehouse.
Caputo's Market and Deli ★ 4.7
downtown · 314 W 300 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Caputo's Market and Deli on West 300 South runs the Old School sandwich and rotating deli specials for $10 to $15 at the counter, with sandwiches to go.
Red Iguana ★ 4.7
north-temple · 736 W North Temple St, Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Red Iguana on West North Temple runs lunch combinations for $13 to $19 at the bar, with the same mole sauces as the dinner menu at a faster mid-day turn.
Blue Copper Coffee Room ★ 4.6
granary-district · 179 W 900 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Blue Copper Coffee Room on West 900 South in Central 9th, the operator's flagship since 2013, runs $2 drip, cold brew and espresso in a community room.
Pat's Barbecue ★ 4.6
granary-district · 155 W Commonwealth Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Pat's Barbecue on Commonwealth Avenue, the Texas-style smokehouse founded by pitmaster Pat Barber and serving Salt Lake since 2004, serves brisket plates.
Crown Burgers ★ 4.5
downtown · 377 E 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Crown Burgers on East 200 South, the Katsanevas family's burger institution since 1978, popularized Salt Lake's pastrami burger at its Greek-American counter.
Tip: Lunch turns the counter fast; the original downtown location is the canonical seat among the seven Utah branches.
Pretty Bird Hot Chicken ★ 4.5
downtown · 146 S Regent St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Pretty Bird Hot Chicken on Regent Street, chef Viet Pham's Nashville-style downtown fast-casual since 2018, anchors Utah's chef-driven hot chicken movement.
Tip: Order ahead via the operator's site for pickup; the counter line stretches at lunch. Park City, Sugar House and Midvale branches are siblings.
Crown Burgers ★ 4.5
downtown · 377 E 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Crown Burgers on East 200 South, the Katsanevas family's institution since 1978, popularized Salt Lake's pastrami burger at its Greek-American counter.
Tip: Original downtown location is the canonical seat among seven Utah branches; lunch counter turns fast.
Pretty Bird Hot Chicken ★ 4.5
downtown · 146 S Regent St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Pretty Bird Hot Chicken on Regent Street, chef Viet Pham's Nashville-style fast-casual since 2018, anchors Salt Lake's chef-driven hot chicken movement.
Tip: Order ahead via the operator's site for pickup; counter line stretches at lunch. Sister branches in Sugar House, Park City, Midvale.
Gourmandise The Bakery ★ 4.5
downtown · 250 S 300 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Gourmandise The Bakery on South 300 East, the family-owned European pastry shop since 1991, runs 140+ daily desserts plus small-plate dinners and wine.
Salt Lake Roasting Co ★ 4.5
downtown · 820 E 400 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Salt Lake Roasting Co on East 400 South, the city's oldest specialty coffee roaster since 1980, runs 45+ in-store-roasted coffees plus daily-baked pastries.
Crown Burgers ★ 4.5
downtown · 377 E 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Crown Burgers on East 200 South, the Katsanevas family's burger counter since 1978, runs Salt Lake's pastrami burger and gyros at the order window.
Pretty Bird Hot Chicken ★ 4.5
downtown · 146 S Regent St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Pretty Bird Hot Chicken on Regent Street, chef Viet Pham's order-counter fast-casual since 2018, runs Nashville-style hot chicken sandwiches at counters.
Downtown Farmers Market Food Trucks ★ 4.5
downtown · 300 S 350 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
The Downtown Farmers Market at Pioneer Park runs nearly 20 new food vendors each season alongside its 300+ farmers and artisans on Saturdays from June.
Crown Burgers ★ 4.5
downtown · 377 E 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Crown Burgers on East 200 South, the Katsanevas family's burger institution since 1978, serves the Salt Lake pastrami burger combo for under $12 daily.
Pretty Bird Hot Chicken ★ 4.5
downtown · 146 S Regent St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Pretty Bird on Regent Street, chef Viet Pham's Nashville-style fast-casual since 2018, runs a hot chicken sandwich combo for $9 to $14 at the order counter.
Penny Ann's Cafe ★ 4.5
central-city · 1810 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Penny Ann's Cafe on South Main, the family-run diner, runs Heavenly Hot Cakes and from-scratch comfort breakfast for $10 to $15 seven days a week.
The Park Cafe ★ 4.5
liberty-park · 604 E 1300 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
The Park Cafe on East 1300 South next to Liberty Park, the Liberty Wells classic diner since 1982, runs huge American breakfast portions for $10 to $16.
Vosen's Bread Paradise ★ 4.4
downtown · 328 W 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Vosen's Bread Paradise on West 200 South since 1997, the downtown German bakery, runs German, Italian and French breads, pretzels, bagels and imports.
Gourmandise The Bakery ★ 4.4
downtown · 250 S 300 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Gourmandise The Bakery on South 300 East, the family-owned European pastry destination since 1991, runs 140+ daily desserts plus small-plate dinners.
Tulie Bakery ★ 4.4
downtown · 863 E 700 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Tulie Bakery on East 700 South, the central-city French-leaning bakery cafe, runs croissants, viennoiserie and espresso alongside daytime sandwiches.
Cupbop Korean BBQ ★ 4.4
downtown · 45 E Broadway, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Cupbop on East Broadway, founder Junghun Song's Korean BBQ-in-a-cup since 2013 in the Gallivan Center, expanded into 60+ U.S. locations and 220 in Indonesia.
Cupbop Korean BBQ ★ 4.4
downtown · 45 E Broadway, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Cupbop on East Broadway, founder Junghun Song's Korean BBQ-in-a-cup since 2013, serves Korean beef, noodles and rice from $7 to $12 at fast-casual counters.
Vertical Diner ★ 4.4
central-city · 234 W 900 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Vertical Diner on 900 South, Salt Lake's longest-running full-service vegan diner since 2007, runs all-day plant-based diner breakfast and sandwich plates.
Tulie Bakery 15th and 15th ★ 4.3
fifteenth-and-fifteenth · 1510 S 1500 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
Tulie Bakery's second location on 1500 East at 15th and 15th brings the same croissants, viennoiserie and espresso to the east-side residential cluster.
Sugar House Coffee ★ 4.3
sugar-house · 2011 S 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84106
Sugar House Coffee on South 1100 East, the neighborhood gathering spot open seven days a week, runs an all-day menu with beer, wine, coffee and pastries.
La Barba Coffee Maven District ★ 4.2
central-city · 155 E 900 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
La Barba Coffee on East 900 South in the Maven District, the operator's specialty coffee cafe with breakfast tacos, runs morning espresso and tacos.
Fillings and Emulsions ★ 4.1
central-city · 1475 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Fillings and Emulsions on South Main, pastry chef Adalberto Diaz's French-Cuban dessert shop, runs macarons, entremets and viennoiserie south of downtown.
Publik Kitchen ★ 4.1
ninth-and-ninth · 975 E 900 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
Publik Kitchen on East 900 South near 9th and 9th, the operator's sister cafe with a fuller food menu, runs daytime breakfast and lunch with coffee.
Blue Copper 2000 ★ 4.1
marmalade · 401 N 300 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Blue Copper 2000 on North 300 West in the Marmalade District, the operator's Capitol Hill cafe, runs the same $2 drip coffee program as the Central 9th.
Apollo Burger ★ 4.0
north-temple · 143 N Redwood Rd, Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Apollo Burger on Redwood Road, the Utah burger chain since 1984, serves charbroiled pastrami burgers and Greek-American sides
Tip: Cheaper alternative to Crown Burgers for the local pastrami-burger ritual; multiple metro branches.
Stoneground Bakery ★ 4.0
central-city · 1025 S 700 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84104
Stoneground Bakery on South 700 West, Utah's wholesale artisan bread baker since 1991, runs a retail counter at the production bakery on the west side daily.
Emigration Cafe ★ 4.0
ninth-and-ninth · 1709 E 1300 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84108
Emigration Cafe on East 1300 South, Scott Evans' Pago Group all-day cafe in Yalecrest, runs morning breakfast, lunch sandwiches and weekend brunch.
Apollo Burger ★ 4.0
north-temple · 143 N Redwood Rd, Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Apollo Burger on Redwood Road in Salt Lake City has been the Utah burger chain since 1984, with charbroiled pastrami burgers and Greek-American sides daily.
Apollo Burger ★ 4.0
north-temple · 143 N Redwood Rd, Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Apollo Burger on Redwood Road, the local Utah burger chain since the 1980s, runs charbroiled pastrami burgers and Greek-American sides for under $11.