40 mid-range places in Salt Lake City, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good restaurants in Salt Lake City, with real cooking and no surprise on the bill. All Salt Lake City food.
Red Iguana ★ 4.9
north-temple · 736 W North Temple St, Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Red Iguana on West North Temple, the Cardenas family's Mexican room since 1985 and Utah's most awarded restaurant, runs the state's defining moles.
Tip: Wait can run over an hour; cross to Red Iguana 2 at 866 W South Temple or order takeout via the operator's site.
Red Iguana ★ 4.9
north-temple · 736 W North Temple St, Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Red Iguana on West North Temple, the Cardenas family's Mexican room since 1985 and Utah's most awarded restaurant, runs the state's defining moles.
Tip: Hour-plus wait at peak; cross to Red Iguana 2 across South Temple or order takeout via the operator's site.
Squatters Pub Brewery ★ 4.8
downtown · 147 W Broadway, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Squatters Pub Brewery on West Broadway is Salt Lake's first post-Prohibition brewpub since 1989, anchoring Utah craft brewing downtown with pilsners and IPAs.
Water Witch ★ 4.8
granary-district · 163 W 900 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Water Witch on West 900 South, Sean Neves, Scott Gardner and Matt Pfohl's Central 9th cocktail bar, was a 2025 James Beard finalist for Outstanding Bar.
Tip: Bar Nohm Korean izakaya next door shares the same back hallway; weeknights run quieter.
Eva's Bakery Cafe ★ 4.8
downtown · 155 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Eva's Bakery on South Main runs morning French pastries plus a quiche and breakfast-sandwich brunch menu, with espresso and kouign-amann the morning anchors.
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, Tony Caputo's Italian deli and market since 1997, runs the largest craft chocolate selection in the country.
Tip: Counter sandwiches travel well; the cheese, cured meats and tinned fish stretch through holidays. Multiple metro branches.
Red Iguana 2 ★ 4.7
north-temple · 866 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Red Iguana 2 on West South Temple, the larger sibling of the Cardenas family flagship, runs the same award-winning moles in a bigger room with a full bar.
Tip: Use Red Iguana 2 to skip the original's hour-plus wait at peak; same kitchen, same family, full bar.
Red Iguana 2 ★ 4.7
north-temple · 866 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Red Iguana 2 on West South Temple, the larger sibling of the Cardenas family flagship, runs the same award-winning moles in a bigger room with a full bar.
Tip: Use Red Iguana 2 to skip the original's wait at peak; same family, same kitchen.
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, Tony Caputo's Italian deli and market since 1997, runs sandwiches plus the largest craft chocolate selection.
Tip: Counter sandwiches travel well; cheese, cured meats and tinned fish stretch through holidays.
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, runs a flagship roastery, event venue and multiple cafe locations citywide.
Three Pines Coffee ★ 4.7
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 small-batch coffee.
Red Rock Brewing ★ 4.7
downtown · 254 S 200 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Red Rock Brewing on South 200 West, downtown's craft brewery since March 14, 1994, has held Great American Beer Festival Brewpub of the Year and 100+ awards.
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, Tony Caputo's Italian deli and market since 1997, runs the largest craft chocolate selection in the country.
Tip: The cheese counter, tinned fish and 300+ craft chocolate selection stretch beyond the sandwich window.
Pago ★ 4.7
ninth-and-ninth · 878 S 900 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
Pago on 900 East runs Saturday and Sunday brunch from 10:00 alongside its dinner-only weekday operation, with farm-driven eggs and bottomless mimosa specials.
Manoli's ★ 4.6
ninth-and-ninth · 402 E Harvey Milk Blvd, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Manoli's on Harvey Milk Boulevard, chef-owner Manoli Katsanevas' Greek small-plates room since 2015, reinterprets Greek mezze with seasonal local ingredients.
Tip: Closed Mondays. Saturday and Sunday brunch 10:00-14:30; dinner Tue-Sun from 17:00.
Pat's Barbecue ★ 4.6
granary-district · 155 W Commonwealth Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Pat's Barbecue on Commonwealth Avenue south of downtown, the Texas-style smokehouse founded by pitmaster Pat Barber and serving Salt Lake since 2004.
Tip: Closed Sundays. The counter sells out of brisket by early evening on weekends; arrive before 18:00 to be sure.
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, runs Utah's defining.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Counter sells out of brisket by early evening; arrive before 18:00 to be sure.
Manoli's ★ 4.6
ninth-and-ninth · 402 E Harvey Milk Blvd, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Manoli's on Harvey Milk Boulevard, chef-owner Manoli Katsanevas' Greek small-plates room since 2015, reinterprets Greek mezze with local ingredients.
Tip: Closed Mondays; weekend brunch 10:00-14:30; dinner Tue-Sun from 17:00.
La Barba Coffee Roastery ★ 4.6
downtown · 1155 Richards St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
La Barba Coffee Roastery on Richards Street, the Salt Lake specialty wholesaler since November 2014, runs multiple cafe locations citywide and a roastery.
Fisher Brewing Company ★ 4.6
granary-district · 320 W 800 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Fisher Brewing on West 800 South, the employee-owned brewery reviving the 1884 Fisher name, runs ales and lagers on draft with rotating food trucks.
Manoli's ★ 4.6
ninth-and-ninth · 402 E Harvey Milk Blvd, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Manoli's on Harvey Milk Boulevard, the Greek small-plates room from chef Manoli Katsanevas since 2015, is the Greek mezze destination locals send guests.
Tip: Closed Mondays; the room is small, reservations help on weekend nights and brunch.
Post Office Place ★ 4.6
downtown · 16 W Market St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Post Office Place on West Market Street next to Takashi, Tamara Gibo and Takashi's cocktail bar in the historic post office building, runs craft pours.
Tip: Sister room to Takashi sushi next door; weeknights quieter than the downtown weekend rush.
The Park Cafe ★ 4.6
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 in a chalkboard room.
Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana ★ 4.5
downtown · 260 S 200 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Settebello on South 200 West, the Salt Lake flagship of the Neapolitan-style chain, runs hand-made dough cooked in a 900-degree wood oven in 60 seconds.
Tip: Vegan and gluten-free options on the menu; weekend dinner runs the longest waits.
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.
Blue Copper Coffee ★ 4.5
granary-district · 179 W 900 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Blue Copper Coffee on West 900 South in Central 9th, the operator's flagship roastery since 2013 from garage beginnings, runs $2 drip, cold brew and espresso.
Epic Brewing Company ★ 4.5
central-city · 825 S State St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Epic Brewing on South State Street, the bottle-focused craft brewery and tap room, opened in 2010 as Utah's first brewery to focus on high-ABV bottles.
Bar X ★ 4.5
downtown · 155 E 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Bar X on East 200 South runs late until 01:00 nightly, anchoring downtown's late-night cocktail trade with extensive spirit selection and live music nights.
Crown Burgers ★ 4.5
downtown · 377 E 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Crown Burgers on East 200 South runs until 22:00 Monday through Saturday, anchoring late-night counter service for the pastrami-burger crowd downtown.
The Rest ★ 4.5
downtown · 331 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
The Rest beneath Bodega on South Main Street, downtown's hidden-entrance speakeasy, runs reservation-only craft cocktails in a windowless room nightly.
Tip: Reservation-only; book through the operator's site and arrive at Bodega above to enter.
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 original location of the family diner, runs Heavenly Hot Cakes and from-scratch comfort food breakfast and lunch seven.
East Liberty Tap House ★ 4.4
ninth-and-ninth · 850 E 900 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
East Liberty Tap House on 900 South, Scott Evans' Pago Group neighborhood tavern since 2014, runs an updated bar menu with selected Utah craft beer.
Tip: Patio in summer; Sunday and Saturday brunch starts at 11:00. Reserve via the operator's site.
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 (current address from 2019), runs plant-based comfort food all.
Tip: All-day breakfast service; the retro-diner room is family-friendly. Beer and wine on the menu.
East Liberty Tap House ★ 4.4
ninth-and-ninth · 850 E 900 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
East Liberty Tap House on 900 South, Scott Evans' Pago Group neighborhood tavern since 2014, runs an updated bar menu with Utah craft beer on tap.
Tip: Patio in summer; Sunday and Saturday brunch starts at 11:00. Reserve via the operator's site.
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 (current address from 2019), runs plant-based comfort food all.
Tip: All-day breakfast service; the retro-diner room is family-friendly. Beer and wine on the menu.
Cafe Trio ★ 4.4
ninth-and-ninth · 680 S 900 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Cafe Trio on 900 East at 7th South in Salt Lake City is Mikel Trapp's contemporary Italian neighborhood room with stone-fired pizzas and pastas on a patio.
Tip: Open daily; the award-winning patio is the seat in summer. Sister Cafe Trio Cottonwood is in suburban Holladay.
Uinta Brewing Company ★ 4.4
granary-district · 1722 S Fremont Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84104
Uinta Brewing on Fremont Drive since 1993, Utah's large independent craft brewery, runs the state's defining brand across multi-state distribution alongside.
TF Brewing ★ 4.4
granary-district · 936 S 300 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
TF Brewing on South 300 West, the Templin Family Brewing taproom in the Granary District, runs lager-focused craft beer in a community-oriented brewery hall.
Beerhive Pub ★ 4.4
downtown · 128 S Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Beerhive Pub on South Main runs until 01:00 Monday through Saturday, with bar food, an ice-ledge bar and 15+ draft taps anchoring the late-night trade.
Fisher Brewing Company ★ 4.4
granary-district · 320 W 800 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Fisher Brewing on West 800 South runs Friday and Saturday until midnight, with rotating food trucks and Granary District ales and lagers on draft.