New Restaurants – October 2018

Alibi

A bar for bar folks by um, more bar folks, I think that’s the setup here; at least that’s the vague story I recall from speaking with the owners during their soft opening event. The former check cashing location on Main Street is now SLC’s latest bar hopping stop off spot. Fancy cocktails are the order of the day on an increasingly bustling Main Street.

369 Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 532-2707
facebook.com/alibislc

Button Down Bar

One of SLC’s most perennially cursed spots must be this location on Pierpoint Avenue. Avant Groove, Cafe Pierpoint, Inferno Cantina – just some of the names that have temporarily graced this spot. Button Down Bar are the latest to chance their luck and roll the dice at the location.

I’m not sure, but it looks like BDB is simply a rebranding of sorts and still the same people who launched the jazzy Avant Groove. The business also promises to offer a select few, “a truly High-End V.I.P. experience in our exclusive Cuff Link Lounge”. So there’s that too.

122 Pierpont Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
(801) 916-1984
buttondown.bar

The Daily

This latest restaurant from Ryan Lowder et al features nary a reference to Copper. Indeed Lowder’s latest spot on Main veers firmly away from the New American menu successes of Onion, Common and Kitchen. The Daily is a breakfast and lunch spot for weekday downtown drones. The business is currently closed at the weekends.

Notably, The Daily is SLC’s first location of its type to feature Portland’s Stumptown Coffee, which is a personal favorite of mine. In the former Bistro 222 space you can now grab a cup of Oregon’s finest alongside a menu of simple fare with flashes of International inspiration.

222 Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
https://www.facebook.com/The-Daily-SLC-246010779352813

Ejo

If speeding along 33rd South is part of your commute you’ve probably been watching the redevelopment of the lot on the corner of 3300 and 700 East. The old Ejo building on the prominent edge was demolished and replaced by a brand spanking new Rite Aid; side note, it’s a rather nice Rite Aid, if rather nice Rite Aids are your thing.

Ejo recently reopened in the back of the lot, revamping their menu to offer an all you can eat, Korean BBQ setup; the type that sees guests cook their own meats with in-table recessed hot plates. Banchan (little side dishes) is apparently served in a self serve buffet setup and the AYCE meat array is priced $16.99 per person for lunch and $25.99 for dinner. A liquor license is presently in the works.

633 3300 S, South Salt Lake, UT 84106
(801) 474-0047
ejokoreanbbq.com

Fat Boy Phillies Downtown

Opening on the corner of 400 S. and State to much fanfare and feinting Philly lovers aplenty is the second location for this new cheesesteak mecca. The new downtown location is the diametric opposite of the original Murray based hole in the wall, a huge space and then some.

The increasingly dilapidated corner spot has been derelict for far too long, hopefully owners Oliver and Anthony Duran can bring a little fun and flavor with their winning formula; and yes, before you ask, they offer both cheez whizz and provolone.

400 S State St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
slcmenu.com/2018/03/03/fat-boy-phillies-menu/

Freshies SLC

A trip up Parleys is no longer the only way to experience one of SLC’s best bites. Now serving lobstah rolls in the heart of SLC proper, Freshies Lobster Co is open. I’ve not been to the SLC location so far, but have no reason to doubt it will be anything unlike the PC location.

As jaded and cynical as I am, the Park City’s sublime subs even managed to melt my own cold dead heart; melted butter, mayo and fresh lobster tends to do that.

356 East 900 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 829-1032
freshieslobsterco.com

Gurkhas

Over on the East benches is this new Nepalese/Indian restaurant, which if I’m not mistaken, is opened by the same folks who started Kathmandu on Highland; which in turn was opened by the guys behind Himalayan Kitchen downtown. I should make a restaurant family tree one of these days.

Anyway, the menu is par for the course if you’ve experienced either of those two other businesses previously; a range of curries, tandoor treats and more. The restaurant has a beer and wine menu and also offers a lunch buffet too – $10.99 for an all you can eat affair with 10+ selections weekdays.

3025 E 3300 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84109
(801) 755-3499
gurkhas.net

Happy Dumpling

Love dumplings? Love your sofa? Then you’ll love Happy Dumpling – a new service in Salt Lake City that will deliver fresh dumplings right to your doorstep. It’s still exceptionally early days for this new business (check out their Instagram account in the above link) – but who doesn’t love dumplings from the comfort of the sofa.

Munchies

Another doorstep drop off service – and one of that runs until the wee hours – you know, for when you get the munchies…Cinnamon rolls, brownies, cookies, all delivered as late as 2 a.m. at the weekends.

3838 Highland Dr, Millcreek, UT 84106
(385) 252-8718
munchiesslc.com

The Local Greek

If a giant rotating cylinder of meat doesn’t get your pulse racing, I’m afraid you’re dead. Dead or vegan. Rivertonites are apparently savvy to a good thing with the restaurant reportedly having something of a struggle to keep up with demand. The menu offers a build it yourself spin on Greek fast food – dishes starting with a choice of gyro, bowl or souvlaki and offering up a range of more gourmet toppings than typical joints.

3673 West 13400 South, Riverton, UT 84065
(801) 503-8055
thelocalgreek.com

Morty’s Cafe

Hat tip to Cache Valley Daily for this one; Morty’s Cafe now has an additional location in Logan – across the street from the Maverik Stadium.

80 E 700 N, Logan, UT 84321
(435) 535-3276
mortyscafe.com

Pho Hong Chau

Moving into the space left by CY Noodle House, who themselves moved into the space left by Hot Dynasty – still with me – is this new Vietnamese restaurant in South Salt Lake’s Chinatown development. The menu has plenty of Vietnamese classics like pho and bun plus plenty of more lesser seen dishes too.

3390 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84115
(801) 906-8858
phohongchau.com

Ramen930

The second location for the business hailing first out of Lehi. I think I’ve made enough jokes about ramen for the time being, so I’ll stop; people just love ramen, and they won’t be happy till there a ramen shop on every corner. Every. Last. Corner.

45 Broadway, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(385) 522-2742
slcmenu.com/2018/03/19/ramen-930-menu/

Ramen Bar

Case in point. Now open downtown snugly betwixt Eva and London Belle on Main Street is this new ramen restaurant. The owners hail from Ogden where their first restaurant, Ramen Haus receives generally good reviews. Every. Last. Corner.

319 Main St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 355-0158
slcmenu.com/2018/09/28/ramen-bar-menu/

Sagato Cafe And Bakery

Be still my (barely) beating British heart, two words: meat pies. The menu for this Midvale bakery has me drooling at the keyboard. The guys behind the Polynesian bakery have been around for a while, but this Midvale location is a brand new store front for this baked creations I believe. As well as pies loaded with kalua pig and teriyaki chicken, you’ll find sausage rolls, kekepua and pani popo too.

Frankly I have to confess complete ignorance how Brit (and Oz food too, they have Lamingtons) cuisine finds itself infused into the traditions of South Pacific culture, but I’m going to have a ton of fun finding out it looks like…

44 West 7200 South, Midvale, Utah 84047
(385) 259-3838
sagatofoods.com

Taqueria 27 Lehi

Now opened in the ludicrously popular Lehi is this rapidly growing Utah based mini-empire. Here’s the full release from the business on their new location:

This opening marks the fifth location for husband and wife team Todd and Kristin Gardiner, the first outside of Salt Lake County. While the restaurant has experience tremendous growth, it is still focused on sourcing local ingredients and growing its own produce as much as possible. This emphasis sets it apart from many of the other chains prevalent in the area.

The menu is specially crafted by Todd, who has spent the past 25 years honing his chef skills at popular Utah establishments such as Log Haven, The New Yorker, Z-Tejas, and Aerie at Snowbird. Foodies will be enamored of the variety of tacos and guacamole available, including daily specials designed to incorporate seasonal ingredients. A full bar will also be available at the restaurant, including an assortment of Taqueria 27’s famous signature margaritas.

“We are really excited to expand to Lehi. It is a great opportunity for us to be a part of the dynamic new business community right past the point of the mountain. This new site will be our largest and we anticipate it being our busiest location yet. This will also be our largest patio,” said Kristin Gardner, co-owner of Taqueria 27. “What sets the Lehi location apart is that we will have an open bar area – since the liquor laws have changed and allow for a separate bar area in a restaurant. Customers can expect our chef-created tacos & fine tequilas in one of the very few full service, sit down restaurants in Lehi.”

The Lehi location will continue Taqueria 27’s tradition of an inviting atmosphere with chef-driven, yet affordable food. This new location makes it perfect for business lunches and other meetings, as well as evening dining with family and friends. Taqueria 27 in Lehi opened in late August.

1688 W Traverse Pkwy, Lehi, UT 84043
(801) 331-8033
taqueria27.com

Tekila

New for Main Street Park City is this Mexican restaurant that seems to be located in the Treasure Mountain Inn. Beyond that there’s not much more info out there sadly. I’ve reached out to the business, I’ll keep you posted when I know more.

255 Main Street, Park City, Utah
facebook.com/pg/TekilaPC

Yoyi’s Mexican Grill

Over the road from Kyoto and next door to Liberty Heights market is this new fast casual Mexican operation seemingly in the vein of Cafe Rio and others. You might recall the original slated name here as Taco Bout Burritos, that’s now been dropped. Unlike others in this fast casual format, Yoyi’s has a full liquor license and are currently pouring beer and margaritas.

1270 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
(801) 828-8757
yoyismexicangrill.com

Zulu Piri Piri Chicken Grille

Over in Lehi is this new restaurant that brings African flavors to American dishes. Piri piri peppers are the basis for the variety of dishes – grilled chicken through salads and more. You can get a better picture of what the whole concept is about via these two videos with Big Budah at the restaurant. The restaurant also sports an ethically minded model too, offering to donate a meal in kind for every one purchased.

Coming soon

These businesses aren’t quite ready to open their doors yet, but be sure to keep an eye on them any day soon. We’ll bring you more info in a future new restaurant release as they open.

DaKine Grindz

Spotted this one on Facebook – looks like a new bricksnd mortar location for the existing food truck – that specializes in Hawaiian/Filipino cuisine.

Stratford Proper

Per this post things are coming together for one the Proper group’s upcoming two businesesses; the other being the pending Sugar House pub featuring exclusively Utah born and bred beers.

SLC Eatery

Currently being built out is this new restaurant from Logen Crew (formerly Current, Stanza etc) at 1017 S. Main. You can follow their progress as they near opening on their Instagram. No clear word yet on the cuisine or style.

Oquirrh SLC

This new project comes from chef Drew Fuller (previously Pago, HSL, Copper Onion) and is named after the Westerly mountain range. The restaurant will be opening the former downtown Vertical Diner location at 368 E 100 S.

Barrio

Lastly, after receiving a liquor license at June’s DABC meeting its been pretty quiet on the news front for this new restaurant. A new website has recently appeared but no menu details as of yet. The location looks set to be 282 East 900 South.

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Stuart Melling

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC.  I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City  dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.

I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV.   Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.    I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.

Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.