What exactly makes something the best? In the case of restaurants, pontification is a Pandora’s box of a thing – delirium and furor awaiting those risking a peak. Hint: don’t ever try to proclaim the best pizza. As Salt Lake Magazine’s late Mary Malouf was fond of declaring: de gustibus non disputandum est.
Yet still we try. To measure, label, and rank. With that in mind, last night saw one of the biggest industry gatherings of the year, as Salt Lake Magazine took the wraps off the latest iteration of an always anticipated roll call. Held at the Woodbine Food Hall, the awards recognize excellence in our dining scene right now. That last bit – the kicker in all of this.
It’s impossible to taste every plate and place. Trust me, I’ve tried. The dining awards are a temporal tip of the hat to the judging panel’s tastes of the past year; dining experiences that lingered long in the mind after the check was settled. It might not be your list, but this list was ours, the flavors that framed a year of eating around the Wasatch:
- Bar Nohm (pictured top)
- Back 40
- Caffe Molise + BTG
- Franklin Ave
- Hell’s Backbone
- HSL + Handle
- La Casa Del Tamal
- La Cevicheria
- Manoli’s
- Pho 777
- Tupelo
- Veneto
- Wildwood
- Wood Ash Rye
- Urban Hill (named outstanding restaurant of the year overall)
Head to Salt Lake Magazine online to view the complete list and read why these fifteen names should be on your radar in 2024. The full awards recognize several other notable restaurants including ones to watch, classics, and more.
If you’re a restaurateur reading these lists and wondering, “hey, why wasn’t I on the list”, now’s the time to look at what you’re serving to Utah’s collective table. The mix selected is a disparate bunch but linked together by a singular thread. The businesses represented all bring something interesting, unique, and exemplary to the plate. Fancy pants joints rub shoulders with neighborhood hangouts alike. Unquestionably, they all move the needle forward for Utah’s dining scene. And that pace of growth and sophistication is only accelerating as far as I can tell.
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- Best of SLC 2024 – our ever updating list of what’s best in the Beehive
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.
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