What to watch on the Utah food and drink scene in 2026

Brownstone 22

Top of your list for ’26 should be to keep an eye on this upcoming arrival in downtown SLC. Expect it in the next few weeks, actually. The restaurant will open in the former home of Martine, a beautiful 1890-built, sandstone-clad slice sandwiched between soaring glass and steel modernity. I’m told the interior will be re-imaged by Gary Vlasic, the seasoned name behind Scelto, Saola, Felt/Pago On Main, and more.

The reason this one tops the list? The opening comes courtesy of Richard Romney and Travis Herbert, who delivered Felt Bar & Eatery just a little under two years ago now (read more about the duo here). In that time, the restaurant has become one of my favorite haunts for a mix of creative small plates and warm, welcoming hospitality. Seriously, ask a food writer where they take their friends when they visit from out of town – this is one of my top three.

Co-owner Romney tells me, “The overall concept is a bit more elevated than Felt, with more of a focus on seafood and wine, with inspiration from classic East Coast oyster bars. We will be offering seafood towers, raw dishes, caviar service, house-made pastas, unique cuts of meat and game, along with a house burger and a lot of fun snacks and bites. Our bar program, along with a stronger wine program, will be featuring stellar cocktails with a focus on martinis, classics, and slight riffs, with a solid beer list as well.”

White Horse / Eva

Speaking of impending arrivals, the sign is now up at White Horse, and the Main Street barricades are down. The whispered return date is the end of January, and I’m sure I won’t be the only one down there raising a glass to celebrate their return.

As part of this interview with chef and co-owner Matt Crandall back in November last year he confirmed, “We’re not expecting too much change from the previous setup, a fresh new look with the upholstery for the most part”. Regulars will be heartened to learn that the menu, both food and drink, will return much as it was before, albeit with some modest tweaks here and there.

I expect Eva won’t be far too behind them. We’re more than likely going to have to wait until 2027 to see Whiskey Street and London Belle make their own returns.

Momomaru

This one has already arrived, debuting towards the end of last year. First impressions are promising given the restaurants single mindedness. There’s no maki, uramaki, or otherwise. The menu is 100% hand rolls, each made to order, placed in front of the diner, piece by piece.

With such a laser-guided intent, one imagines serious focus on the core ingredients; for example, the business touts the use of ariake nori to wrap the rolls, a type of seaweed, “grown in extreme tidal waters, where it’s repeatedly exposed to air and submerged again. That stress builds thicker cell walls and more structure, giving the nori a clean snap and keeping it crisp even against warm rice. It’s the best there is, and it’s the only nori we use.”

I’m buoyed by the images I’ve seen on social media, lines queuing to get a seat at the wrap-around bar seating setup.

Remora

Quietly receiving their bar license last month, this tiki bar from the Water Witch crew is targeting February or March for a limited opening. The bar will be spearheaded by Sam Miller and Mikey Edwards, who will bring their signature flame and fury to the cocktail lineup (pictured top, their previous iteration at ACME in Sugar House).

According to this interview in the Tribune, the bar will feature a trio of areas, with each opening in staged fashion in the coming months. The main bar area should be first to arrive by the start of Spring. The bar will debut on Edison Street, opposite Franklin Avenue. The spacious venue (formerly Campos Coffee, Brick And Mortar, Mayor Voss) coupled with the operating group’s increasing confidence and ambition (Bar Nohm anyone?), means this could be quite the exciting addition to the city.

Remora should nicely cement, creating another great mini bar crawl off the beaten path – think: Copper Common, Franklin, Remora, Bar X.

JBF and Michelin

In the next few weeks, we should have our greasy mitts on the latest James Beard semi-finalist list. Utah has been performing well over the past few years, with a variety of names making the JBF semis, as well as a select handful progressing all the way to the big final bash in Chicago.

Also, as confirmed in December, Michelin is coming to SLC. We don’t know when, but seeing as were all slugging through dry January (he says writing about bar crawl ideas), let’s get sober for a minute. I’ve been asked a lot about this one over the past few weeks, and the cold, hard truth is – expect some disappointment – at least if the over-exuberant media coverage surrounding the news is anything to go by.

Many read the Michelin star guidelines with a somewhat cavalier mindset. While Michelin’s guidelines state, “One MICHELIN Star recognizes restaurants that use top-quality ingredients and prepare dishes with distinct flavors to a consistently high standard,” the reality is fundamentally more complex. Restaurants need to be operating at substantially elevated levels to qualify for even this entry-level tier.

I’d be more than a little surprised to see Utah snag a single star. The starred businesses I’ve dined at over the past couple of years demonstrably operate above Salt Lake City’s current best efforts; inasmuch as it comes to menus that offer a distinctive narrative threaded with nailed-on execution, and thoughtful sourcing. Remember, Michelin is all about the food, so immediately cast aside your thoughts on hospitality, ambiance, and beverage programs.

I can guarantee that we won’t see a rarer two or three-star commendation. Consider that the overflowing bread cart alone (at Vegas’ former three-star Robuchon) happily outshines the bakery output of most states’ combined efforts.

This isn’t to say we don’t have fabulous, and oftentimes exceptional cooking in Salt Lake City – we do. There’s just another conceptual rung on the ladder that I feel hasn’t been clambered. Yet. All that aside, I’d be disappointed to not see a few recommendations, nods, or Bib Gourmands pop up. Cool those heels on stars, folks.

La Lola Taco

Continuing the Michelin thread, this one just opened over in Murray. LLT comes by way of Cali-chef Luis Perez, noteworthy for securing a Michelin Bib Gourmand for his Santa Ana-based Lola Gaspar.

Junah

I’ve yet to personally hit up this one, but it’s placed high on my congested dining agenda for some time now. The work of Hiro Tagai and Felipe Oliveira (more on them here) has been lapping up all the plaudits for the past six months. I expect them to continue to do so through this year.

New tenant @ Current

If you know more about this one, let me know. The only teaser I’ve heard so far was in the closing days of the Current Fish & Oyster space, the restaurant’s socials teasing that a new Japanese/Peruvian option was set to take over the building.

Pickle & Hide

I’m not sure when this development will be complete, but here’s hoping for sooner rather than later. The sprawling campus in the Granary District will offer some 22,000 square feet of new retail and dining space, anchoring nearly 150 new apartments.

Building Salt Lake recently wrote about the development, citing several planning documents listing three notable out-of-state dining names. I’ve reached out to each asking for comment, but to date, none have confirmed their intentions to make the new development home. If, and when they confirm, I’ll write more; there’ll be a few hurrahs if the plans prove true.

No doubt there will be more hand-wringing about out-of-state names arriving in the Beehive, but let’s be clear, each entrant brings with them talent, capital, infrastructure, and talent, all of which surely bolster an ever-impressive SLC dining scene.

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• Best of SLC 2024 – what you can’t miss in the Beehive right now.

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.