First look at the all-new Engine Room Pub & Bistro

If you’re one of the 32,000 or so that whiz along this area of 300W (so says an old ad for the then free site) there’s a new potential detour on your route, beside the world’s biggest you know who, and that $1.50 dog. I’ve been tracking the development of Engine Room Pub & Bistro ever since Shades Brewing left the spot last year. I’m a sucker for a good gastropub setup after all.

The business is as brand new as they come; the paint’s barely dry. The new owners (the same folks behind Taqueria 27 and several other local restaurants you’ll undoubtedly know) have taken the sprawling centerpiece building at the property and effectively split it into two. As you enter, you’ll be greeted by the imposing brewing tanks left by the former occupants, before first arriving in the well-appointed dining space. Bar seating, high tops, and regular tables make for a well-varied layout. Duck below red velvet drapes to the left, and you’ll be able to access the other part of the build-out, a 21+ bar area. This bit is admittedly still a work in progress. “We’re gonna see how people use it, and take it from there”, a chap tells me as we take a gander.

The perimeter of the build is framed by retractable garage doors. One would imagine they’ll make for plenty of dynamic flow and energy when the Summer patio months arrive (March, I reckon, what with the way the weather is going). The interior remodel is guided by the Engine Block development the restaurant calls home – as far as I know, a revamp of an auto shop way back when. There are flashes of gears, cogs, burnished industrial coppers and bronzes. Thankfully, it stops well short of tiptoeing over the line into steampunk schtick.

The menu (see below) is large, aiming to support pivoting purposes; by day, those windows should afford a light-flooded lunch, and once the sun goes down, an intimate date spot. Indeed, particularly notable is the thoughtful use of lighting throughout. Each table comes replete with an angular tableside light fixture. I won’t be the only one who gets the warm and fuzzies from the simple geometry, not least the suffused lighting, helping to focus your table’s attention inward.

There are more than three dozen options across the launch menu. Salads, sandwiches, burgers, and flatbreads giveway to big protein-driven entrees on the reverse; think steaks, pasta, chops, and whatnot. It wouldn’t be fair to comment in great detail on the food just yet – we were the fourth customers to walk through the doors, and ordered just a handful of dishes in order to have a peek and prod. What I did sample was promising enough.

Fish and chips are quirkily rendered here as an appetizer, and would happily pass for an entree elsewhere. Two pieces of lightly battered halibut come over a hefty pile of potato wedges, all puffed, steaming spud, with a solid exterior crunch. Yes, there’s fry sauce on the side, and pleasingly a little malt vinegar too. A filet mignon was the next stop; the grill imparting a charbroiled crisp, before being crowned with a sweet dollop of snow crab (an optional extra). More taters on the side, this time, mashed, garlicked, and truffled.

I managed to catch the knowledgeable Ignacio Cittadini guiding the team behind the bar – always a good sign. You may have seen him previously at the likes of Monte and Osteria Amore before that. Speaking of which, there’s a full bar here, craft cocktails, wine, and beer. I’ll be continuing to keep an eye on how this one develops.

Engine Room Pub & Bistro launch menu

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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.