Urban Hill
Nick Zocco has taken his Post District kitchen to the James Beard Mountain ballot three years running, nominated in 2024 and again in 2026.
Why go
Zocco cooked at SW Steakhouse in Las Vegas before he came here, and the New American card is read through a Southwestern upbringing (Gastronomic SLC). The owners of Park City's Hearth & Hill opened this room in late 2022 and it was the first restaurant in what is now the Post District (The Infatuation).
Jenny Willden counts 192 seats, a glass-enclosed wine room and bathroom doors that open on a wave, and says the money shows. Start where she starts, with the skillet rolls and churned butter, then share the harissa-roasted carrots or the barbecue oysters.
The drinks lean on Utah distillers. The Dendric Lamar puts High West double rye against Dendric Estate cider out of Kamas Valley, with peach honey and sage powder.
One thing to know about the writing on this room: Gastronomic SLC covers it more than anybody and is sponsored by it, and says so at the foot of its own list.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the skillet rolls with churned butter and sea salt, which is Willden's opener.1
- Order: the harissa-roasted carrots or the barbecue oysters to share.1
- Order: the Dendric Lamar if you want the Utah spirits in a glass.1
- Avoid: coming for the room. It is a lot of room, and the ballot record is the better reason to book.
What locals & experts say
- Jenny Willden, The Infatuation:
Urban Hill obviously spent a ridiculous amount of money to build this 192-seat restaurant, and all the effort paid off.
1 - Salt Lake Magazine, on the 2025 Beard list:
Urban Hill landed on everyone's radar in late 2022 when it opened. From there, the accolades for the restaurant and for Nick Zocco have piled up.
3
Good to know
- Booking: worth doing. It is a large room and a busy one.
- Where: 510 South 300 West, in the Post District south-west of downtown.
- What kind of room it is: a big, expensive New American dining room with a serious bar, built to hold a crowd.
Verdict
should-visit — Nick Zocco has been on the James Beard Best Chef Mountain ballot three years running, nominated in 2024 and 2026 and a semifinalist between them, which no other kitchen in this state has managed. He cooked at SW Steakhouse in Las Vegas before this and the New American card carries his Southwestern upbringing. The standing is what lifts it: the published writing about this room is thinner than the ballot suggests, and Gastronomic SLC, which covers it most, names the restaurant as a sponsor.