Salt Lake City.

Have brunch at Arlo on Capitol Hill and order the Cuban pork shoulder. Steven Rosenberg, who sells produce to the valley's independent kitchens from Liberty Heights Fresh, eats at Arlo two or three times a month: The Cuban pork shoulder on the brunch menu blows me away. I feel like I'm in Miami at a Cuban friend's house. Arlo serves brunch at the weekend and dinner on Sunday. Book through Tock.

If you'd rather drive, go up Emigration Canyon to Ruth's Diner instead. It serves breakfast in an old Salt Lake trolley car, and every breakfast plate comes with the Mile High biscuit. Jenny Willden of The Infatuation warns that the small room means long waits, but they also have a spacious outdoor patio. It shuts Tuesday and Wednesday, so Sunday is a good day for it.

For dinner, book Manoli's, which serves Tuesday to Sunday. Order the octopus, Manoli Katsanevas's own order on a night off and the dish he most likes to cook. Mike Blocher of Table X sends people here for a menu with so much traditional Greek flavor presented in a simple, modern way. Book through Resy.

Eat at the counters by day and drink at the bars at night. Start at Fillings & Emulsions, which opens Monday to Saturday. Have a croissant with a cafe cubano, which is what Adalberto Diaz tells you to have. The cafe con leche comes on condensed milk and is sweet by design.

For lunch, go to Caputo's Market & Deli, which opens every day, and order the muffuletta. Lydia Martinez of Salt Lake Magazine ranked it the best sandwich in Utah in 2023: I once spent an entire day in search of the best Muffuletta sandwich in NOLA. Caputo's stands right up next to them as an equal. Order at the counter and shop the cheese while you wait.

In the evening, go to Copper Common. Avrey Evans of Salt Lake Magazine wrote in September 2026 that its $8 Monday craft cocktail specials challenge the status quo that a good drink must cost $25. Eat there too. Ted Scheffler of Utah Stories called the CC Burger the best burger I've ever eaten in 2022, and it cost $12 in September 2024. The bar is 21 and over and opens every evening.

Book the five courses or the seven at Monte. They cost $95 and $115 on the 2025 summer menu, against $175 for twelve. Stuart Melling of Gastronomic SLC ate the five and said the pacing was the best part of it. The course to hope for is the ravioli. Martin Babio starts it three days out, aging the chicken with koji and confiting it in butter he clarifies himself, and serves it in a sauce of roasted bones, lemongrass, lime leaf and ginger. He calls it a rare Italo-Filipino fusion rarely seen in the American West. Book through Tock. The five-course runs on Wednesday and the longer menus Thursday to Saturday.

For a second long dinner, book Table X in Millcreek. Mike Blocher and Nick Tramp write one menu at two lengths from the garden they planted around the building, five courses at $85 and seven at $115 when the house site was read in September 2026. Angie Fuller, who runs the floor at Oquirrh, admires the nerve of it: Just to be like, 'this is our menu tonight, let us feed you.' It serves dinner Wednesday to Saturday only.

Come back in the morning for the bread. Table X Bread, on the floor below, bakes a sourdough that takes more than thirty-six hours from wild starter to counter. It opens Tuesday to Saturday.

Mike Blocher of Table X sent people to Manoli's. I love that his menu has so much traditional Greek flavor presented in a simple, modern way. It's a unique concept for Salt Lake. Manoli Katsanevas works the kitchen, the bar and the dining room through a service. The James Beard Foundation made him an Outstanding Hospitality semifinalist in 2025. Order the octopus. It shuts on Monday.

Ryan Lowder of The Copper Onion sent people to David Chon at Bar Nohm. I lived in the East Village in New York when David Chang opened Momofuku and it took a while to get traction. Nohm reads like that to me. Chon grills over binchotan, which sets the outside of a skewer while the inside stays juicy. Salt Lake Magazine's advice is to take every skewer on the card. It shuts on Monday.

Scott Evans of Pago sent people to Oquirrh, for the milk-braised potatoes. It showcases Drew's ability to transform humble ingredients into complex, elevated fare. Andrew Fuller was Evans's own chef de cuisine at Pago before Oquirrh opened, so this is an old boss's praise. Jenny Willden of The Infatuation reached for the same potatoes in 2025 and calls Oquirrh her first pick in the city for a date.

Go to Water Witch, which in 2025 became the first Utah bar to reach the final of the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Bar award. Skip the menu if you like. Lydia Martinez of Salt Lake Magazine wrote in 2025: You can tell the bartender, 'I'm feeling like something bourbon-y and booze-forward with a splash of old library,' and you will get a fantastic beverage out of it. Sean Neves, one of the owners, calls it easily the smallest bar in Salt Lake City, so go early for a seat. For food, walk through the rear hallway into Bar Nohm.

Then go to Post Office Place on Market Street, a James Beard Outstanding Bar semifinalist in 2026. Salt Lake Magazine credits it with the largest selection of Japanese whisky in the state. Ask for a special delivery, the bar's name for letting the bartender choose. Takashi is next door and takes no reservations for a small group, so Jenny Willden's advice is to drink here while you wait for a table.

At HSL, start at the bar before dinner. Avrey Evans of Salt Lake Magazine wrote in September 2026 that its bartenders pride themselves on their detailed knowledge of esoteric spirits. Belly up with an open mind and prepare for a lesson.

Go to the taco counters on the west side, starting with the birria at Santo Taco in Rose Park. Ted Scheffler of Utah Stories ate it in 2024: The cheesy, stupendous birria beef taco at Santo Taco – with that killer consomme on the side – is simply spectacular. Most tacos cost $2.50 to $3.00 that April, and Scheffler's verdict on the value was that Santo Taco is pretty hard to top.

At Chunga's, order the al pastor tacos and a sope with spicy pork. Kolbie Peterson of the Salt Lake Tribune found the al pastor in 2024 savory, smoky, sweet and tangy, with bits of pineapple. Stuart Melling put a taco at $2.50 on his 2026 list.

For a sandwich, split the Sloppy Joe at Feldman's Deli in Millcreek. Heather L. King of Utah Stories priced it in September 2025: Their signature half-pound Sloppy Joe sandwich rings up at $17 and can easily feed 2 people. MICHELIN gave Feldman's a Bib Gourmand in August 2026. Downtown, Pretty Bird sells a hot chicken sandwich, tenders or nuggets combo with a side and a soda for under $20, as King found it in September 2025. Order it medium.

For the biscuit itself, go to Sweet Lake Biscuits & Limeade. Mary Brown Malouf of Salt Lake Magazine ranked it the best biscuit in Utah in 2019. Braxtyn Birrell of SLUG Magazine described it in 2017: The biscuits at Sweet Lake have an exterior crust that is golden brown and slightly crispy, while their interior remains soft and chewy. Order the Hoss, a biscuit filled with fried chicken, a fried egg, bacon, cheddar, sausage gravy and green onion, and eat it with a knife and fork. Drink a limeade, squeezed in house. Anne Wilson of the Salt Lake Tribune found the room noisy in 2017, under a high ceiling of bare plywood.

For the canyon and the trolley car, go to Ruth's Diner. Malouf put the Mile High biscuit fourth on the same list: Probably the most famous biscuit in the state, Ruth's 'Mile High Biscuits' are enormous. Like, enormous. She also found them a little bit doughy and less flaky than other biscuits on the list. The diner has stood in an old trolley car up Emigration Canyon since 1949. The biscuit comes with every breakfast plate. Expect a wait for the small room, or sit on the patio. It shuts Tuesday and Wednesday.

Yes, at the kitchens that fly it in or age it, and Junah flies it in. Felipe Oliveira has shima aji (striped jack) sent from Japan every week for the Aurora crudo, sliced thinner than sashimi with mandarin, fennel and a champagne vinaigrette. Lydia Martinez of Salt Lake Magazine wrote of the fish in 2025: It's firm, sweet, buttery, and has a clean finish. Junah serves dinner Tuesday to Saturday.

Aker dry-ages some of its sushi fish for anywhere from a few days to nearly a month. Ted Scheffler of Utah Stories wrote in January 2025 that the aging gives the fish a rich, buttery mouthfeel without any fishy taste, and he called the aged bluefin crudo a remarkable and inventive way to serve top-notch, dry-aged bluefin. It isn't cheap. Two pieces of aged toro cost $34 that month. The room is 21 and over.

Takashi has the longest record. Takashi Gibo opened it in 2004. Jenny Willden of The Infatuation wrote in 2025: In our opinion, Takashi makes the best Japanese food in SLC. Sit at the bar and name a budget, and Gibo will cook omakase to it. That is how Scheffler and his wife ate for under a hundred dollars between them in 2018. It takes no reservations for a small group, so get there early.