4 Best Restaurants in Mid Valley and South Valley, Salt Lake City

This elegant 1920s canyon retreat brings inventive takes on American wild game–focused cuisine by incorporating Asian ingredients with a Rocky Mountain style—consider grilled bison steak with charred Brussel sprouts and truffle aioli or roasted hen of the woods mushrooms with Calabrian chile–ricotta dumplings. With its romantic setting in a beautifully renovated log home amid the pine trees, waterfalls, and wildflowers of Millcreek Canyon, this is definitely a restaurant to remember. The restaurant is 4 miles up the canyon, across from a waterfall.

Arguably the best culinary destination in the far South Valley, this trendy bistro with exposed airducts and lofty timber-beam ceilings celebrates the region's vibrant agricultural heritage with a menu of seasonally changing farm-to-table cuisine. Steak from Utah ranches and roasted carrots, Korean-fried cauliflower, and other locally sourced ingredients share the menu with craft cocktails and local ales and lagers. 

Venture a few miles south from downtown to Holladay to enjoy savory Mediterranean dishes—with an emphasis on hearty Moroccan and Middle Eastern grills—in a crisp, contemporary dining space. Tangy spices enliven Old-World favorites, such as shawarma and moussaka, and not-so-common dishes like muhamarra (think hummus but with walnuts) may tempt you away from your comfort zone. Bright walls, big windows, and family-friendly banquettes bring a sun-drenched vibe to the meal.

You can't miss this tiny lime green joint, marked by an old sticker-covered car off Fort Union Boulevard and often packed with skiers from the nearby Cottonwood canyons. The kitchen serves tasty, inexpensive Mexican food—including house special fish tacos, handmade tamales, burritos, and plenty of chilled Mexican beer. It seats less than 50, but there's a handy drive-through window for takeout if scoring a table proves challenging.