Five bars, chosen on the record: one Spirited Awards nominee, two James Beard nominees.
The Vault is the cocktail bar of the Kimpton Hotel Monaco on Main Street, which bills it as a cocktail bar oasis in downtown Salt Lake City, open every evening from four. The 2025 Spirited Awards placed it in the U.S. top ten for Best U.S. Hotel Bar.
Post Office Place is the sister bar to Takashi on Market Street in Salt Lake City, with a dedicated Japanese whisky list poured in full and half measures, chocolate and mezcal flights on the current menu, and weekly omakase nights from chefs Brice Okubo and Takashi Gibo. The James Beard Foundation named it an Outstanding Bar semifinalist in 2023 and again in 2026.
Water Witch is a cocktail bar on 900 South in Salt Lake City's Granary District, joined through a rear hallway to its sister Bar Nohm, with seasonal menus that turn over through the year. The James Beard Foundation named it one of five finalists for Outstanding Bar in 2025.
Copper Common sums itself up in four words, aperitivi, natural wine, cocktails, oysters, and adds the Utah footnote that as a bar, all patrons must be 21 and over. It is the bar arm of the Copper Onion group on East Broadway, opening at five and running until one, Wednesday to Sunday.
Melancholy calls itself a wine and cocktail lounge in the Post District of downtown Salt Lake City, with an inviting outdoor patio, two refined bars, a selection of custom craft cocktails, domestic and foreign beers, and natural and biodynamic wines. It runs a book club and private parties alongside the bar, opens at four on weekdays and stays open until one on Friday.
These 5 are the starting point. The full BarMagazine directory covers every listed bar in Salt Lake City, with a map, filters by bar type, and new openings as we verify them.
All bars in Salt Lake City