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Food & Wine
Restaurant Review
Urban Bistro
216 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City
(801) 322-4101
Monday-Thursday 11:00 am-3:00 pm; 5:00 pm-9:30pm
Friday–Saturday 11:00 am-3:00 pm; 5:00 pm-10:00 pm
There are those in the dining world whose approach to food is so austere that anything but the food and the immediate necessities (i.e. über-chic flatware, one of a kind Riedel stemware) are superfluous additions. Charlie Trotter and devotees wax poetic about dining in pared down décor. Devoid of distractions such as background music, artwork, etc., the food can truly be the center of attention. Or, so goes the theory.
Dealing with such a demanding plate is fine and dandy for once-a-year dining. But when it comes to an everyday affair, a holistic approach seems more realistic. Places like Urban Bistro prove that it’s okay to stimulate the other senses. And lo and behold, you can still enjoy the food.
Of course, there are the glaring examples of interior decorating gone wrong—whether it’s the cookie-cutter oh-so-in-the-box thinking of chain décor or the mish-mash of accessories and furniture set to prove that “we are cool.” Fortunately, this simply isn’t the case at Urban; the overall vibe is hip. And there’s a great balancing act between that “hip” factor and good food.
If you can’t live in a loft, you can at least enjoy a meal in one. Works from local artists accessorize cement walls, exposed brick, and high ceilings. Enough color and visual interest to strike up a conversation or give you an excuse to drift off on a thought when conversation gets too boring for actual participation.
The usual suspects range as widely as the menu. You get the urbane masses with the latest haircut and threads. There are also the suits that forget about the office for an hour. Not to mention the average suburbanites who commute in their oversized SUVs for a weekend dinner out. This eclectic feel and downtown locale makes the name of this place apt: urban. And within these refurbished walls one can dine well on a variety of cuisines.
A menu with such sheer scope (Italian, Mexican, American) could be disastrous with schizophrenic result. But the food is so refreshingly straightforward and unpretentious that this coexistence of cuisine succeeds. The house burger features a roasted green chile atop a beef, turkey, or vegetarian patty. The nutty whole-grain bun adds some nice texture and flavor to an old favorite. Every salad I’ve encountered featured some astonishingly fresh greens. Combined with slices of flank steak, feta cheese, and sliced strawberries, it even made a low-carb fiend happy. A hard task, I assure you.
Lunch is an easy undertaking. You step up to the counter, order, pay, grab a seat and the food is brought to you. Pretty simple. Dinner enjoys the same casual affair. This time, the counter is closed. Wait for a table and a server (remarkably friendly for being the only one on the whole floor) takes care of you the rest of the way. If it’s a group outing, it’s particularly fun to try the Family Tasting. The chef chooses the courses and you get three flights of some house stalwarts and specials.
Of the appetizers, the chile relleno was the runaway winner. Blue cheese and walnuts made an appearance in fried green chile—an unexpectedly wonderful blend of swarthy dairy product and sweet capsicum. Usually, I’m wary of pork on a menu. Not because of hygienic concerns (please). Rather, it tends to be overcooked horrendously in the name of our clean society. Not so in the pork tenderloin swathed with a brandy-peppercorn cream sauce. The sauce was flavorful and still light with just enough richness from the cream.
I’d have to say the best perk of the family style option is that you get as many desserts as you have people in your group. So in our case, a trio of ladies, the server pretty much handed us triple happiness on a plate. A chocolate decadence cake, a rich caramel draped flan, and a tangy lemon tart (the latter two, in particular) made us happy girls, indeed.
And we didn’t even mind the art on the walls.
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