RFK Rankings · Salt Lake City
Best Wine Lists in Salt Lake City 2026
Restaurant cellars & sommelier programs · Salt Lake City · 6 lists ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 17, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Utah's liquor laws make a serious restaurant wine list an act of will, which is exactly why the ones that exist in Salt Lake City are worth seeking out. Veneto on 900 South holds the only Best of Award of Excellence in the city proper, a Northern Italian cellar deep in Amarone and Barolo, and it leads a small, committed scene that runs from a log mansion up Millcreek Canyon to a 9th-and-9th room built on small growers. Here is who each list suits, what to expect walking in, and how to book it. Six, ranked on depth, the by-the-glass program and value rather than trophy labels alone.
1.Veneto Ristorante Italiano
Salt Lake's only Best of Award of Excellence list, deep in Amarone and Barolo. Reserve ahead for regional Veneto cooking.
Veneto Ristorante Italiano on 900 South is the wine anchor of Salt Lake City, the only room in the city proper holding Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence. Verona-born owner and sommelier Marco Stevanoni, who runs the room with his wife Amy, has built a deeply Italian cellar with real depth in Amarone, Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino. The cooking is faithful regional Northern Italian, and the wine and the food move together. This is the city's grand Italian occasion, the booking for a couple who want a long, formal evening and a sommelier who genuinely teaches. Plan on an upper-end spend before wine. Reserve two weeks ahead, ask for Marco's guidance, and let him pour you something from the older Amarone vintages.
Book on the Veneto site; ask Marco to lead you through the Amarone.
2.Log Haven
A log mansion up Millcreek Canyon with a Hall of Fame list. Book it for a big red and a waterfall view.
Log Haven is a 1920s log mansion four miles up Millcreek Canyon, chef Dave Jones's mountain American room, and it has collected more wine awards than anywhere in Utah, including Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence and its Hall of Fame recognition. The list is broad and built for the setting, strong in big American reds to drink beside a waterfall and pines. This is the destination occasion, the booking for a couple who want a drive up the canyon, a romantic dining room and a serious bottle with the view. Plan on 100 to 160 dollars a head with wine. Reserve two to three weeks ahead, ask for a patio or window table in season, and tell the floor your budget for the red.
Book on the Log Haven site; ask for a window table and a big American red.
3.Spencer's for Steaks and Chops
A clubby downtown steakhouse with a Wine Spectator list. Try it once for a dry-aged strip and a Napa Cabernet.
Spencer's for Steaks and Chops, inside the Hilton downtown, is Salt Lake City's classic steakhouse and a long-running Wine Spectator Award of Excellence list, built around California Cabernet and Bordeaux to drink with aged beef. The room is dark, clubby and grown-up, and the cellar is tuned to put a recognizable great red next to a dry-aged strip. This is the straightforward steak-and-Cabernet booking, the room for a business dinner or a celebration that wants a big bottle and white-tablecloth service. Plan on 100 to 160 dollars a head with wine. Reserve a week or two ahead, tell the floor your budget, and let them pull a Napa red that is drinking well right now.
Book on the Spencer's site; name a number and let the floor pick the Cabernet.
4.Urban Hill
Nick Zocco's Post District room with a serious cellar and live fire. Settle in for wood-grilled fish and a grower Champagne.
Urban Hill in the Post District is chef Nick Zocco's live-fire New American room, a James Beard-recognized kitchen that doubles as one of the city's most serious modern wine programs and a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence list. The cellar is broad and contemporary, with enough grower Champagne and characterful bottles to reward a wine-led night beside the wood-grilled fish and steak. This is the booking for a couple who want a stylish, current room and a floor with genuine taste. Plan on 120 to 180 dollars a head with wine. Reserve two weeks ahead, ask the floor what is exciting by the glass, and let them match a bottle to the fire-driven cooking.
Book on the Urban Hill site; ask the floor for a grower Champagne to start.
5.Pago
A 9th-and-9th original built on small-grower, farm-to-table pours. Pencil it in for charcuterie and an off-beat bottle.
Pago is Scott Evans's 9th-and-9th original, a small, farm-to-table New American room that has been the connoisseur's wine pick in Salt Lake City for years, recognized by both Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. The list is built around small growers and characterful, food-friendly bottles rather than trophies, chosen to drink with the changing, locally sourced menu. This is the booking for a couple or a pair of friends who care about wine and want the clever, off-beat bottle and a relaxed neighborhood room. The value is real, with a full dinner running about 65 to 95 dollars a head with wine. Reserve a week ahead, tell the floor what you are drawn to, and let them steer you to a grower you have not met.
Book on the Pago site; ask the floor for a small-grower bottle off the list.
6.Valter's Osteria
The late Valter Nassi's theatrical downtown osteria, now run by his team. Worth a trip for handmade pasta and Chianti.
Valter's Osteria is the theatrical downtown Italian room founded by the late Valter Nassi and now run by his team, a warm, full-volume dining room where the hospitality is the show. The wine list is deeply Italian, built to drink with the handmade pasta and Tuscan cooking, strong in Chianti, Brunello and the regional reds Nassi loved. This is the booking for a couple or a group who want a joyful, loud, old-world night and a bottle that fits the food rather than a quiet study of the cellar. Plan on 60 to 90 dollars a head with wine. Reserve a week ahead, tell the floor you want to drink Italian, and let them match a Tuscan red to the pasta.
Book on the Valter's site; let the floor pour a Tuscan red with the pasta.
Avoid for a wine night
Worth knowing, wrong fit
BTG Wine Bar. The downtown by-the-glass bar above Caffe Molise pours one of the widest glass lists in Utah and is a genuine delight, but it is a bar with small plates, not a deep dinner cellar. Go for the flights, and keep a full wine dinner for Veneto or Log Haven.
The Park City and Deer Valley resort lists. Several of Utah's deepest wine lists, including Best of Award of Excellence rooms, sit an hour up the canyon at the ski resorts. They are worth the drive, but they are not Salt Lake City, so plan a trip rather than a weeknight dinner.
How to drink well in Salt Lake City
Utah's laws mean the good lists are hard-won, so plan the night around the room with the depth: Veneto for Italian and a teaching sommelier, Log Haven for a canyon drive and a big red, Spencer's for steak and Cabernet. Book these two to three weeks ahead through their own sites, where the best weekend tables go first. Ask the floor to lead; in a small scene, the sommeliers know their lists cold and love the chance to pour something special.
The value and the discovery sit at the food-driven rooms: Pago for small growers, Urban Hill for grower Champagne and live fire, Valter's for joyful Tuscan reds. Tell the floor what you are eating and what you want to spend, and match the room to the cuisine driving the meal. And wherever you go, if you are celebrating, say so when you book.
Frequently asked
Which Salt Lake City restaurant has the best wine list?
Veneto Ristorante Italiano on 900 South holds our top spot. It is the only room in the city proper carrying Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence, the middle tier, with a deeply Italian cellar strong in Amarone, Barolo and Brunello. Verona-born owner and sommelier Marco Stevanoni runs the floor himself. Reserve two weeks ahead and let him lead you through the older Amarone vintages.
Where is the best wine list with a view near Salt Lake City?
Log Haven, a 1920s log mansion four miles up Millcreek Canyon, pairs the most-awarded wine list in Utah, a Salt Lake Dining Hall of Fame list, with a waterfall-and-pines setting. The cellar is strong in big American reds. Ask for a window or patio table in season and let the floor pull a bottle to drink with the view.
How much does a good bottle cost at Salt Lake City restaurants?
Plan on 55 to 120 dollars for a genuinely good bottle at most of these rooms, with the ceiling higher at Veneto and Log Haven. Pago and Valter's are the value picks, built on small growers and food-friendly Italian bottles. Set a number with the floor and let them find the interesting bottle inside it; in a small scene the sommeliers love the challenge.
Do you need a reservation for these Salt Lake City wine restaurants?
Yes, and well ahead for the destination rooms. Veneto, Log Haven and Spencer's release tables ahead and the best weekend seats go first, so book two to three weeks out. Urban Hill, Pago and Valter's are a little easier but still worth reserving. If you are celebrating or want the sommelier to pull something special, flag it when you book.
Which Salt Lake City restaurant is best for small-grower and natural wine?
Pago in the 9th-and-9th neighborhood is the connoisseur's pick. Scott Evans's farm-to-table original, recognized by Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, builds its list around small growers and characterful, food-friendly bottles chosen to drink with the changing menu. Tell the floor what you are drawn to and let them introduce you to a grower you have not met.
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