zest kitchen & bar

as a treat to myself, i went to zestkitchen& bar in salt lake city before heading home from this trip. located downtown, i quickly located a parking space and headed inside. i was super early on a wednesday night so the place was pretty quiet. i loved the feel of it even though there weren't many people there. it's a quaint place with a bar at the entrance and plenty of seating. the entrance is constructed of stone and the bright, brown glossy tables had silver chairs to complement them.

zestkitchen& bar has been open for a few years but i hadn't visited before slug magazine asked me to review it for the january issue .  the food was fantastic and so much more satisfying than i'd ever imagined. let me assure you as a junk-food vegetarian (sandwiches and pancakes are my jam!) that zestkitchen& bar serves killer cuisine. you won't leave hungry or feeling like you dined on rabbit food. each dish has layers of vibrant flavor and different textures. and i've been consistently craving the chocolate cake since i first tried it. i don't seem to get out at night much so i was thrilled when i learned that zestkitchen& bar is now open for lunch tuesday - saturday. this is great news for homebodies and day drinkers like myself! check out my review in slug for details about my favorite drinks and dishes and let me know what you think!     

saying that zestkitchen& bar is unique is a bit of an understatement.  just trying to categorize it is proof that it’s different from everywhere else in salt lake city.  it’s a restaurant specifically focused on vegetarian cuisine, conveniently making it vegan- and gluten free-friendly.  it’s also a bar, so visitors must be 21.  it’s open late, at which point its focus shifts primarily to a bar, complete with a dance floor and sometimes a dj. the black bean sliders were one of the highlights of dinner. i went to zest a few weeks ago to try out the bar scene and was excited to find out that they play house music on fridays (a rare find for salt lake city).  the crowd was intimate and the vibe was energetic.  anxious to try the food side of zest, a few friends and i returned last week for dinner. the whiskey sour, emphasis on the sour. the cocktail menu has some creative concoctions on it, but i was disappointed that most of them were on the sweet side.  the high west whiskey sour (lem

one of my new favorite restaurants here in salt lake city is zestkitchenand bar, which just opened a few months ago. owner and operator, casey staker, successfully ran w lounge for several years before closing its doors and taking a chance in opening the fresh and flavorful, zest. i am pretty sure it was his destiny – because this restaurant is wonderful for so many reasons.

in response to hl. hey there! we are sad to hear about your experience at zest last week. we definitely value your opinions and put all suggestions and comments into review.
we are for sure going through some growing pains and getting kinks ironed out. we are constantly working on improving our menu.
you caught us on our summer/fall menu change and maybe the server didn't talk to you about some of the fall replacement menu.
i'm sorry the drinks took that long! i'm not sure why but i will talk to everyone on staff and make sure things like this do not go unnoticed. we really value feedback from our vegetarian friends! i am approachable when it comes to issues because i want this to work. the reason for creating zest is to offer more healthy veg. options in salt lake. i am sorry if i gave off that vibe. i am more than happy to talk to any guest at anytime there is a problem.
i would hope in the future that you will be willing to give us another try. :)
our new menu is out and ready for fall!
my sincere apologies,
casey staker
owner/operator
zestkitchen& bar
please feel free to email me if you have any other questions or concerns.
thank you.
casey@zestslc.com