Salt Lake City isn’t at the top of too many people’s list of vegan destinations. It’s a place perhaps best known for its historic links to Mormonism, which fuels presumptions of old-fashioned, conservative values.
But go beneath the surface, and you’ll find a city of tattoo-clad, adventure-loving millennials and zoomers who’ve chosen Salt Lake City for its access to mountains surrounding the modern skyline—right from their backyard. In fact, between 2019 and 2023, Salt Lake City’s population of collegeaged people saw the sharpest increase among all age groups, growing by 28 percent. Racial diversity is also on the rise: according to Census data, between 2000 and 2022, the Hispanic population grew 118 percent, its Asian population increased 135 percent, and its Black population grew about 161 percent.
Stephen Leonardi
And perhaps most significantly, the area is becoming less Mormon. In 2018, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported that its membership of people living in Salt Lake County had fallen to 49 percent, marking the lowest number since the 1930s, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Five years later, a study published in the Journal of Religion and Demography estimated that only 42 percent of Utahns statewide identified as members of the church.
The result of these fast-changing demographics means the city is starting to lean more Portland than Bible Belt, fostering a counterculture that pushes back against the city’s stereotypes.
And an important ingredient of that evolution has been the progressive food scene. Spend a few days eating your way through the right neighborhoods, and you’ll find one of the more impressive plant-based dining scenes in the Mountain West filled with restaurateurs that have been doing this for years—plus a new wave that’s raising the bar even higher.
Vertical Diner
The meat of the matter: Utah’s burgeoning vegan barbecue and butcher shop scene
Thanks to a slew of local businesses specializing in stick-to-your-ribs fare, veteran SLC vegans and the plant-curious alike have firsthand experience in how even the most nostalgic comforts of our childhoods can be brought to life, no animals needed.
Vertical Diner, for example, has been doing all-day vegan diner food in the Granary-Ballpark neighborhood for over 19 years, and is built on the straightforward logic that comfort food—buffalo wings, barbecue, Reubens, biscuits and gravy, milkshakes—works just as well without the meat. Owner Ian Brandt, who grew up on meat and potatoes in Philadelphia, trains his staff to guide first-timers toward the familiar before pushing them toward anything adventurous. During my visit, my server recommended the barbecue sampler—featuring pulled jackfruit, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, grilled vegetables, and a slice of toasted bread—as the move for newcomers. She was exactly right.
If Salt Lake City’s plant-based diner is a warm, familial hug on a plate, its cadre of meat-free butchers and barbecue joints—painstakingly crafting some of the country’s best vegan meats from scratch—represents an all-out challenge to carnivores.
Vegan Daddy Meats
Vegan Daddy Meats, Salt Lake’s plant butcher operating out of the Capitol Hill neighborhood since 2021, makes its breaded chicken, turkey slices, beef, ham, and pepperoni entirely in-house. Diners can stop by for fast-food recreations such as KFC-style loaded mashed potato bowls, spins on Arby’s beef and cheddar sandwiches, and buckets of fried chicken—or pick up their plant meats by the pound. Owner Adam Diener also supplies other Utah restaurants with his meats wholesale—in fact, Vegan Daddy Meats’ wings with mustardy Carolina garlic sauce has developed a following of their own.
Over in the Avenues, fans eagerly await the return of one of the best barbecue joints in town, vegan or not.
Chris Blatchford began slinging his Blatch’s Backyard BBQ out of a converted 1800s home during the pandemic. Known for his vegan brisket and its three-day process (which includes a broth made from smoked mushrooms and seaweed, a housemade dry rub, and multiple rounds of smoking and rehydrating), Blatchford is so skilled at his craft that his food was named the best barbecue in the city by Best of SLC in 2023, 2024, and 2025—beating out all of the city’s meat-based operations. But it was at the end of 2025 when he faced a devastating setback.
In September, Blatchford blacked out during a diabetic emergency while at the restaurant, and a devastating fire broke out. The building sustained hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, with 80 percent of the equipment destroyed, but most frighteningly, Blatchford himself was engulfed in flames and sustained severe burns. “The fires were just all over,” he told local news station KSL. “I had to crawl through the flames to escape with my life.” Thankfully, Blatchford has since recovered, and the community rallied to help raise more than $50,000 to get the pitmaster back up and running. He’s spent 2026 making his way through permitting, inspections, and a fullscale rebuild, aiming for a reopening later this year.
In the meantime, all-vegetarian Old Cuss Café is applying a similar amount of heart and creativity to its special brand of Western comfort. Amongst cowboy décor and a few racks of vintage clothing, patrons sip root beer chai lattes and blueberry pie craft sodas named after Dolly Parton. But for those with more of an appetite, the veganizeable menu is a big draw. Founder Brent’Lee Williams makes all of his vegan meats in-house and calls the philosophy “vegan food for non-vegan people,” treating guests to plant-based spins on old-time favorites like country-fried seitan steak and garlic mashed potatoes, or the popular dagwood breakfast biscuit sandwich stacked with egg, potatoes, cheese, and house mushroom bacon.
And for reliable, savory foods that promise “sandwiches for all,” Buds has been a staple since 2012—a window-service shop where everything, including the plant meats and sauces, is made in-house and fairly priced (no sandwich is more than $8.50). The cheesesteak with its warm, smoky cheese sauce ladled over peppered vegan steak strips is a fan favorite, the classic marinara meatball sub gets an extra saucy upgrade with velvety alfredo sauce, and the grilled barbecue chicken bánh mì on toasted sourdough mixes sweet-and-smoky with fresh-herbyand- pickly for satisfaction that hits all your taste buds.
Zest Kitchen & Bar
A plant-based world: Salt Lake City’s global vegan flair
It’s not just nostalgic American food that dominates Salt Lake City’s plant-based scene. Asian culinary influence is significant and pulls from a variety of traditions, with one of the strongest entrants being All Chay. This Rose Park eatery has been serving fully plantbased Vietnamese food for over a decade, and is now run by a second generation of the same family. Its pho is consistently celebrated by customers—it’s perfectly spiced, generous, and built with a savory broth that earns high praise. Order the vermicelli noodle bowl and spring rolls (filled with a choice of teriyaki chicken, fried tofu, five-spice tofu, or barbecue beef) so you can experience the best of these classic Vietnamese dishes.
Zest Kitchen & Bar takes a more international approach in the heart of downtown. It’s a chef-driven, globally inspired menu where tandoori tacos and North African shakshuka share the space with nacho cheese-smothered burrito bowls and wood-fired pizza, all vegan and gluten-free— including desserts—along with craft cocktails made from local spirits. Owners Teju and Rahul Vaidya, longtime vegetarians from India who took over the restaurant in 2023, have pushed the kitchen toward accommodating every dietary preference without sacrificing the menu’s range, and use mostly organic and non-GMO ingredients. Keep an eye out for weekend specials like glazed meatloaf with grits and grilled parsnips, or oyster mushroom prime rib served with mashed potatoes and asparagus: these hearty meals are guaranteed to satisfy and keep you warm through the Salt Lake winter.
Love & Light
Some of the best plant-based sweets in SLC
For a sweet treat, small-batch bakery Love & Light specializes in homemade doughnuts and coffee made with “craggy edges, real vanilla, espresso with crema you can see,” and, well, love. The giant apple fritters dripping in crackly glaze and the raspberry jelly-filled bismarck doughnuts are enough to make you a regular, but once Blatch’s Backyard BBQ reopens, the return of Love & Light’s breakfast doughnut sandwiches stuffed with Blatch’s bacon, melted cheese, and vegan egg will seal the deal.
And then there’s Sweet Hazel & Co. in downtown, revered as one of the best plant-based spots in the city. After a bistro sandwich layered with Vegan Daddy Meats’ turkey, Swiss, and raspberry-jalapeño jam, treat yourself to one of the bakeshop’s many confections, ranging from housemade chocolates and candy bars (owner Fee Hanson also owns the vegan candy bar company Break Free Candy), frosted cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, and buttercream cakes. Even sweeter, this LGBTQ+-owned business is fiercely dedicated to inclusion, meaning the space is open to all communities, judgmentfree, pet-friendly, and employs people impacted by incarceration.
There’s a reason why Salt Lake City is an attractive place to live for the young and rebellious. A new generation of Utahns is following the beat of their own drum in their own right, not unlike the Mormon founders of the 1800s. And although the likes of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young might be shocked to see what that looks like today, the pioneering spirit lives on among the plant-based butchers and sandwich slingers of today’s Salt Lake City.
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