South Salt Lake restaurant becomes first Utah eatery to earn coveted Michelin star

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Monte in South Salt Lake is Utah's first Michelin-starred restaurant.
The Michelin Guide Southwest awarded stars to eateries with Southwest.
Eight other Utah restaurants received recognition, including Bib Gourmand for value dining.

SALT LAKE CITY — Martin Babio said he remembers promising five years ago that he would bring a Michelin-starred restaurant to Utah.

Nervously standing on a stage in Las Vegas, he delivered on that promise.

The owner and chef of the contemporary fine dining restaurant that debuted in South Salt Lake last year is now the first Utah eatery to receive an iconic Michelin star, while several others across the Wasatch Front and Wasatch Back also received honors from the famed guide.

Monte, located at 2245 S. West Temple, received one Michelin star, meaning that the guide viewed it as having high-quality cooking that's worth a stop. The honor was bestowed during the launch of the "Michelin Guide Southwest," which was celebrated during an event in Las Vegas Wednesday night.

"Dream hard because when you dream hard the dreams come true," Babio said, as he received his honor.

A day later, he told KSL he's still processing everything.

The new guide focused on restaurants from Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada, although all the other stars dished out on Wednesday were all located in Las Vegas, including a two-star winner for having a restaurant worth a detour. No restaurant received the difficult three stars, meaning it's worth a "special journey."

Five major elements factor in when considering a restaurant for a star, said Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide. These include the quality of ingredients, mastery of cooking techniques, balance of flavors, the personality and creativity of the cuisine and the consistency over time.

Annette Campbell, KSL

"Earning a Michelin star is rare and transformative in achievement," he said. "It is a distinction recognized around the world, honoring chefs and restaurant teams for their talent, dedication and excellence."

Monte bills itself as "an intimate, chef-driven table shaped by the seasons, local foraging and modern culinary artistry," per its website. It works with local farmers, foragers and artisans to shape its regularly changing menu.

It's inspired by Babio's journey learning through kitchens across the globe. He began cooking in his home country of Uruguay, but he also ended up in various countries and U.S. states before moving to Utah.

"My food is based (on) all my knowledge, like a fusion of all these kinds of food," he said, noting that the techniques blend in elements he learned from other continents.

Having a star is a celebration that the whole staff is thrilled about, although they know that it comes with new pressure to live up to the award.

It's also important for the Salt Lake Valley, especially since food is a major reason people travel, said Ryan Mack, chief communications and experience officer at Visit Salt Lake.

"This is huge for Salt Lake. We really tout Salt Lake as America's mountain city, touting our proximity between the urban core and mountains, and the culinary scene plays a huge part in that," he said. "For us to have some recognition from Michelin verifying that is huge for us as a destination."

Other restaurants receive recognition

Eight other Utah restaurants received recognition on Wednesday, including five that received special recommendations.

Handle (Park City)
Koyote (Salt Lake City)
Matilda (Park City)
Nelson Cottage by High West (Park City)
Star of India (Salt Lake City)

Three received Bib Gourmand recognition, meaning it's a "well-loved beacon for value-seeking diners looking out for good deals."

Feldman's Deli (Salt Lake City)
One More Noodle House (South Salt Lake)
Pho 777 (West Valley City)

The Michelin Guide announced last year that it would launch an edition that focuses solely on restaurants within Utah, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.

By then, it had already started dispatching its anonymous inspectors to make reservations and explore neighborhoods, scouting potential restaurants or other culinary businesses to recommend to travelers.

"Our anonymous inspectors have been eager to expand further into the Southwest and share their discoveries with the world," Poullennec said last year.

The guide has been serving up its famed stars for a century now, several years after the French tire manufacturer created it in 1900 to encourage travel. It had previously given Utah a prestigious three-star rating in 2018 for its outdoor gems, especially its national parks.

While Utah is known for its outdoors, there have been misconceptions about its food scene, Mack said. He believes having a Michelin-starred restaurant and eight other places associated with the guide should change that.

"This just squashes that preconceived notion," he said. "Obviously, we have great restaurants here, and I think it also highlights the diversity of the culinary scene here. ... There really is a full palette of flavors here in Salt Lake to enjoy."

Contributing: Annette Campbell

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.