Salt Lake City
You're flying out of Salt Lake City Airport, you have 90 minutes to kill, and you'd like to do better than a Pret. Good news: airport drinking has improved more in the last five years than the previous fifty. Pre-flight drinks at Salt Lake City Airport range from chain reliability to surprisingly polished hotel-style bars in the airport hotels. This is barsforKings's editor-curated guide to drinking better at Salt Lake City's airports.
Downtown · $$$
Salt Lake City's most awarded cocktail bar.
Downtown · $
Beer hall next door to Bar X (also Ty Burrell).
Downtown · $$$
Whiskey-focused cocktail bar with one of the country's longest American whiskey lists.
9th & 9th · $$$
Boutique cocktail bar with a tight rotating menu.
Want a real drink before flying? The fastest play is to get to airport hotels next door — most run polished bars that beat anything post-security. We list them at the bottom. If you've got 60 spare minutes pre-airport, see our shortlist of bars in Salt Lake City proper at the end.
Plays for Salt Lake City Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
Pre-flight drinks, hotel-bar reviews, and the openings we're watching across 176 cities. Friday mornings, no filler.
Looking beyond Salt Lake City? See our guide to the best airport bars worldwide, or compare airport bars city by city.