Salt Lake City's Cosmica makes annual 'Restaurant List' of best in U.S.

For the first time this decade, a Utah restaurant has been included in The New York Times’ annual “Restaurant List” — highlighting the 50 best eateries in the country.

Cosmica, an “Italian diner” that opened in Salt Lake City’s Central Ninth neighborhood in late March, is included in the annual roundup, which published Tuesday.

“It’s big, kitschy fun, with a serious kitchen,” The Times’ Brian Gallagher wrote in his appraisal of Cosmica.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Cosmica's dining room in Salt Lake City on Thursday, May 1, 2025.

Gallagher highlighted several dishes on Cosmica’s menu. The elk carpaccio, he wrote, “is a nod to, and deliciously simple use of, local Mountain West wildlife.” He also praised the “House Puffy Bread” — calling it “a pita by way of Parma” — and t