Holladay and Millcreek share an east bench address, a mature tree canopy, and a combined population of about 67,000 — but their dining identities split along two distinct corridors. Holladay Village, the mixed-use development around 2300 East and Murray-Holladay Road, has become a legitimate restaurant destination with walkable fine dining and a city plaza that fills up on warm evenings. Millcreek's 3300 South corridor runs scrappier and more eclectic — ethnic restaurants, diner institutions, and the kind of chef-driven newcomers that thrive on word of mouth rather than foot traffic. Together, they form one of the strongest independent dining scenes on the Wasatch Front, and almost none of it shows up on the tourist radar.
Holladay Village and Surrounds
Franck's (6263 S Holladay Blvd) is a 50-seat restaurant set in a renovated old home, run by Chef Franck Peissel, who was born in France and has won Best Chef from Salt Lake Magazine and multiple Best of State awards. The menu is French-inspired and globally influenced — glazed Kurobuta pork loin, sockeye salmon, a meatloaf with blueberry-lavender sauce that sounds unlikely and works completely. Tuesday nights feature a tasting menu. Thursday is gourmet burger night, and the burger itself is considered one of the city's best. Dinner only, intimate, and the kind of place where you understand why 50 seats is enough.
Taqueria 27 (4670 Holladay Village Plaza) is a locally and veteran-owned restaurant that's redefined what a taco can be in Utah. The duck confit taco — sweet corn, squash, crispy leek strings — is the signature, and the house-smoked pork belly taco is the order that converts skeptics. They rotate a daily taco, guac, and cocktail special, which means regulars have a reason to come back mid-week. The Holladay Village location has patio seating that faces the plaza, and on a June evening it's the best seat in the neighborhood.
Cafe Madrid (5244 S Highland Dr) is Utah's premier Spanish restaurant, and the fact that it's on Highland Drive in Holladay rather than downtown says something about the community it serves. Tapas, paella, and an entree menu paired with a serious Spanish wine list. One of the few places in the state where you can order proper patatas bravas and a glass of Albariño without explanation. Best of State winner. A Highland Drive institution that's earned the right to that word.
Layla Mediterranean Grill & Mezze (4751 S Holladay Blvd) runs an extensive mezze menu — falafel, kibbeh, tabbouleh, shawarma — alongside kabob plates, Moroccan-style lamb, and a traditional mougrabieh that you won't find on many menus in the valley. It's a Holladay Boulevard fixture, and the kind of place where you order four mezze plates thinking that's dinner and then realize you need a fifth.
Millcreek's 3300 South Corridor
Antica Sicilia (2020 E 3300 S) is the fine-dining anchor of the Millcreek corridor, and it's earned the kind of recognition that makes the location feel deliberate rather than surprising. Multiple consecutive Best of State and Best of Utah awards, a DiRoNA Best of North America nod, house-made pasta, and a cocktail and wine program that takes the Italian tradition seriously. Sicilian heritage meets modern execution. The sister restaurant, Sicilia Mia (4536 Highland Dr), serves the same family recipes in a slightly more casual setting and has won Best of State for Italian five times on its own. Between the two, this family operation has essentially locked down Italian dining on the east bench.
Kin Sen Thai (3011 E 3300 S) relocated to the former Kao Thai space in late 2024, and chef Pornpimon Prathummas merged the best of both menus into something special. The result is one of the most authentic Thai menus in the valley — Kao Soi, Yentafo, Boat Noodles, Thai Sukiyaki, and harder-to-find dishes that most Thai restaurants in Utah don't attempt. If your Thai food experience has been limited to Pad Thai and green curry, this is where that changes.
Over the Counter Cafe (2343 E 3300 S) has been a Millcreek institution since 1983. The menu hasn't needed to change because the execution hasn't slipped: potatoes from scratch, eggs cracked fresh, thick-cut bacon, and lemon pancakes bigger than your plate. Cash-only energy, weekend wait expected, and the kind of diner loyalty that passes between generations. This is where Millcreek eats breakfast, and it has been for 40 years.
The Spots That Don't Fit a Corridor
Real Taqueria (1869 E Murray Holladay Rd) is minority- and women-owned, makes everything from scratch with high-end local ingredients, and won the Utah Taste Off competition — which is a lot of credentials for a spot with a drive-through. The lengua tacos are melt-in-your-mouth good. The fish tacos are a regular order. The plantain-leaf chicken tamales have a cult following. New outdoor patio. This is the taqueria you send people to when they say they want "real Mexican food" and mean it.
Uncle Jeffi's Brunch (1968 E Murray Holladay Rd) is one of the most distinctive brunch concepts in the state — Thai-American fusion from the team behind Chabaar Beyond Thai. The Thai Omelet uses an egg-coconut milk batter. The Kow Munn Gai Tord pairs Hainanese-style garlic rice with crispy fried chicken. The coconut pancakes come with coconut cream and chai butter. Nothing on this menu exists anywhere else along the Wasatch Front, and the execution matches the ambition. Featured in Salt Lake Magazine. Worth the drive from anywhere in the valley.
Dough Lady (3362 S 2300 E) went from farmers market pop-up to 2025 brick-and-mortar in the old Pig & a Jelly Jar space, and brought what might be Utah's best cinnamon rolls along. Gooey, inventive flavors, available as take-and-bake dough for people who want the house to smell like a bakery without the 4 a.m. alarm. A Millcreek newcomer that's already earned its spot.
Between Holladay Village's walkable dining cluster and Millcreek's 3300 South corridor, this stretch of the east bench supports a restaurant density that most people associate with downtown, not the suburbs. The difference is that almost every spot on this list is independently owned, locally rooted, and relying on neighborhood reputation rather than marketing budgets. For a broader look at life in the area, check out our Holladay & Millcreek neighborhood guide. If you're exploring east bench dining more broadly, the Cottonwood Heights restaurant guide covers the canyon-mouth scene just south.