World City Guide

Nightlife

Despite the generally conservative atmosphere of Salt Lake City, there are plenty of night spots for music and entertainment, from country western line-dancing to jazz, blues and rock ‘n’ roll. These are not focused on any particular district and are generally spread throughout the city. Utah does have unique liquor laws, however, but these have been relaxed recently - drink sizes have increased and the process of getting into a private club has been simplified. Taverns and lounges only sell beer. Mixed drinks are sold at private clubs (the equivalent of bars) throughout the day. Visitors are welcome and can buy a two-week membership to most clubs for about US$4, which allows sponsorship of other guests. Alcohol may be ordered with a meal in most restaurants after midday, although customers have to ask for a liquor menu. Other than that, there are no licensing hours. The minimum drinking age is 21 years and drinks cost around US$3.50 for a beer to US$7 for a cocktail.

CitySearch Utah (website: www.utah.citysearch.com) provides an on-line guide to events, while City Weekly (website: www.slweekly.com) and The Event are free weekly papers with extensive reviews and listings.

Bars: Sports bars are popular in Salt Lake City. Some popular venues for watching a big match on a big screen are the Port O’Call, 78 West 400 South (website: www.portocall.com) and SkyBox Sports Grille & Arena, The Gateway, 4 South Rio Grande Street. Many bars now feature micro-brewed beers. These include the Red Rock Brewing Company, South 200 West Street, and Lazy Moon Pub, 32 Exchange Place. Another great place for beer aficionados is The Bayou, 645 South State Street, which has more than 150 varieties of the golden nectar (see Restaurants). The Red Door, 57 West 200 South, serves designer martinis in a cosmopolitan setting, while The Wine Bar at Baci, 134 West Pierpont Avenue, is arguably the best wine bar in town.

Casinos: There are no casinos in Salt Lake City but there are several casinos in Wendover, Utah and Nevada, including the Peppermill (website: www.peppermillwendover.com), Rainbow (website: www.rainbowwendover.com) and Montego Bay (website: www.montegobaywendover.com). There is no dress code, although the age limit is 18 years and photo ID will be required.

Clubs: Club Axis, 108 South 500 West, has two dancefloors and features a technobeam light show. Zipperz, 155 West 200 South, has four levels with top DJs, sound and lighting. Club Sound, 579 West 200 South (website: www.clubsound.com) is a private club that showcases the best in both local and national talent, while Vortex, 404 South West Temple (website: www.vortexslc.com) is the best dance club in town.

Live Music: The Dead Goat Saloon, 119 South West Temple (website: www.deadgoat.com), is a perennial favourite with live music most nights. The Green Street Social Club, Trolley Square, has food, live entertainment and dancing. Port O’Call Social Club has live bands, as does The Bayou (see Bars for both), which has jazz music on most nights.