A sleek sushi bar and a light pink glow from the neon sign saying “Carpe diem” is refreshingly light-hearted compared to the usual log-and-stone mountain eatery.
Like so many new restaurants, Saola started as a food-to-door delivery restaurant—a great way to build a customer base with low overhead. In a reverse move, it’s now a destination for mostly Vietnamese food, owned by Diem Nguyen and co-owner and chef Tuan Vu. Right now, it looks like a dicey location for a business whose number one priority is good real estate. The hills behind are just brushland. But it won’t be long before those hills are filled with the high-dollar condos and apartments that are sprouting all over Salt Lake City and then Saola will have another new identity: neighborhood restaurant.
The stand-alone building in Cottonwood Heights should also be popular for apres-ski—a steaming bowl of pho and a banh mi would be a welcome change from the usual burger and pizza carbo-feast that follows a day in the snow. And the light, bright interior, designed by Rachel Hodson, with artisanal-looking fabrics, shimmering gold screens, a sleek sushi bar and a light pink glow from the neon sign saying “Carpe diem” is refreshingly light-hearted compared to the usual log-and-stone mountain eatery.
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