This article is excerpted from the Utah Eats newsletter, compiled by Kolbie Peterson, The Salt Lake Tribune’s food and drink reporter. To get the full newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday, become a subscriber by going to sltrib.com/newsletters.
Hello, Eaters!
A couple of weeks ago, I said here that I would pay a visit to Melancholy Wine & Cocktail Lounge after giving them a chance to settle in a bit. I checked out the new bar in Salt Lake City’s Post District last Friday, and I’m happy to report back that it’s lovely and sophisticated, and the beverage menu has some really cool things going on.
Melancholy is co-owned by longtime friends Shaleen Bishop and Fallan Keyser. Eight years ago, Keyser opened the bar Good Grammar in the Gallivan Center. While Bishop and Keyser were renovating the building that would become Melancholy, Keyser closed Good Grammar, and the two of them opened Coterie in the same space in September.
Compared to Coterie — a “sister establishment” to Melancholy that serves coffee, classic cocktails and casual grub — Melancholy is more centered on wine and cocktails and less on food.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Patrons sit at the bar at Melancholy Wine & Cocktail Lounge in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
“When we saw this cute, tiny, little building, we were both like, ‘OK, this has to be a wine bar,” Keyser told me.
But before Melancholy was the beautiful space that it is today, it was just cinder blocks and graffiti, as Bishop describes it. Embracing the historic nature of the building — which they said is more than 100 years old — Bishop and Keyser filled it with upcycled and recycled finds, antique gems and found treasures.
The end result feels like being in an old house: mirrors, greenery and antique artwork in gold frames fill the walls; a lot of the furniture is dark wood and navy blue upholstery. Don’t miss the antique postal boxes at the front of the main bar (by the way, they open).
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Art hangs on the wall at Melancholy Wine & Cocktail Lounge in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
Most everything was sourced locally. The wooden chairs in the upstairs bar area belonged to one woman’s great-great-grandmother, for example.
“A lot of people feel like they have a little bit of a piece here, which is really fun,” Bishop said.
Getting to the menu, I started off by sampling an orange chardonnay from Austria called Christina. I’d never tried a skin-contact wine before — “skin contact” means the grape juice is allowed to stay in contact with the grape skins during the fermentation process. I was surprised to discover that it had beer-like hoppy notes — and even the slightly carbonated sparkle of a beer.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A glass of the wine Christina sits on the bar at Melancholy Wine & Cocktail Lounge in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
Keyser said Melancholy’s sommelier, Natalie Hamilton, has taken the time to craft a wine list that’s unique in Salt Lake City. “Most of the stuff we have, other bars are not selling,” Keyser said. Hamilton has even initiated some new contracts with the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services, in order to get wines in Melancholy that have never been seen in Utah, Bishop said.
In charge of cocktails at Melancholy is Morgan Michel, who also used to work at Good Grammar.
I sampled two of Michel’s creations: First is the Coyote ($14), which you can read about in the “Cocktail of the Week” section of this newsletter.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A cocktail named "Dirty Work" is seen on the bar at Melancholy Wine & Cocktail Lounge in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
The second is Dirty Work ($13), made with Waterpocket Temple of the Moon gin, Manzanilla sherry, house-pickled-pepper brine and a drizzle of olive oil on top; it’s garnished with a slice of house-pickled shishito pepper.
Michel called Dirty Work a “savory” cocktail, and I totally agree with that. Mostly I tasted the botanicals of the gin and the kick of the pepper brine. I also picked up on a slightly sweet note from the sherry. Overall, it was a really intriguing cocktail.
As far as food goes, the menu is limited because Melancholy doesn’t have its own kitchen, but there’s a selection of snacks including house-pickled veggies (pictured below) that are delicious) — as well as olive oil potato chips, marinated olives, crostini crackers, and tinned fish from Caputo’s. You can expect both the drink and food menus to rotate and change seasonally.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A picked dish sits on the bar at Melancholy Wine & Cocktail Lounge in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
For more information, visit MelancholySLC.com.
Live deliciously,
Kolbie
Food News
• It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas: Now available for viewing is this year’s annual gingerbread house display from the Grand America Hotel, an over-the-top creation called Le Chateau de Louis. Designed and built by executive pastry chef Xavier Baudinet and his team, the chateau is named for Baudinet’s 3-year-old grandson. It stands at 15 feet long and 12 feet tall, and was made over 1,500 hours with 2,000 eggs, 1,600 pounds of flour and 500 pounds of sugar, according to a news release. The gingerbread house can be found in the hotel’s festive lobby, at 555 S. Main, Salt Lake City.
Cocktail of the Week
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A cocktail named "The Coyote" is seen on the bar at Melancholy Wine & Cocktail Lounge in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024.
Morgan Michel at Melancholy said that the Coyote cocktail is her take on a “tropical mezcal margarita.” It’s made with Arette Tequila Blanco, Wahaka Espadin Joven Mezcal, Ancho Reyes, lime, coconut cream, cinnamon and chocolate bitters.
I never thought I’d say that lime and chocolate could vibe together, but here we are. This cocktail was citrusy, a little creamy and a little spicy from the fresh cinnamon on top. Michel said the spice notes bring it into “the winter, Christmassy kind of realm.” Sip on this after indulging in a Thanksgiving feast.
