Salt Lake City: Bambara

If there was one word to describe Bambara, it’d easily be classy; and that just so happens to be my favorite type of restaurant. I’ve always had a huge desire to be this classy gal, but let’s be real, I probably won’t ever get there. Luckily, places like Bambara are easily found and tastily attended to. What’s awesome is that they swap out their menu based on the season, so that they only use the freshest of ingredients during the best time of the year.

Nestled in one of Salt Lake’s classiest of classy hotels, Hotel Monaco, Chef Nathan Powers has created plates of art. I passed by this place when I was staying over for a girls night at the hotel. The decoratively elegant aura that Bambara provides is super intriguing to every passing eye. The dramatic colors and imaginative designs of the restaurant provide such a fun, entertaining atmosphere for dining. It feels as if you’ve gone back to the Great Gatsby era and are taking a night out on the town.

Menu wise, the mix of flavors in each dish are so refined and exquisite, that they simply can’t be replicated. Deciding between all of the delectable sounding options on the menu was hard enough, yet not stuffing my face when my plate arrived was even harder. Ryan, my hand model in most of my photos, and I conclusively decided to get dishes that would compliment each other (a.k.a. dishes that we both wanted and could share), and it was a huge success.

What’s awesome about Bambara is their great service. Our waiter was so kind and very insightful, as well as prompt. He delivered us our complimentary bread, and the best part, it’s not with a side of butter; but a side of homemade hummus!! Oh my word my mouth gave the widest smile when he placed it on our table. Yum.

Next were the main courses. First, the Bambara Steak Frites. The dish wasn’t only gripping to look at, but was super appetizing, of course. The fries spoke to me: thin, crispy and covered with herbs and salt. The 15 oz Ribeye was cooked to perfection and was polished with grilled onions and smoked blue cheese.

My order? The Seared Maine Scallops. I’m a seafood kind of gal, but I don’t usually order scallops because of the price, but hey, we were treating ourselves tonight and wow, was I treated! I have never had such well cooked scallops in my life. They melted in my mouth! My favorite part, though? The bed of sour cherry & prosciutto risotto underneath. It was some of the best risotto I’ve ever had; creamy, yet tangy, sweet and savory all at the same time. Lightly covered with toasted almond-tomato vinaigrette and beautiful edible flowers! Yes, edible flowers! It was amazing and I’d recommend this dish to any Bambara goer.

For dessert, yes we went big tonight, we got the Turtle Ice Cream Sandwich. Mmmm mmmm good. Two homemade, rectangle cookies sandwiches creamy vanilla bean ice cream, drizzled with salted caramel sauce and cocoa nibs. Yep. (Wipe that drool from your face.) So rich and delicate, needless to say, our pallets were happy by the end of the meal.

Thank you Bambara for providing us with a classy night out. Both the food, service, and atmosphere were glamorously enjoyable. We’ll see you soon to try all your seasonal menus!

Bambara  ( 202 Main St, Salt Lake City, UT  //  801.363.5454 )