I have to admit that when restaurant One-0-Eight opened in the space that was formerly occupied by Sea Salt in SLC, I was puzzled by the name. Was the street address 108? Nope, the address is 1709 E. 1300 S. Ultimately, I learned that 108 is the last three digits of the Yalecrest neighborhood zip code where One-0-Eight is located: 84108. First opened by Chef/Owner James Dumas in 2019, he left during the pandemic and One-0-Eight is now under new ownership with a new chef, Cole Hunt. 

One of the draws at One-0-Eight is its pooch-friendly patio. Whether you have a dog or not, the patio is one of the nicest in town, and equipped with awnings to help shield guests from the sun on smoldering days like last Sunday. That’s when we stopped in for brunch, which is served Sundays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The restaurant and patio are open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner service beginning at 5 p.m.

Sea Salt was a beautiful place to dine and One-0-Eight is even better, with improvements made inside and out. I like the mostly black and white contemporary interior, softened by light wood floors and chairs. Outside, the stone patio feels like a foreign country with its warm Mediterranean hues, an abundance of plants and flowers, and contrasting dark metal tables and chairs.

During brunch at One-0-Eight live jazz is featured every other Sunday and there are also weekly mimosa specials like the pomegranate mimosa ($8) pictured above or the cucumber and pineapple mimosa that was featured last Sunday. 

My wife and I shared a generously portioned appetizer of local burrata cheese with basil-arugula pesto, fresh chopped tomato, toasted baguette slices, and drizzled with balsamic. A starter listed on the menu as “The Baby Wedge” ($12) went past our table and I must say, it seemed to be anything but “baby.” It looked large enough for a quartet of diners to share. One-0-Eight certainly doesn’t skimp on portions. There’s also a Classic Caesar ($12) on the Salads & Starters menu that comes with a large parmesan crisp, croutons and optional grilled chicken for an extra $6.

One-0-Eight offers a good wine, beer and cocktail selection and one of my stepsons very much enjoyed his “Little Bit of Paris …” cocktail ($14) which featured Dented Brick Distillery Vodka, Alpine Preserve Liqueur, Prosecco, and lemon.

The brunch menu at One-0-Eight offers some standard breakfast fare like buttermilk pancakes ($11), French toast ($14), shakshuka ($16), “Yalecrest” Benedict ($16), omelets and such. Biscuits & gravy ($14) was two eggs and biscuits smothered in thick house-made sausage gravy and what on the menu were called “country potatoes” but I’d call roasted fingerlings. More about those potatoes later. 

My wife is gluten-free and was a bit dumbfounded when she asked our server if the granola in the acai bowl ($13) or granola bowl ($13) was gluten-free. The server’s response: “I don’t know.” So … she settled on a gluten-free order of smoked salmon hash ($16). I’m not really sure why that dish is called “hash,” since it doesn’t resemble anything I think of as hash. You know, as in: hash browns. It was really more of a “scramble” or free form omelet: scrambled eggs with tomato concasse, red onion, fried capers and … fingerling potatoes. It turns out that many of the brunch dishes come with a serving of fingerling potatoes on the side. At any rate, my wife really liked her smoked salmon “hash” – the potatoes, not so much.  

There is an interesting sandwich selection during brunch at One-0-Eight, which includes falafel ($15) with cucumber sauce; a sandwich called Le Ardenne ($15) with brie, apple, arugula pesto and tapenade; a stuffed portobello ($16), bistro Reuben ($16), and the One-0-Eight burger ($14). Sandwiches come with a choice of potato salad, cucumber salad, green salad or fries. My stepson, Jeremy, enjoyed his burger and fries ($16) with hickory-smoked bacon, sharp white cheddar cheese, Cajun haystack onions, Anaheim pepper, tomato, lettuce and avocado, although he complained that the bacon wasn’t cooked crispy enough. 

As for me, well, I love a good Cuban sandwich. So, that’s what I ordered. Now, if there is anything that defines a proper Cuban sandwich, it’s that it is a pressed sandwich, sort of panini style. It’s something that virtually all Cuban sandwiches have in common: they are more or less smashed to a relatively thin height. Now, don’t get me wrong. The Cuban ($15) at One-0-Eight is very good. It’s got all the right stuff: roast pork tenderloin, ham, Swiss cheese, house pickles and Dijonaise. It’s a truly delicious sandwich but it’s served stacked sky high on a really good sliced baguette. The one thing it isn’t is pressed. In fact, it was so thick that I had to request a steak knife so that I could cut the sandwich into bite size pieces to get into my mouth. It’s a sandwich of such abundance that I enjoyed half of it for my lunch the following day, after re-cooking it myself in a panini press at home. 

I’m looking forward to returning to One-0-Eight for dinner and trying entrees like lobster mac & cheese ($23); chicken schnitzel ($26), chile verde ($21), potato gnocchi with sage brown butter ($24), or perhaps one of the pizzas from the wood-fired pizza oven.

And remember, whether you’re settling in on the One-0-Eight patio for brunch or for a leisurely dinner, your favorite fur babies are welcome to join you.          

Photos by Ted Scheffler & Courtesy of One-0-Eight

Culinary quote of the week:

“Too few people understand a really good sandwich.” — James Beard

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Originally trained as an anthropologist, Ted Scheffler is a seasoned food, wine & travel writer based in Utah. He loves cooking, skiing, and spends an inordinate amount of time tending to his ever-growing herd of guitars and amplifiers.

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