The Best Stromboli in Salt Lake City: How Chef Kyle Williams Turned a Ghost Kitchen Into Utah's Stromboli Destination

There's this moment—right when the stromboli comes out of the oven at Marcato Kitchen—when the dough does something magical. It sparkles. Not figuratively, like some food writer reaching for a metaphor. It actually sparkles from the 72-hour fermented dough hitting that blast of high heat, blistering and bubbling in a way that makes you stop scrolling through your phone and just... look.

One customer put it perfectly: "Words really don't capture how much I love Marcato Kitchen. I grew up around good stromboli but they really take it to the next level! The crust is perfect. The fillings are top-notch." And honestly? They're not wrong. This is the best stromboli in Salt Lake City, and it's coming from a ghost kitchen in the Granary District that's rewriting the rules on what Italian-American street food can be.

From Deer Valley Fine Dining to Stromboli Obsession: Chef Kyle Williams' Story

Kyle Williams has been working in Utah's culinary landscape since 2012, with an impressive resume featuring some of the state's most renowned dining establishments, including J&G Grill in Deer Valley, Handle, HSL, Hearth and Hill, Waldorf Astoria, and Sushi Blue. That's the kind of chef pedigree you'd expect to find behind a white tablecloth, not a commissary kitchen counter. But that's exactly what makes Marcato Kitchen so damn interesting.

Williams first moved to Salt Lake City in 2008 for a snowboarding-driven adventure that turned into an internship at Viet Pham's Forage. The formative kitchen posting threw him into the deep end of intense, intentional cooking—the kind that stays with you. More heavy-hitting placements would follow across Utah's fine dining scene, but the stromboli idea? That came later, in the most unexpected way.

In 2013, Chef Giuseppe Randazzo introduced Kyle to the stromboli while they were working together, sparking his vision to transform this simple dish into a canvas for culinary artistry. "It was delicious. I loved the idea of the stromboli, the bread is a blank canvas, you can fill it with so many different ingredients," Williams explained.

And here's where it gets interesting. Williams had been perfecting a Neapolitan pizza dough for years—one with long fermentation and organic flours. It wasn't traditional for stromboli, but he had it in his mind that the dough had to stand out as much as the flavor combinations inside. The result? A 72-hour fermented dough that serves as the ideal base for his diverse and vibrant flavor combinations.

The Stromboli Experience: What Makes Marcato Kitchen Different

Walk into Square Kitchen at 751 W 800 South—that's where Marcato Kitchen operates out of—and you're in for something totally different than your typical Italian restaurant Salt Lake City experience. Square Kitchen is a culinary incubator founded in 2018, offering kitchen space and support to small food businesses. It's part commissary kitchen, part ghost kitchen, part launchpad for Utah's most innovative food entrepreneurs.

From the searing oven, the dough sparkles, with the first bite revealing a relatively thin crust that gives way to a softer texture underneath. The contrast is as captivating as the flavors within. And Williams isn't playing around with the fillings—these are chef-driven strombolis that draw from his travels and years in high-end kitchens.

The Banh-Boli: Where Vietnam Meets South Philly

The signature dish that has food writers losing their minds? The Banh-Boli. This superb example of Williams' thoughtful approach is where a beef dip collides with classic banh mi flavors somewhere over South Philly. Handsomely marbled brisket is braised for fourteen hours and forms the lustrous centerpiece.

One of the genius moves here is that the cilantro component gets blended into an acidic chimichurri, creating the same herbaceous highlights without having to pick through cilantro stems and leaves that usually show up to the banh mi party. The star is the smoked brisket—a thick, tender slice of meat that truly stands out. It comes with pho broth for dipping, because of course it does.

A customer raved: "Banh-Boli and Bulgogi Boli were equally incredible! Full of so much flavor and texture... otherwise 10/10!"

The Cubano Stromboli: Classic Sandwich Meets Italian Craft

One customer declared: "I ordered the Cubano Style... It was amazing, easily one of the best Cubanos I've had in Utah despite the stromboli form." The Cubano features citrus-marinated pork shoulder, mortadella, gruyere cheese, pickles, and passion fruit mustard—all wrapped in that 72-hour fermented dough.

This is what sets Marcato apart from traditional Italian stromboli restaurants: Williams isn't just making Italian food. He's taking sandwich classics—Cubanos, banh mi, Korean bulgogi—and reimagining them through the lens of artisan stromboli craft.

The Bodega ($13.99) features a richly-satisfying ground beef and cheese blend, balanced and measured with Williams' keen chef-sense. There's a Mexican-inspired angle here with salsa macha that just works.

The Teacher ($13.99) pays homage to Chef Randazzo with classic Italian meats like pepperoni, salami and mortadella, paired with baby kale, roasted pepper aioli, mozzarella and provolone.

Then there's the Little Shawty with short rib and house giardiniera, the vegetarian "cheesesteak" with meaty oyster and shiitake mushrooms and house-made cheese whiz fueled by Calabrian chili, and a meatball stromboli with crispy prosciutto, San Marzano pomodoro sauce, and a blend of Italian cheeses.

Another customer noted: "SO GOOD. The olives came warmed and were some of the best I've ever had. The Stromboli was incredible. Flavors were better than I imagined."

Locally Sourced Ingredients Meet Fast Casual Innovation

Each stromboli is crafted by hand using locally sourced ingredients, from farm-fresh produce to locally made cheeses and cured meats. Local sausage from Gerome's Market powers the Papa stromboli. This commitment to Utah ingredients brings a farm-to-table sensibility to fast casual Italian food that you don't usually see.

Williams and his team describe their approach as "taking the fast from fast casual and the fine from fine dining, mashing them up. We use real ingredients and chef's touch, which translates to flavorful, fresh and thoughtful."

And here's something Williams tells customers: the stromboli tastes even better the next day. They're hefty things—plenty to split with a dining companion or save for tomorrow. Just reheat and you're back in business.

The Ghost Kitchen Revolution in Salt Lake City's Granary District

Marcato Kitchen opened in November 2023 inside Square Kitchen, a downtown Salt Lake City commissary kitchen shared with other culinary professionals, with the intent of making better food available to the community while growing the brand.

The ghost kitchen and commissary kitchen model is changing Utah's food scene. Square Kitchen was designed to be more than just an incubator—it became a gathering place, supporting businesses with branding, social media, legal services, and guidance on contracts with distributors. It's located in the Poplar Grove neighborhood on the western edge of the Granary District, an area that's become ground zero for Salt Lake's food innovation.

What started as a grab-and-go concept has evolved. Marcato recently opened a second location at Woodbine Food Hall (545 W 700 S), expanding their reach while maintaining that chef-driven quality that makes their stromboli stand out.

Planning Your Visit to Marcato Kitchen

Square Kitchen Location: 751 W 800 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84104

Woodbine Food Hall Location: 545 W 700 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84104

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM Monday - Closed

What to Order: If it's your first time, start with the Banh-Boli to understand what Williams is doing here—it's the perfect introduction to his fusion approach. The Cubano is a crowd favorite for a reason, and don't forget the Marcato sauce to go with the fries.

The strombolis run around $14-$18, which is fair considering the quality of ingredients, the 72-hour dough fermentation process, and the generous portions. These aren't cheap commodity strombolis—they're handcrafted by a veteran-owned business with serious culinary chops.

Pro Tips:

Order ahead through DoorDash, Grubhub, or directly through their website for pickup
The space at Square Kitchen is primarily grab-and-go, but the Woodbine Food Hall location offers seating
Check their Instagram (@marcato_kitchen) for rotating specials and seasonal menu items
They also offer catering for events—stromboli platters are a hit

Parking: Street parking available on 800 South and surrounding streets. Square Kitchen is in the Granary District, easily accessible from downtown Salt Lake City.

Why Marcato Kitchen Matters to Utah's Food Scene

Here's the thing about Marcato Kitchen that makes it more than just another restaurant: it represents a shift in how we think about quality food in Salt Lake City. The team believes that enjoying real, nourishing meals served quickly shouldn't require a trip to an upscale restaurant while making it affordable.

Williams is bringing Deer Valley fine dining techniques to a commissary kitchen. He's introducing Utahns to stromboli as an art form, not just a pizza shop afterthought. And he's doing it in a ghost kitchen model that's proving you don't need white tablecloths and a massive rent bill to serve exceptional food.

Food writer Stuart Melling from Gastronomic SLC noted Williams' resume includes some of Utah's finest restaurants, calling the Bodega stromboli "testament to Williams' keen chef-sense, effortlessly balanced and measured."

The stromboli might be a relatively untasted dish for many Utahns—it's not pizza, it's not a calzone, it's this Philadelphia-born rolled sandwich that somehow never made it big out West. Until now. Williams is changing that, one 72-hour fermented dough at a time, out of a shared kitchen in the Granary District.

And yeah, that dough really does sparkle when it comes out of the oven. Go see for yourself.

Follow Marcato Kitchen: Instagram: @marcato_kitchen Website: marcatokitchen.com Phone: (801) 300-1745

This veteran-owned business is redefining Italian-American street food in Salt Lake City, one chef-driven stromboli at a time.

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