Every state has a burger it claims as its own. In Utah, it’s the pastrami burger: a cheeseburger buried under a pile of hot, thin-sliced pastrami, usually with a special sauce, almost always with fry sauce on the side.
The story behind it is a Greek one. The pastrami cheeseburger was served at a family burger stand near Disneyland before the families behind it brought it to Salt Lake City and opened Crown Burgers in 1978. Today, as Salt Lake magazine has noted, nearly every Greek-owned burger shop in Utah serves its own version under its own name. Despite local legend, the Tribune reports these families aren’t all related, and they didn’t split up in some great burger feud.
Here are four places that do it right.
1. Crown Burgers (Salt Lake City)
Come for: the original.
This is where Utah’s pastrami burger story starts. John and Rula Katzourakis opened Crown Burgers with Rula’s brother Nick Katsanevas in 1978, in a former hot dog stand on 200 South. Family members opened every location that followed, and the original is still run by the next generation. The burger even made it onto the Travel Channel’s Man v. Food.
Order the Crown Burger, a quarter-pound cheeseburger topped with pastrami simmered in a special sauce. Add fries, fry sauce and a side of rice pilaf for the full Greek-Utah experience.
Tip: Visit the original on 200 South downtown, where it all began.
Read our full spotlight: Crown Burgers: How a Greek Family From Crete Gave Salt Lake City Its Pastrami Burger.
Where: 377 E. 200 South, Salt Lake City, plus seven more locations
Since: 1978
Hours: crown-burgers.com
2. Astro Burgers (Midvale)
Come for: a fresh patty and some of the best onion rings in the valley.
Greek immigrants John and Soula Lyhnakis learned the burger business in Los Angeles, then opened Astro Burgers in June 1982 with their cousin Angelo Tsoutsounakis. Their sons, Vasili, George and Michael, later helped open locations in South Jordan in 2002 and Draper in 2006.
The Astro Burger is a quarter-pound fresh patty with cheese and a hearty pile of pastrami. Pair it with the hand-battered onion rings.
Tip: The flagship on State Street in Midvale is the classic stop, but the South Jordan and Draper shops serve the same burger if you’re farther south.
Where: 6863 S. State St., Midvale. Also 10452 S. Redwood Rd., South Jordan, and 253 E. 12300 South, Draper
Since: 1982
Hours: astroburgers.com
3. Apollo Burger (Salt Lake City and beyond)
Come for: a pastrami burger you can find almost anywhere along the Wasatch Front.
In 1983, John and Stella Ziouras turned their struggling diner on North Temple into Apollo Burger. It grew into one of the biggest local burger names in the state, with more than a dozen locations from Rose Park to Lehi, American Fork and Saratoga Springs, and a string of Best of State awards.
Order the Apollo Burger, the house pastrami burger, and don’t skip the fry sauce.
Tip: The original Rose Park location moved to Redwood Road in 2012. It’s still the place to pay your respects.
Where: 143 N. Redwood Rd., Salt Lake City, plus locations across the valley and Utah County
Since: 1983
Hours: apolloburgers.com
4. Olympus Burgers (Sandy)
Come for: a south-valley favorite with deep burger roots.
Olympus Burgers was founded by Denny Neofitos, who is also now a co-owner of Apollo Burger, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. It’s a neighborhood spot in Sandy that pastrami burger fans seek out.
Order the Olympus Pastrami Burger, or go bigger with the Golden Pastrami Burger.
Tip: Call ahead or check online ordering for current hours before you go.
Where: 9326 S. 700 East, Sandy
Order online: Olympus Burger online ordering
How to order like a local
- Always get fry sauce. It’s the Utah law of burgers, even if it isn’t written down.
- Look at the Greek side of the menu. Gyros, souvlaki and rice pilaf are part of the tradition at all of these spots.
- Bring napkins. A proper pastrami burger is not a tidy meal.
Hungry for more? Read more Best Of picks and stories from around Utah. Run a local spot that belongs on a list like this? Tell us about it.
Details in this guide draw on each business’s own website and on reporting from the Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake magazine, KSL and Gastronomic SLC. Hours change, so confirm before you go. Photos show Crown Burgers. Top photo: Ntsimp, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.