Orem doesn't get the same food attention as its neighbor Provo, and that's a mistake. While Provo's downtown Center Street corridor gets the headlines, Orem has quietly built one of the most diverse dining scenes in Utah Valley — anchored by a handful of genuinely excellent restaurants and a growing wave of international kitchens that reflect the city's changing demographics.
The difference between eating in Orem and Provo is subtle but real. Orem's best restaurants tend to be less concentrated — spread across shopping centers, strip malls, and side streets rather than one walkable corridor — but what they lack in Instagram-friendly storefronts, they make up for in quality and value. Some of the best meals in Utah County are hiding in Orem.
This guide covers the 15 restaurants worth knowing about, organized by what you're looking for.
The Must-Visit Restaurants
This guide is what decides Best Orem in our Best of Utah Valley index — the award is simply this list's own first entry, so if the ranking here changes, the award changes with it.
1. Pizzeria 712
Wood-Fired Pizza · $$$ · 320 S State St
The best pizza in Utah Valley, and it's not particularly close. Pizzeria 712 makes thin, soft, chewy Neapolitan-style pizza in a wood-fired oven with ingredients that would feel at home in a much larger city. The Margherita is the benchmark — simple, perfectly executed, and a reminder of what pizza is supposed to taste like. The braised short rib appetizer is legendary among regulars. The menu changes seasonally, and the specials are almost always worth ordering.
What to order: Margherita or Bianco pizza. Short rib appetizer. Whatever seasonal special they're running.
Good to know: No reservations for small parties. Go early on weekends or expect a wait. Worth it.
2. Slackwater
Gastropub · $$ · Riverwoods (Provo, at the Orem border)
Slackwater is the kind of restaurant every neighborhood wishes it had — a well-executed gastropub with creative pizzas, shareable plates, craft cocktails, and an atmosphere that works equally well for a Tuesday night dinner and a Saturday group outing. The pizza here is different from Pizzeria 712 (thicker, more creative toppings) and excellent in its own right. Like Rodizio a few doors down, Slackwater sits just inside Provo at The Shops at Riverwoods (4801 N University Ave) rather than in Orem proper, but it is the restaurant north Orem and UVU actually drive to. The patio at Riverwoods is one of the best outdoor dining spots in the valley — and one of our favorite brunch spots in Utah Valley when the weather's nice.
What to order: The Slackwater pizza, loaded fries, and any seasonal cocktail.
3. La Vaca Steakhouse
Steakhouse · $$$ · Provo (North Park)
A proper steakhouse with serious cuts, an impressive wine list, and service that feels polished without being stuffy. To be clear about the address, because several review sites are not: La Vaca is at 1145 N 500 W in Provo, not in Orem — it opened in August 2025 and turns up on Orem and even Saratoga Springs lists purely on proximity scoring. La Vaca has become the go-to for special occasions in the Provo-Orem area — anniversaries, celebrations, and business dinners where the food needs to deliver. The ribeye is the star, and the bread course sets the tone for the entire evening.
4. Bangkok Wasabi
Thai-Japanese Fusion · $$ · 31 W Center St
One of the most interesting restaurants in Orem. Bangkok Wasabi combines Thai and Japanese cuisines in ways that shouldn't work but consistently do — fresh sushi alongside flavorful curries, all in a modern space with genuine attention to plating and presentation. The pad Thai is excellent, the sushi rolls are creative, and the lunch specials make this an outstanding value.
What to order: Green curry, any specialty sushi roll, and the mango sticky rice for dessert.
5. Di Napoli
Italian · $$ · 29 W University Pkwy
Authentic, family-run Italian on University Parkway. Di Napoli takes its pasta seriously — handmade, properly sauced, and served in generous portions. The atmosphere is warm and unpretentious, the kind of neighborhood Italian spot where you recognize the same families dining every week. The chicken parmesan and lasagna are excellent, and the tiramisu is made in-house.
International Flavors
6. Haveli Modern Cuisine
Indian · $$ · Orem
Orem's best Indian restaurant, offering a menu that goes beyond the usual tikka masala (though that's excellent too). Haveli brings modern presentation to traditional Northern Indian recipes — the lamb vindaloo has genuine heat, the naan is fresh and pillowy, and the lunch buffet is one of the best deals in the valley.
7. Tai Lai Shun
Taiwanese/Chinese · $ · Orem
A small, unassuming spot that serves some of the most authentic Taiwanese and Chinese food in Utah County. The menu is extensive — hand-pulled noodles, dumplings, hot pots, and Taiwanese classics — and the prices are remarkably affordable. This is the kind of restaurant that Yelp reviewers describe with phrases like "hidden gem" and "best kept secret," and for once, they're right.
8. Dumpling Bao
Chinese Dumplings · $ · Orem
Handmade dumplings done with care and sold at prices that feel almost too low for the quality. Dumpling Bao has built a devoted following for its soup dumplings, pan-fried potstickers, and bao buns. If you love dumplings, this is a mandatory visit.
9. Maria Bonita
Mexican · $$ · Orem
Authentic, homestyle Mexican food with bold flavors and generous portions. Maria Bonita is where you go when you want real enchiladas, sizzling fajitas, and a molcajete big enough to share. The salsas are made fresh, the tortillas are genuine, and the horchata is excellent. For the full Mexican food scene, see our Best Mexican Food guide.
10. Vessel Kitchen
Healthy/Fast-Casual · $$ · Multiple locations
A Utah-born fast-casual concept focused on bowls, salads, and grain-based plates made with high-quality ingredients. Vessel Kitchen has gained a following among the health-conscious crowd for offering meals that are genuinely nutritious without sacrificing flavor. The bowls are customizable, the ingredients are fresh, and it's one of the best quick-service options in the area.
Casual Favorites
11. TRUreligion Pancake & Steakhouse
Brunch/American · $$ · 360 S State St, Suite 158 (Midtown 360)
A brunch destination that has become an Orem institution. TRUreligion sits inside the Midtown 360 development on State Street, its Art Deco dining room fitted out with fixtures salvaged from Salt Lake City's old Lamb's Grill, and serves elevated diner-style breakfast — think creative pancake flights, biscuit dishes, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. The steakhouse side at dinner is solid too, but brunch is where this place shines. Expect a wait on weekends.
12. Rodizio Grill
Brazilian Steakhouse · $$$ · Riverwoods (Provo, at the Orem border)
An all-you-can-eat Brazilian churrascaria where gauchos carve meats tableside. Technically Rodizio sits just inside Provo at The Shops at Riverwoods (4801 N University Ave), but it's right on the Orem line and is a go-to for UVU students and north-Orem residents, so we include it here. Rodizio is more of an experience than a quiet dinner — the energy in the room, the parade of different meats, and the impressive salad bar make it ideal for celebrations and group outings. The picanha and lamb are standouts. (It's one of our top group & family restaurants in Utah Valley.)
13. Guroott
Korean · $$ · Orem
Korean comfort food done well — bibimbap, japchae, kimchi stew, and Korean fried chicken. Guroott fills a niche that was missing in Orem and has quickly earned a loyal following. The portions are generous and the flavors are authentic. A great option when you're craving something beyond the usual American/Mexican/Italian rotation.
14. Pitada Brazil
Brazilian · $$ · Orem
Authentic Brazilian cuisine in a casual setting. Pitada brings the flavors of Brazil — açai bowls, coxinhas, pão de queijo, and traditional plate lunches — to Utah Valley. It's a different experience from the all-you-can-eat churrascaria format of Rodizio, offering a more everyday taste of Brazilian cooking.
15. Via 313 Pizza
Detroit-Style Pizza · $$ · Orem
Detroit-style pizza — thick, rectangular, with a crispy caramelized cheese edge — done with genuine care. Via 313 brought this style to Utah Valley and immediately earned a following. The crust is the star: crunchy on the edges, soft and airy inside, with quality toppings piled on. A great alternative to thin-crust options.
The Orem Dining Scene: What to Know
It's spread out. Unlike Provo's walkable Center Street, Orem's best restaurants are scattered across the city. You'll need a car to restaurant-hop. State Street and University Avenue are the two main corridors. The same pattern holds north of the city line, where State Street is the commercial spine for restaurants in Lindon and Pleasant Grove too — bigger buildings, easier parking, and chains mixed in among the independents.
Riverwoods is the hub — though it's technically in Provo. The Shops at Riverwoods on University Avenue concentrates several restaurants (Slackwater, Rodizio, and others) in a walkable outdoor shopping area. It sits just over the Provo line at the north end of University Avenue, but it's the closest thing to a dining district that north Orem residents and UVU students have within easy reach. Vineyard uses it the same way — it is a two-minute drive from the Geneva district, which is why Slackwater turns up on our Vineyard restaurant guide as well.
Lunch deals are better. Many Orem restaurants offer significantly better value at lunch — buffets, specials, and smaller-portioned options at lower prices. Bangkok Wasabi and Haveli both have excellent lunch deals.
Check for UVU discounts. Several Orem restaurants offer student discounts for UVU students. Always ask.
Where to Eat in Orem, by Situation
Most people searching for food in Orem are not looking for a ranked list — they are looking for one restaurant that fits one evening. Here is the shorter answer.
You want the single best meal in the city. Pizzeria 712, on State Street. Nothing else in Orem is operating at that level, and the gap is wide enough that it is worth planning around rather than treating as a fallback.
You are feeding a group of eight or more. Rodizio Grill at Riverwoods, which handles large parties as a matter of format rather than as an accommodation. Slackwater a few doors down is the second call. Both are technically over the Provo line, which matters for your GPS and for nothing else.
You want the best value. Lunch, almost anywhere. The pattern in Orem is unusually consistent: the same kitchens that price dinner conventionally run buffets and lunch specials that are substantially better deals. Haveli and Bangkok Wasabi are the clearest examples, and it is worth restructuring a visit around midday if the budget matters.
You are eating with someone who does not eat meat. Haveli's menu carries the deepest vegetarian selection in the city by a distance, which is typical of Northern Indian kitchens and not typical of Orem generally. Our vegetarian and vegan guide covers the wider valley.
You want something you cannot get in Provo. Tai Lai Shun for Taiwanese, Guroott for Korean, Pitada for everyday Brazilian. Orem's international depth is the real argument for driving north, and it is the thing Provo's Center Street cannot match.
The Three Corridors
Orem's dining is not scattered at random. It sits on three lines, and knowing which one you are on saves more time than any individual recommendation.
State Street is the historic commercial spine and runs the length of the city north to south. This is where the independents cluster — Pizzeria 712, TRUreligion, and a long tail of family-run places between them. It is also the corridor that continues north into Lindon and Pleasant Grove, which is why our Lindon and Pleasant Grove guide reads as a continuation of this one rather than a separate scene.
University Parkway runs east to west and is the retail corridor — bigger buildings, bigger parking lots, more chains, and University Place sitting in the middle of it. If you are coming from UVU or I-15, this is the road you are already on.
The north end, where University Avenue crosses out of Orem into Provo, is where Riverwoods sits. It functions as Orem's dining district despite not being in Orem, and both Vineyard and north Orem treat it that way.
Sundays and the Hours Problem
Utah Valley closes on Sunday more thoroughly than visitors expect, and Orem is no exception. A meaningful share of the independents on this list do not open at all, and several of those that do keep shortened hours that are not always reflected on aggregator listings.
We do not publish per-restaurant hours here, deliberately. Hours in this market change often enough that a printed table is wrong within months, and a confidently wrong opening time is worse than no time at all. Call ahead, or start with our restaurants open on Sunday guide, which is maintained against that specific question and hedges where the answer is genuinely uncertain.
The same caution applies around major local dates. General conference weekends, BYU and UVU graduation, and the Freedom Festival stretch in early July all move demand sharply, and the better independents fill early on those weekends.
Chains, and When They Are the Right Answer
Orem has more national and regional chains than Provo, concentrated along University Parkway and around University Place. Guides like this one tend to pretend they do not exist, which is not useful to anyone actually deciding where to eat on a Tuesday.
The honest position: the chains here are fine, they are reliable, and they are the correct choice when you are feeding children, when you are on a schedule, or when half your party cannot agree. What they are not is a reason to drive to Orem. Every restaurant listed above is something you cannot get from a chain, and that is the entire case for the list.
Which city you are standing in decides who inspects the kitchen
A dining guide that runs up and down State Street is quietly crossing more than one jurisdiction, and the seam matters more than it looks. Orem shares a border with Provo to the south, Lindon to the north and Vineyard to the west, and a restaurant a hundred yards either side of one of those lines is licensed by a different city, answers to a different code enforcement office, and appears on a different council's agenda when it wants a patio.
Orem's size puts it in a specific statutory band
Utah sorts municipalities by population into six classes under Utah Code Section 10-2-301: first class at 100,000 or more, second class from 65,000 to 99,999, third class from 30,000 to 64,999, fourth class from 10,000 to 29,999, fifth class from 1,000 to 9,999, and town below 1,000.
Orem sits in the upper bands and, on recent population figures, close enough to the 100,000 line that the band it occupies is a live question rather than a settled one. Which is a good moment to explain why nobody can answer that question from a population table alone.
Section 10-2-302(1) provides that a municipality retains its classification until changed under that section or under Subsection 67-1a-2(3), and Section 10-2-302(3) makes the change effective on the date of the lieutenant governor's certificate. On the way up, the lieutenant governor monitors populations and shall issue the certificate within 10 days of determining a city has crossed a threshold (Section 67-1a-2(3)(c)–(d)). On the way down, the city may petition her (Section 10-2-302(2)) — nothing happens automatically.
The population figure used is the Utah Population Committee estimate under Section 63C-20-103, with the census as a fallback only where that estimate is unavailable. So the authoritative answer about a Utah city's class lives on a certificate, not in a census release.
Section 10-2-303 keeps a reclassification from disturbing anything a business would care about: ordinances stay in force, contracts and liabilities are unaltered, officers remain in office, and the city keeps its existing form of government.
What actually differs across the line, for a restaurant
Regardless of class, the practical differences between adjacent cities are the ones a diner never sees and an owner never stops thinking about:
- Business licensing. Each municipality licenses the businesses inside its own boundary and sets its own fee schedule and renewal calendar.
- Land use and parking. Zoning, patio and signage rules, drive-through approvals and parking minimums are municipal, and neighboring cities on the same street routinely differ.
- Code enforcement and noise. Complaint handling and hours restrictions are set locally.
- Which council decides. A conditional use or a rezone goes to the council of the city the parcel is in, and only residents of that city vote for it.
Food safety is the exception, and it is a big one. Restaurant inspection in this valley is a county health department function operating under state rule, not a city function — which is why inspection standards do not change when you cross State Street even though almost everything else does. Our food permits and inspections guide covers that layer.
Why the boundary is where it is
Orem is effectively landlocked, and that is a legal fact as much as a geographic one. Utah Code Title 10 Chapter 2 Part 8 lets a city annex only unincorporated land that is contiguous to it (Section 10-2-804), so a city surrounded by other cities has nothing to annex. Movement between two existing cities runs instead through Part 9, Municipal Boundary Adjustments, on notice, hearing and protest (Section 10-2-903), with express treatment of bonds and property taxes (Section 10-2-904) and of the effect on local and special service districts (Section 10-2-905).
That is why the commercial spine here has stayed put while newer cities on the west side of the valley have redrawn themselves repeatedly. There is no room left to move.
The practical version
If you are trying to figure out who to call about a restaurant — a license question, a noise complaint, a patio that appeared overnight — start by checking which city the address is actually in on the Utah County Recorder's parcel record rather than trusting the mailing address. ZIP codes here cross city lines freely; the reasons are in our Provo ZIP code guide, and the same trap applies on this side of the boundary.
Licensing rules, fee schedules and city boundaries change. Confirm current requirements with the relevant city and with the county health department before relying on them.
Related Guides
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- The Best Restaurants in Payson, Salem & Santaquin (2026)
- 16 Best Restaurants in American Fork, Utah (2026)
- The Provo & Orem restaurant directory — every place we cover, with its address, filterable by cuisine and city
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- South American Food in Utah Valley: Peruvian, Brazilian, Venezuelan and Argentine
Last updated: April 2026. Restaurant hours, menus, and prices change frequently — always verify directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
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