A hot chicken restaurant and a dessert studio are now open on Regent Street in Salt Lake City

Two more restaurants have opened on Salt Lake City’s Regent Street, the redeveloped block behind the new Eccles Theater.

Pretty Bird, a casual restaurant that specializes in Nashville-style hot chicken, opened Wednesday; Last Course, an ice cream and dessert studio, opened in January. They join Fireside on Regent, a wood-fired pizza and pasta restaurant that opened last March.

Regent Street, between Main and State streets and 100 and 200 South, was designed to be a pedestrian-friendly way to connect City Creek Center on the north and the Gallivan Center on the south.

The gritty street — once home to Utah’s daily newspapers and, before that, Salt Lake City’s red-light district — underwent a $12.8 million face-lift as part of the Eccles Theater construction.

Fireside and Pretty Bird are attached to the new downtown theater on the west side of Regent. Last Course is on the street level of the Regent Street Parking Plaza, to the east.

Pretty Bird

Spicy fried chicken, a low-brow specialty that originated in Nashville, Tenn., may be new to many Utahns. It’s breaded and fried chicken, with a hot, spicy twist.

“I tried it for the first time in 2012 and I’ve been working on this concept ever since,” said Pretty Bird owner Viet Pham, who coats the chicken with hot spices — think cayenne, habanero, bhut jolokia (ghost peppers) and mustard — before frying. It is brushed with a custom blend of chile oil before serving.

Pretty Bird has a small menu. Customers can choose either a quarter-bird ($9.50) or chicken sandwich ($10.50) in four heat levels — mild, medium, hot and “hot behind.”

Combination plates with a choice of side (fries, slaw or a seasonal side) and soda are $14-$15. Beer — including Pabst Blue Ribbon — and canned wine are available.

The restaurant has just 16 seats inside, but when the weather permits, a patio will seat an additional 25.

Pretty Bird is the second Utah restaurant for Pham. He previously was co-founder with Bowman Brown of the now-closed Forage restaurant.

“I know I come from fine dining,” he said, “but I want this project to be accessible to more people. I mean, who doesn’t want fried chicken, beer and wine?”

146 S. Regent St.; prettybirdchicken.com/. Open Monday -Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Last Course

This ice cream and dessert studio opened in January and is the second location for the Utah-based company. The first store opened in December in Draper.

The ice cream, made with Utah dairy products and ingredients, comes in traditional flavors such as vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, as well as unexpected combinations — think cheddar apple, smoked maple bacon and jalapeño berry. Ice cream is available in scoops and pints to take home for $12.

Desserts include strawberry nachos, bananas Foster tacos and s’mores. Those who abstain from dairy can get vegan panna cotta, sweet waffles and Black Forest cake. Prices range from $7 to $12.

115 S. Regent St.; 801- 410-4708 or lastcourse.com. Open Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

What’s next?

Two additional restaurants are expected to open later this year on the street level of Regent Street Parking Plaza, said Dale K. Bills, director of communications for City Creek Reserve Inc., which owns the property and is a real-estate affiliate of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“We have recently signed a couple of leases,” he told The Tribune in an email. While not ready to give names, “I can say that one is a Mexican-themed concept, and the other will feature foods from India.”

Another Regent Street property, the former Utah Power & Light building on the corner of 100 South and Regent, is owned by Taubman Properties, which operates City Creek Center, including the mall’s two national chain restaurants — The Cheesecake Factory and Brio Tuscan Grille.

While the UP&L building has been remodeled, there is no official word on a tenant, said Maria Mainville, Taubman’s director of strategic communications. “We will share news about future tenants with the community when the timing is right.”