Despite having little to no interest in this Americanized (read bastardized) sort of Mexican food, I thought I would try as a basis for comparison to the loathsome Cafe Rio. I had to be told it was different because I literally could not tell the difference based on look alone and that's clearly what they're going for here. In fact, may as well just do a head to head. With this one, the ingredients are separated a lot better, which means no stray crap floating everywhere and they did manage to actually get the order correct, but there is precious little taste in this food, which is the epitome of bland, other than the creamy cilantro sauce, which I suspect stands out by comparison alone. If it was against something that actually had taste (good taste, that is), I doubt it would be even moderately interesting. I really find this baffling. So we have moderately softer and slightly better white flour tortillas and everything is about equal and this is the reason that this is at least double (or more) the cost of Del Taco or Taco Bell? To be clear, this is still gutter food, slightly better than Cafe Rio, but not by much and it is not only gutter food but expensive gutter food.
(2)
Alexis V.
Not impressed with the food. Decided to go here on a whim and wasn't happy. The people weren't to friendly and the chicken was gross...
(1)
Joshua S.
Enjoyed my sugary Barbacoa Pork 1/2 salad. What else can I say? It may not be as wonderful as Cafe Rio, but it does the job. Service was pretty dang good.
(4)
Kay S.
Food was hot, fresh, and it was pretty good. The gentleman that waited on us seemed annoyed by the questions we were asking but it was our first time. Overrall not a bad experience and definitely worth trying again.
(3)
Melissa H.
LOVED this restaurant. Location is perfect, right off I-215. Food is fresh, and the tortillas are so yummy! It doesn't get crowded as other places and the service is outstanding! I'm planning on becoming a regular this summer... nice deck outside!
(5)
RaShea D.
It pains me to give Costa Vida one star. I've been a fan of Costa Vida for ages, it was where me and my gal pals would go to have a pork burrito and talk. But I always went to the Sandy Costa Vida. This would be my first time at the West Valley Costa. Anywho, my husband and I had just finished a movie at the theater at Hollywood Connection, and were in the mood for some tasty Mexican food. Lo and Behold, Costa Vida is right across the street. Awesome, right? We walk inside and are deciding what we want. Hubby wants steak tacos, and I of course want that tasty pork burrito. They are out of both. Wait, they are out of everything but beef. Out of everything at 8:30 on a Friday night. I could understand if it was 10-15 minutes before closing time, but they were still open for an hour and a half. And there was no way I was paying full price to settle on a beef burrito that I didn't even want. So we walked out and went to Los Bertos instead.
(1)
Chris S.
I'm from Southern California and if this place was anywhere in that region it'd go out of business within a month. This place is below average, even for quick-style, Mexican, which is standard throughout the US now. This Qdoba, Rubios, and the list goes on and on, knock off, even falls short of meeting the expectations of the chains they tried to knockoff. There's some great marketing efforts going on here, because somehow they won awards for best Mexican. Meanwhile, there isn't a single thing here that's unique from competitors, except maybe the foil trays the food is served on, which is unattractive and tacky, and about as far from Mexican as it gets. Has anyone else tried the rice here? Tastes like something in trough at Golden Corral? How about the salty chips? Reminds me of the cheapest chip you'd get in mass quantities at Costco. How about the guacamole? Yep, like the stuff they squeeze out of the gun at Del Taco and paste onto your burrito. The black beans were hard. Brutal. There's simply nothing that made me ever want to return, except for the service. The folks here are very nice, but do I really need a guy come to my table three times in 10 minutes to make sure my fast food was ok? That's annoying, not helpful. And, $13 for two crappy tacos, rice and beans, a tiny side of guacamole and old chips, with a drink? Embarrassing.
(2)
TaLena P.
If I could give no stars I would! This is the worst Costa vida location I have ever been to! Every time we go to this location we have to fight to get any meat on our nachos and then they always charge us triple! I regret coming every time, I will just drive farther and go to any other location!!
(1)
Lane C.
I went one time with a co-worker and got the beef burrito. The beef was so grisly that I talked to the manager. He gave me two free meals. I went back with my family and the food was OK but they are so SLOW. I ordered a plain chicken burrito and they put it through the oven. It just dried out my burrito. I think they put everything through the oven to slow down service. Poorly run place.
(1)
Nick W.
The last time I ate here, the chicken was as hard as a rock and I got food poisoning.
(1)
Riana B.
HORRIBLE!!! Have a LITTLE fish with your tortilla. I ordered 2 fish tacos....both had rediculously small slivers of fish, one taco literally had a 1 inch piece of fish. Total joke + rip off = I will not be back....ever! Plus, the salads are overrated.
(1)
Stephanie J.
Dear Costa Vida - I recently visited your establishment because of the close proximity to the Hale Centre Theatre. You see, I had me some tickets to their fine show recently, and you have usually been alright in the past. But this visit, nothing could have gone more wrong and sadly, you have lost a customer. What could have gone so wrong as to have me write such a bad review and never return? Well I ordered the beef taco with rice and beans. It was so yummy. Two bites in I said to my dinner companion that you had changed your recipe for the beef because it was so much better than it used to be! She tasted my taco and said "Oh dear, that is not the beef, that is the pork." I am allergic to pork. I went up to the counter and explained what had happened. No one apologized for serving me something I am allergic to. No one offered to return my money. No one offered me so much as a free drink for my troubles. Nothing. I get that mistakes happen. I do, I get that. But you served me something I did not order, that I am allergic to, and did nothing to rectify the gross oversight. That is not ok. What followed was an incredibly uncomfortable night at the theater followed by 2 days of illness. I certainly would have been worse had I have finished the pork. So I am sad about a few things in this scenario. 1) I am sad that no one would apologize for what happened. I was genuinely sick because of what I was served. Your employees just did not care. 2) I am sad that the employees did not know how to handle the situation and get a manager involved. An employee did not summon the manager to take care of the situation. Just bad customer service. 3) I am sad that your other meat does not taste better. If the pork tastes that good, why oh why, is the rest of your meat lackluster and tasteless? That is just a shame. It really is a shame. I was a fan. But I will drive the extra miles to go to Cafe Rio, stand in the ridiculous lines, and get the real deal. Sincerely Me
(2)
Felipe Z.
It's a hit or miss here. You could either have really great food products + great service, or really bad lettuce and crappy guac, with good service, or just plain bad overall. I've had all three scenarios happen to me, but it's hard not to come back since they are so close to work and a bunch of offices in the area. So distance wise for those that work around the area, it's a quick option to get foodies at. I wish they could have more consistency as I'm always nervous as to what am I gonna find the next time I go.
(3)
Samantha E.
This establishment is terrible. For a 4 meal order, 3/4 were wrong. They charged us for smothered burritos and not one of them was smothered with deliciousness. The shrimp are tiny and employees are rude. Will not be returning, more than disappointed.
(1)
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Address :3312 Decker Lake Dr
Salt Lake City, UT, 84119
Sorry, Store hours have not been updated. If you are the owner of this restaurants. Please update the store hours.
Specialities
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : No Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : No Caters : Yes
If you enjoy Taco Tuesday, then you have officially fallen in love with the Mexican Food. The main grain of Mexican cuisine is maize. Also known as corn, maize is grown for the past 9000 years after the crop was discovered by the people in Mayan civilization. Mexican empire flourished when they started growing beans, tomatoes, chili pepper, sweet potato and cactus. Till this date these ingredients are used in cooking authentic Mexican dishes and drinks.
Great use of spices, fresh chili pepper dishes like fajitas, tortilla chips, corn chips, salsa, chimichangas, burritos, nachos and quesadillas are invented in America. But when you are looking for authentic Mexican food then you must find a restaurant in the city that serves Rajas con Queso, Garbanzo in a Guajillo Chile Sauce, Pork Filled Chiles Rellenos, Chiles en Nogada, Molcajete Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Frijoles de la Olla. An eye-opening fact – Mexican don't like their food hot. They use fresh chili and other spices to create a flavor that lingers in your mouth.
Mexican food is great for those who are Gluten Intolerant as they use Corn instead of wheat in most of their dishes. Also, you can easily find many beans based Mexican dishes. Another dish which didn't get similar glory as tacos or nachos is the Mexican hot chocolate. If you love something hot on a chilly day, then go for Mexican Hot Chocolate. On merry days, you can enjoy the authentic Mexican Drinks like Tequila, Mezcal, Tecuí, Sotol, Bacanora, Charanda, Posh O Pox, Puebla and Pulque. Mexican Cuisine is for people who enjoy strong drinks and hearty meals.
D. W.
Despite having little to no interest in this Americanized (read bastardized) sort of Mexican food, I thought I would try as a basis for comparison to the loathsome Cafe Rio. I had to be told it was different because I literally could not tell the difference based on look alone and that's clearly what they're going for here. In fact, may as well just do a head to head. With this one, the ingredients are separated a lot better, which means no stray crap floating everywhere and they did manage to actually get the order correct, but there is precious little taste in this food, which is the epitome of bland, other than the creamy cilantro sauce, which I suspect stands out by comparison alone. If it was against something that actually had taste (good taste, that is), I doubt it would be even moderately interesting. I really find this baffling. So we have moderately softer and slightly better white flour tortillas and everything is about equal and this is the reason that this is at least double (or more) the cost of Del Taco or Taco Bell? To be clear, this is still gutter food, slightly better than Cafe Rio, but not by much and it is not only gutter food but expensive gutter food.
(2)Alexis V.
Not impressed with the food. Decided to go here on a whim and wasn't happy. The people weren't to friendly and the chicken was gross...
(1)Joshua S.
Enjoyed my sugary Barbacoa Pork 1/2 salad. What else can I say? It may not be as wonderful as Cafe Rio, but it does the job. Service was pretty dang good.
(4)Kay S.
Food was hot, fresh, and it was pretty good. The gentleman that waited on us seemed annoyed by the questions we were asking but it was our first time. Overrall not a bad experience and definitely worth trying again.
(3)Melissa H.
LOVED this restaurant. Location is perfect, right off I-215. Food is fresh, and the tortillas are so yummy! It doesn't get crowded as other places and the service is outstanding! I'm planning on becoming a regular this summer... nice deck outside!
(5)RaShea D.
It pains me to give Costa Vida one star. I've been a fan of Costa Vida for ages, it was where me and my gal pals would go to have a pork burrito and talk. But I always went to the Sandy Costa Vida. This would be my first time at the West Valley Costa. Anywho, my husband and I had just finished a movie at the theater at Hollywood Connection, and were in the mood for some tasty Mexican food. Lo and Behold, Costa Vida is right across the street. Awesome, right? We walk inside and are deciding what we want. Hubby wants steak tacos, and I of course want that tasty pork burrito. They are out of both. Wait, they are out of everything but beef. Out of everything at 8:30 on a Friday night. I could understand if it was 10-15 minutes before closing time, but they were still open for an hour and a half. And there was no way I was paying full price to settle on a beef burrito that I didn't even want. So we walked out and went to Los Bertos instead.
(1)Chris S.
I'm from Southern California and if this place was anywhere in that region it'd go out of business within a month. This place is below average, even for quick-style, Mexican, which is standard throughout the US now. This Qdoba, Rubios, and the list goes on and on, knock off, even falls short of meeting the expectations of the chains they tried to knockoff. There's some great marketing efforts going on here, because somehow they won awards for best Mexican. Meanwhile, there isn't a single thing here that's unique from competitors, except maybe the foil trays the food is served on, which is unattractive and tacky, and about as far from Mexican as it gets. Has anyone else tried the rice here? Tastes like something in trough at Golden Corral? How about the salty chips? Reminds me of the cheapest chip you'd get in mass quantities at Costco. How about the guacamole? Yep, like the stuff they squeeze out of the gun at Del Taco and paste onto your burrito. The black beans were hard. Brutal. There's simply nothing that made me ever want to return, except for the service. The folks here are very nice, but do I really need a guy come to my table three times in 10 minutes to make sure my fast food was ok? That's annoying, not helpful. And, $13 for two crappy tacos, rice and beans, a tiny side of guacamole and old chips, with a drink? Embarrassing.
(2)TaLena P.
If I could give no stars I would! This is the worst Costa vida location I have ever been to! Every time we go to this location we have to fight to get any meat on our nachos and then they always charge us triple! I regret coming every time, I will just drive farther and go to any other location!!
(1)Lane C.
I went one time with a co-worker and got the beef burrito. The beef was so grisly that I talked to the manager. He gave me two free meals. I went back with my family and the food was OK but they are so SLOW. I ordered a plain chicken burrito and they put it through the oven. It just dried out my burrito. I think they put everything through the oven to slow down service. Poorly run place.
(1)Nick W.
The last time I ate here, the chicken was as hard as a rock and I got food poisoning.
(1)Riana B.
HORRIBLE!!! Have a LITTLE fish with your tortilla. I ordered 2 fish tacos....both had rediculously small slivers of fish, one taco literally had a 1 inch piece of fish. Total joke + rip off = I will not be back....ever! Plus, the salads are overrated.
(1)Stephanie J.
Dear Costa Vida - I recently visited your establishment because of the close proximity to the Hale Centre Theatre. You see, I had me some tickets to their fine show recently, and you have usually been alright in the past. But this visit, nothing could have gone more wrong and sadly, you have lost a customer. What could have gone so wrong as to have me write such a bad review and never return? Well I ordered the beef taco with rice and beans. It was so yummy. Two bites in I said to my dinner companion that you had changed your recipe for the beef because it was so much better than it used to be! She tasted my taco and said "Oh dear, that is not the beef, that is the pork." I am allergic to pork. I went up to the counter and explained what had happened. No one apologized for serving me something I am allergic to. No one offered to return my money. No one offered me so much as a free drink for my troubles. Nothing. I get that mistakes happen. I do, I get that. But you served me something I did not order, that I am allergic to, and did nothing to rectify the gross oversight. That is not ok. What followed was an incredibly uncomfortable night at the theater followed by 2 days of illness. I certainly would have been worse had I have finished the pork. So I am sad about a few things in this scenario. 1) I am sad that no one would apologize for what happened. I was genuinely sick because of what I was served. Your employees just did not care. 2) I am sad that the employees did not know how to handle the situation and get a manager involved. An employee did not summon the manager to take care of the situation. Just bad customer service. 3) I am sad that your other meat does not taste better. If the pork tastes that good, why oh why, is the rest of your meat lackluster and tasteless? That is just a shame. It really is a shame. I was a fan. But I will drive the extra miles to go to Cafe Rio, stand in the ridiculous lines, and get the real deal. Sincerely Me
(2)Felipe Z.
It's a hit or miss here. You could either have really great food products + great service, or really bad lettuce and crappy guac, with good service, or just plain bad overall. I've had all three scenarios happen to me, but it's hard not to come back since they are so close to work and a bunch of offices in the area. So distance wise for those that work around the area, it's a quick option to get foodies at. I wish they could have more consistency as I'm always nervous as to what am I gonna find the next time I go.
(3)Samantha E.
This establishment is terrible. For a 4 meal order, 3/4 were wrong. They charged us for smothered burritos and not one of them was smothered with deliciousness. The shrimp are tiny and employees are rude. Will not be returning, more than disappointed.
(1)