Costa Vida

The restaurant was clean, and, though the line was long for food, it moved quickly and the staff were friendly and helpful. I appreciated how when I told the employee I needed a gluten free meal, he changed his gloves and washed his hands immediately and without me needing to a say anything more. He was so deliberate and easy-going about it. This consideration and service is so appreciated! Every time I come here (and I've been here several times) they respond this way and that is why I keep going back (plus the food is always delicious!). I have never gotten sick from gluten contamination after eating at Costa Vida! I enjoy the salads with sweet pork best. I've also enjoyed the nachos and enchiladas (with corn tortillas). The queso is good, too. I usually go with someone who is not eating gluten free and they get the flour tortillas and always have enjoyed their meals.

Good food. Reasonable prices. Staff is friendly & helpful. Love the drinks. The biggest challenge at Costa is consistency. You never know what you are actually going to get. Tonight, for example my wife & the guy behind us ordered exactly the same thing, small pork salad. The two were sitting side by side on the work space & one obviously had twice as much meat as the other. Similarly, I order the same thing every time, smothered grilled chicken burrito. Sometimes I get half a tray of lettuce with it. Other times I get a tiny pinch of lettuce. Sometimes lots of beans, sometimes very few. As I said, consistency isn't their strength.

I’ve been mixed about my review for this Costa Vida location. I’ve had some bad experiences and some good experiences here. Not sure what exactly is the right way to address this. The service was good, the food is usually good, the place was packed, the parking was actually ok (usually is difficult to find parking). There are something’s that just don’t taste like the other locations. The tomatillo ranch tasted watered down and bland. I thought it was actually watered down ranch and when asked if I could get some tomatillo ranch, the manager said, “I follow the recipe so not sure what other places do.” Ok, but it doesn’t taste like Costa Vida Tomatillo Ranch!

As a Utahn, I can say with confidence, and pride, that, at this point, I am more Costa Vida than I am man. If you've been to Cafe Rio, it's the same thing. I'm convinced that the two companies are the same, masquerading their differences to calm the masses and ensure that "competition" in the market exists. Wake up, sheeple! The bourgeoisie have you exactly where they want! Rise up and take back the night! Power to women! My body, my rules! Anyway, their food is good. If you've tried other locations, it's the same stuff. Their nachos are better than Cafe Rio. Boom, roasted.

I love their pure, natural lemonade -mango! Will definitely drive just to get it again. Enchiladas are good too just too much sauce poured all over it... better to do less instead of more because you cant remove the sauce but you can always add more at the request of customers. Parking is more than enough. Setting is great for families, a quick bite and/or dates. Can't say much on service because mine was a quick, no issue (handling issues/concerns is the best judge of service) sit and eat and go. For what it's worth, it's like Cafe Rio and I recommend it.