The Best Mexican Restaurants and Taquerias in Salt Lake City

The first real fork in the road is the two Iguanas. Red Iguana 2 is the default answer for Mexican food in Salt Lake City, and it earns that reputation almost entirely through mole — the menu carries several versions, which is unusual for any one restaurant to pull off well. But that reputation is also the catch: the dining room runs loud and packed most nights, and the draw is specifically the mole. If mole isn’t what you’re after, the crowd and wait buy you less than they would somewhere calmer. Blue Iguana, tucked into a basement setting downtown, makes its own mole plates for less money in a quieter room — the choice if you want the same idea without the scene.

When the setting matters as much as the food

For out-of-town guests, or any meal where atmosphere is part of the point, Rio Grande Cafe has an edge neither Iguana location can match — it operates out of a converted train depot downtown, which gives the meal a sense of occasion on its own.

For a smaller, lower-key meal

Near 9th and 9th, Mi Buena Vida and LOLA are the options worth knowing if you’d rather skip a crowded room altogether — good picks for a dinner that doesn’t need to be a destination.

Related reading: Best Mexican Restaurants in Sandy.

None of these require a reservation strategy or a special occasion to justify going. The real decision is what kind of night you want — mole and a scene, a setting worth the trip, or something smaller and closer to the neighborhood — not which one ranks highest.