Restaurant

Red Iguana

Iconic Salt Lake City Mexican restaurant celebrated for mole and longtime City Weekly recognition.

City

Salt Lake City, Utah

Category

Restaurant

Website

rediguana.com

Ask Ave: Tell me about Red IguanaAll places

City Weekly Best of Utah

• Runner-up · 2022Best Chilaquiles

  This restaurant is the best-kept secret on the southwest side of the valley (well, no longer—because we are shouting it from the roof top). As the all-ages…

• Runner-up · 2022Best Tamales

  Comfort food at its finest, with four savory and two dessert fillings to choose from. LCDT's tamales are made from scratch daily, which is evident with the…

• Runner-up · 2022Best Burrito

  The winner of multiple food awards and chalking up a visit from Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Lone Star remains a stopping point for smart taste…

• Winner · 2022Best Enchilada

  The most famous restaurant in Utah, the Red Iguana is owned by Lucy Cardenas and her husband, Bill Coker. Lucy's mom and dad, Maria and Ramon Cardenas, opened…

• Runner-up · 2022Best Pozole

  This flavorful pozole hits your soul. For the uninitiated, pozole (or posole) is a traditional Mexican stew or soup that's made with hominy, pork and chiles…

• Winner · 2022Best Mexican Restaurant

  The perennial Best of Utah winner in this category, Red Iguana's reputation as the premiere Mexican restaurant in the state holds true again in 2022. The many…

• Runner-up · 2022Best Michelada

  For fans of a bloody without the vodka spike, the michelada hits the spot. At Purgatory, you can expect the same kind of flavor kick from a michelada as you…

• Runner-up · 2022Best Horchata

  Nothing cuts the heat of a spicy Mexican dish like horchata, a rice beverage with its splash of milky cinnamon that cools the tongue and tickles the taste…

• Winner · 2021Best Mexican Restaurant

  The North Temple location of Red Iguana (there are now three to choose from) has long been a Salt Lake mainstay, through good times, bad times and worse times…

• Runner-up · 2021Best Burrito

  Whether it's a tried-and-true Texano (chicken, potatoes, sour cream and cheese) or a hulking ham, egg and cheese breakfast burrito, Beto's has provided burrito…

• Winner · 2019Best Mexican Restaurant

  Why would you locate a second restaurant a block away from the first? Lucy Cardenas and her husband, Bill Coker, took a gamble when they opened restaurant No…

• Winner · 2019Best Restaurant to Impress Newcomers

  Want your out-of-town friends or family to recognize the Utah dining scene for something other than Jell-o and funeral potatoes? The place to razzle and dazzle…

In City Weekly

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  Eat And Drink · June 24, 2026

• Backburner: New openings for Squatters, Wasatch Food Co-Op and Red Iguana

  Eat And Drink · May 20, 2026

• Utah’s new pro softball team and a second campus ballpark.

  A And E · February 4, 2026

• BEST of UTAH 2025 - Dishes

  Best And Of And Utah · November 25, 2025

• BEST of UTAH 2025 - Libations

  Best And Of And Utah · November 21, 2025

• BEST of UTAH 2025 - Restaurants & Nightlife

  Best And Of And Utah · November 20, 2025

• Feedback from November 6 and Beyond

  News · November 12, 2025

• City Guide 2025

  Guides · May 29, 2025