Blue Iguana Restaurant
Clark Learning Office Center, Salt Lake City
Restaurant in Salt Lake City, United States
Book with PearlThe Read
Dress
Casual
Why go
Blue Iguana Restaurant offers walk-in convenience and low-commitment dining at 165 S W Temple St, filling the gap between Salt Lake City's reservation-heavy restaurants and counter-service taco spots. Open seven days a week with no booking required, it's a practical fallback when higher-tier venues are fully committed; but not the choice for special occasions or wine-focused meals.
About Blue Iguana Restaurant
Blue Iguana Restaurant is a casual dining option in Salt Lake City with hours seven days a week: 11 AM to 9 PM Monday through Thursday, 11 AM to 10 PM Friday and Saturday, 4 to 9 PM Sunday. The casual dress code makes it a straightforward choice when you want a low-formality meal in the city. For diners comparing options, it sits in the same broader Salt Lake City dining landscape as Bambara Salt Lake City, Matteo Ristorante Italiano, HandoSake Sushi, Repeal, Spencer's for Steaks and Chops.
What You're Walking Into
Blue Iguana Restaurant is in Salt Lake City, it has a casual dress code, it keeps regular weekly hours that include daytime service most days and evening service daily. For details such as seating layout, ordering format, beverage program, menu structure, wait times, check directly with the restaurant before you go.
How It Stacks Up Locally
For a casual Salt Lake City outing, Blue Iguana Restaurant may be worth considering alongside other named dining options in the city. Bambara Salt Lake City, Matteo Ristorante Italiano, HandoSake Sushi, Repeal, Spencer's for Steaks and Chops are useful reference points for comparing different kinds of local meals, but the best fit depends on what you need that night: timing, formality, menu preferences, availability.
Reservations: Check directly with the restaurant. Dress: Casual. Budget: Check directly with the restaurant. Groups: Check directly with the restaurant. Solo diners: The casual dress code and posted hours make the basic planning details easy to understand. For more dining options across the city, browse our full Salt Lake City restaurants guide, or explore Salt Lake City hotels, wineries, experiences for a complete trip plan.
Planning details
- Location
- 165 S W Temple St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
- Reservations
- Book on OpenTable
- Website
- blueiguanarestaurant.net
- Phone
- +18015338900
The take
The Take
The Vibe
Blue Iguana presents as a longtime downtown Mexican kitchen that leans into familiarity and comfort rather than culinary theater. The room reads as an established, approachable neighborhood anchor—casual-to-mid-tier in register—where regulars and visitors mingle. It favors the reassuring conventions of regional Mexican dining over experimental techniques, which makes the atmosphere feel warm, lived-in and convivial. The dining room is a fixture in the Temple Square corridor: not a destination designed to impress critics, but a dependable place that sustains a city’s everyday appetite for straightforward, satisfying food.
Best For
This is the kind of place people visit when they want a grounded, reliable meal before a show or as part of an evening downtown. It caters to regulars, pre-theatre diners and visitors who prefer familiar Mexican cooking to contemporary tasting menus. The restaurant’s positioning as a neighbourhood anchor makes it well suited to casual date nights, dinners with friends, and late-evening meals for those exploring downtown Salt Lake City. Diners who prize steady execution and recognizable flavors over culinary novelty will find it particularly fitting.
Ordering Tips
Stick to the signatures the restaurant highlights: the Holy Moles, Chile Verde, Seafood Enchilada Suizas and the Stuffed Avocado are called out as standout plates. Given the restaurant’s identity as a dependable, cuisine-focused spot, ordering from the named specialties is a reliable strategy for sampling what the kitchen does consistently well. For pre-theatre parties or returning regulars, choose one or two of the listed mains to get a clear sense of the menu’s flavor profile and strengths.
Venue details
Ambiance
Warm, colorful, and inviting like Abuela's kitchen with a lively atmosphere, mariachi rhythms, and vibrant pastel colors reminiscent of old-world Mexico.
Tags
Vibe
Best For
Experience
Accessibility
At the Table
- Dress Code
- Casual
- Noise Level
- Lively
- Service Style
- Casual
- Meal Pacing
- Standard
- Capacity
- Large
Signature Dishes
- Holy Moles
- Chile Verde
- Seafood Enchilada Suizas
- Stuffed Avocado
Planning details
Location
165 S W Temple St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 · Directions
Also consider
Also Consider
- Matteo Ristorante Italiano, Notable alternative
- HandoSake Sushi, Notable alternative
- Spencer's for Steaks and Chops, Notable alternative
- Repeal, Notable alternative
- Bambara Salt Lake City, Notable alternative
Restaurant context
Blue Iguana Restaurant slots into Salt Lake City's casual-dining tier, trading the chef-driven precision of Matteo Ristorante Italiano and the sushi craftsmanship at HandoSake Sushi for walk-in availability and minimal wait times. If you're weighing value against ambiance, Bambara Salt Lake City delivers a more polished dining room and wine program at a higher price point, while Repeal offers craft cocktails and bar-food execution in a livelier setting. For steak-focused occasions, Spencer's for Steaks and Chops justifies its premium check with tableside service and dry-aged cuts, none of which Blue Iguana attempts to match.
The booking-difficulty contrast is stark: Matteo, HandoSake, Bambara require advance reservations during peak dining windows, while Blue Iguana accepts walk-ins throughout the week. That accessibility comes at the expense of culinary ambition, there's no tasting menu, no wine director curating pairings, no chef's counter offering omakase-style interaction. If your priority is getting fed efficiently between downtown meetings or museum visits, Blue Iguana clears that bar. If you're planning a celebration dinner or want a sommelier to guide your selections, redirect to Bambara or Matteo and book two weeks out.
For diners seeking the easiest path to a table, Blue Iguana wins on convenience. For those chasing quality of experience, Bambara and HandoSake justify the extra effort and cost. The value proposition here is speed and simplicity, not depth or distinction.
Explore Salt Lake City
Around this place
Discover more on Pearl
Unlock the full Blue Iguana Restaurant guide in Pearl, including awards, comparisons, FAQs, planning details, and nearby places.
Compare Blue Iguana Restaurant
| Venue | Location | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Iguana Restaurant | Salt Lake City | No published awards |
| Matteo Ristorante Italiano | Salt Lake City | No published awards |
| HandoSake Sushi | Salt Lake City | No published awards |
| Spencer's for Steaks and Chops | Salt Lake City | No published awards |
| Repeal | Salt Lake City | No published awards |
| Bambara Salt Lake City | Salt Lake City | No published awards |
How Blue Iguana Restaurant Salt Lake City compares with similar nearby venues.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Blue Iguana Restaurant handle dietary restrictions?
If you have specific allergy or dietary needs, contact Blue Iguana Restaurant directly before visiting.
Can Blue Iguana Restaurant accommodate groups?
If you are planning for a larger party, confirm directly with the restaurant. For comparison, you may also consider Spencer's for Steaks and Chops or Bambara Salt Lake City when planning a Salt Lake City group meal.
What should a first-timer know about Blue Iguana Restaurant?
First-timers should know the basics: Blue Iguana Restaurant is in Salt Lake City, the dress code is casual, the hours are 11 AM to 9 PM Monday through Thursday, 11 AM to 10 PM Friday and Saturday, 4 to 9 PM Sunday.
Is Blue Iguana Restaurant good for solo dining?
The casual dress code and posted hours may make planning simple.
