What’s the line about on a Saturday afternoon at 600 West and North Temple? That’s the first thing newcomers want to know when they see twenty people standing outside a squat brick building in a neighborhood that doesn’t otherwise scream destination dining. The short answer: it’s for mole. The longer answer involves four decades of the Cardenas family quietly running one of the most serious Mexican kitchens in the Intermountain West.
Red Iguana has been on this corner since 1985, back when the blocks around it were mostly light industrial and nobody was calling the area anything romantic. The building still looks like it might have been a tire shop in a previous life. Inside, it’s loud, colorful, and packed in a way that makes you feel like you made a good decision just by showing up — if you can get a table.
The wait is real. Weekend lunch can push ninety minutes. Go on a Tuesday at 11:30 and you’ll walk right in. If you’re flexible on timing, that’s the move. They don’t take reservations for parties under six, so plan accordingly or embrace the line as part of the ritual. They’ll hand you a menu while you wait outside, which is actually useful — the mole options alone require some study time.
Seven moles are on the menu, and the staff will not judge you for asking about all of them. The Mole Negro is where most regulars land: deep, complex, slightly bitter from charred chiles, with chocolate present but not sweet. It comes over chicken, enchiladas, or a plate of just that mole with rice and beans. The Mole Amarillo is brighter and more citrusy, good if the Negro sounds heavy. First-timers who can’t decide are often steered toward the Mole Sampler plate, which exists precisely for this situation and costs around $20 depending on configuration — reasonable given how much food arrives.
Beyond mole, the cochinita pibil is pulled pork done in the slow-roasted Yucatan style, tart with achiote and citrus. The chile verde is pork again, green chile, straightforward and deeply good. Don’t overlook the soups — the pozole is a bowl that earns its own visit.
Margaritas are serviceable and strong. The horchata is homemade and worth ordering instead of or alongside whatever you’re drinking. Budget roughly $15–$25 per person before drinks, which for this quality is not a complaint.
Parking is free in the lot on the side and on the street. The neighborhood has changed some in recent years — there’s more development creeping in from downtown — but Red Iguana doesn’t seem to notice or care. A second location opened on 400 South years back (Red Iguana 2, with the same menu), which absorbs some overflow if the original’s wait is brutal. But the original on North Temple is the one that feels like something.
Salt Lake has no shortage of Mexican food. It does have a shortage of kitchens this committed to a single culinary tradition done at this level. If you’re going to eat one meal in the city that you’ll actually remember six months later, this is a reasonable candidate.
