Costa Vida
1324 S Rural Rd, Tempe, AZ, 85281
Costa Vida Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Tempe for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Tempe for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Tempe for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
1324 S Rural Rd
Tempe, AZ, 85281 - Phone (480) 268-2111
- Website https://www.costavida.net
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
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Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Brunch
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : No
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : No
Caters : Yes
Categories
Mexican Cuisine
If you enjoy Taco Tuesday, then you have officially fallen in love with the Mexican Food. The main grain of Mexican cuisine is maize. Also known as corn, maize is grown for the past 9000 years after the crop was discovered by the people in Mayan civilization. Mexican empire flourished when they started growing beans, tomatoes, chili pepper, sweet potato and cactus. Till this date these ingredients are used in cooking authentic Mexican dishes and drinks.
Great use of spices, fresh chili pepper dishes like fajitas, tortilla chips, corn chips, salsa, chimichangas, burritos, nachos and quesadillas are invented in America. But when you are looking for authentic Mexican food then you must find a restaurant in the city that serves Rajas con Queso, Garbanzo in a Guajillo Chile Sauce, Pork Filled Chiles Rellenos, Chiles en Nogada, Molcajete Salsa, Pico de Gallo and Frijoles de la Olla. An eye-opening fact – Mexican don't like their food hot. They use fresh chili and other spices to create a flavor that lingers in your mouth.
Mexican food is great for those who are Gluten Intolerant as they use Corn instead of wheat in most of their dishes. Also, you can easily find many beans based Mexican dishes. Another dish which didn't get similar glory as tacos or nachos is the Mexican hot chocolate. If you love something hot on a chilly day, then go for Mexican Hot Chocolate. On merry days, you can enjoy the authentic Mexican Drinks like Tequila, Mezcal, Tecuí, Sotol, Bacanora, Charanda, Posh O Pox, Puebla and Pulque. Mexican Cuisine is for people who enjoy strong drinks and hearty meals.
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June W.
I used to be a regular at the Costa Vida on Val Vista when I worked in that area, and I looked forward to having one close by in Tempe. On our visit there with friends tonight, the staff was friendly, but the food at this new location was a huge disappointment. The house-made tortillas looked soft and wonderful when we were ordering at the counter, but the enchilada fillings and sauces for those tortillas all turned out to be overly sugared. When I ordered the green chili sauce for my enchiladas, I was expecting something that would be mostly green. Instead, the sauce was brown and thick, and any chilis in it were hard to spot. Then when the entree was heated after it was assembled, the bottom part of the enchiladas was practically fused to the bottom of the aluminum tray, and it was hard to cut with the plastic cutlery. I won't be going back, but if circumstances put me there again I'd start with one of those beautiful tortillas and be very careful about what I ordered to put inside or on top of it.
(1)Nichole H.
It's been a few hours since lunch time and my overall impression is underwhelmed. The food wasn't bad, but it wasn't that impressive either. Nothing really stood out about service either.
(3)Ashley V.
The Sweet pulled pork is so good. My favorite hangover food. It's good when I'm sober too tho!
(5)Curtis C.
I think this place is great. I love any place that can give me a fast meal lunch or dinner that tastes awesome and gives me an option over typical fast food. Love the sweet pork salad. Always consistent. Service is typically good. Great for the family dinner or a quick lunch. Also allows me to eat here when I can't have bread.
(5)Addison G.
I LOVE Costa Vida. We came here last night for dinner for the first time. We moved here from another college town, and Costa Vida was there and we loved that one too. This one is a bit smaller. But still just as good. The sweet pork is the only thing I ever want. So anything with the sweet pork in it, get it. As for this location. It was good. I'd say a satisfactory substitute for chipotle or Qdoba. We went right at prime dinner time hours,and there were only 2 other groups of people there. So that made me happy, because I hate crowds. So we were fast! The girls who worked there weren't that happy...but I was super appreciative of the one who was really nice and promptly removed her gloves without me even needing to ask when I told her I had Celiacs. She was the nicest looking person in the whole place!
(4)Art B.
I was skeptical. Do we really need another Mexican grill? But Costa Vida is a solid Chipotle alternative. Touting their fresh ingredients, Costa Vida is at its core just another variation of the Chipotle/Qdoba concept. Rice, beans, chicken... But the décor is stylish. The staff is friendly. The prices are reasonable. The soda machine is state of the art. All, at least in my still limited experience at this location, with shorter lines than Chipotle. Conveniently located near the ASU Tempe campus.
(4)Brittany F.
Not super impressed this time around. I've filled my soda cup up 3 times with a different and each time it's gross. Also super watery salad. Not the same as Costa Vida in Utah unfortunately.
(2)Lauren B.
Let me preface this by saying that I've loved Costa Vida for years. I crave it constantly and my favorite item to order is the steak salad. I've been to a few different locations and the food has always been consistent. Last night I stopped in at this location and was incredibly disappointed. The steak in the salad was so overcooked, dry, and over salted that it tasted almost like an awful jerky...or maybe petrified wood. The lettuce was also limp and didn't taste fresh. I took a few bites and deemed it inedible. What a shame!
(1)Heidi s.
This was my first time at Costa Vida and it was pretty good. The have daily specials and the line was very efficient - set up like Chipotle. The queso was good - tacos and salads were good as well. Not fantastic but a great place close to ASU to grab a bite.
(3)Amy G.
Came because someone said it was better than Chipotle....and Chipotle is bomb! Buuuut they lied. It was ok, I got the steak tacos and they were pretty skimpy, 2 small pieces in each. The rice and black beans were bland. The salsa was pretty flavorful so of course I drenched my food in it. I wouldn't recommend this place but I wouldn't tell anyone not to come if they wanted. I think I would give them another try and get something different. But better than Chipotle...I think not!
(2)Gabrielle P.
I've been a loyal Costa Vida customer for a long time but that just changed. The Tempe location started out pretty good but I just had the worst sweet pork salad I've ever eaten. Everything about it tasted horrible and I'm pretty sure some of the contents were spoiled. I was only able to eat a quarter of it before deciding it was time to throw it away so I wouldn't get sick. I won't be coming back to this location anytime soon.
(1)Elizabeth B.
If I could give their sweet pork more than 5 stars I would. I'd give 100 - seriously the best meat on the planet. My staple order is the sweet pork salad - a perfect and heavenly blend of sweet pork, rice, beans (I usually skip 'em), and delicious salad fixings like cotija cheese, pico, guac, cilantro and little chip things. Top it off with the tomatillo ranch and you're ready to experience amazingness. Seriously - hook me up to an IV of that stuff. I've ventured out to sweet pork burritos, tacos, and the quesadilla, but always come back to my old favorite. If you're looking for traditional Mexian food - this ain't it. But if you want a fresh delicious treat, give it a go.
(5)Son-e M.
Mmmm...That sweet pork doe! I really enjoyed this place. Come with a big appetite and wallet. Two burritos and one drink was 21$! Its a beautiful 79° and they didnt have their outside table set up for sitting. Smh overall the food speaks for itself. You need to try peeps but if you cant afford, Chipotle will do just fine.
(4)Alex V.
Food is good although they are always trying to rush me through and keep trying to wrap up my burrito before I'm done adding stuff. It's like they don't want me to see everything I can add to my burrito. Also last time I put lettuce in my burrito so they would not give me any on the side ... Wtf ? I would strongly advise them on getting a salsa bar, that would be a deal breaker for me. I will not be returning unless it's heavily discounted or they add a salsa bar. Over all food is decent although every time I go there somehow they piss me off which is rare for a restaurant to do.
(2)Preston C.
I knew of Costa Vida from back home so I was excited to hit this one up for a burrito, tacos, or an enchilada. On tonight's visit I went for the chicken burrito with rice, beans, hot sauce, cheese, lettuce, and the flour tortilla :) It was all very yummy but I forgot to get it smothered, perhaps because I was taking it to go and was in a hurry or I was just thinking it might get soggy but it was fine Next time it'll be smothered for sure This location is great and pretty much on ASU campus so I hope a ton of students go to Costa Vida for some yummy goodness Oh, the customer service was great tonight as well, the guy that helped me was very nice and friendly while making my burrito
(4)C H.
The place has real potential but just didn't really strike me like WOW. They are doing some things wrong-- mostly with the lack of flavor in the shredded beef, chicken, beans, and D- service. The price is probably 5-15% more than what seems standard or fair for this type of place. I wouldn't suggest coming here for a burrito/tacos. Go to chiptole, qdoba or baja fresh instead. Maybe even taco bell.. :( The builds are skimpy and the service was not great. It was our first time and we told the two staff members such when we approached the empty line and they asked what we wanted. We took a minute to look over the menu and were asked 2x more if we were ready, as if they were saying "hurry up". To be clear, it was 2:30pm and there wasn't anyone in line after us and 5-6 people total in the restaurant. We ordered a chicken mango salsa salad and a beef burrito. I hate using the word "bland" as it appears on Yelp that almost anyone who can't describe why they didn't like food use the word "bland" to summarize the taste and its by far overused. But in this instance its the most fitting word to accurately describe the taste of the burrito. SUPER BLAND. However, the salad was GREAT! It was actually really awesome and I would return for the salad again. I'll just have to hope that the service is a little friendlier and patient the next time : /
(2)Wes N.
I'll list this place in the very rare "one star" category. My reviews are usually about food; however, this one is about service and food. First off, the food is a B-. I was advised to order the sweet pork burrito, which was uhhh very sweet? plus, it was pricey. The pork was so sweet that I may have been diagnosed with Diabetes. Second, the service was poor. I am a huge fan of Chipotle and their setup of burrito construction - fast, polite workers, ability to see your options. This place is a little off because I couldn't see any of the extras you put in the burrito. Anyways, what did it for me was the man behind the counter. He was so rude when I asked to put lettuce in my burrito. His response was, "It wouldn't taste good that way." He then wrapped the burrito with only the pork and I moved on to a girl, who put my lettuce, pico on top. So weird.... I will never go back, because of the rudeness. The cliche: "the customer is always right" may apply in this case? Oh well... back to Chipotle
(1)Alison T.
Just like the Mesa location this place rocks! Delicious sweet pork tacos and some chips with honey habanero salsa, mmm-mmm-mmm what more can you ask for? I can't get enough of this place. :)
(5)Dan H.
Seriously do you like super sweet Mexican food? Then this is the place for you. More white than Cafe Rio. The sweet pork is good but don't get anything "smothered" in red sauce because it's like the taste of cinnamon toast crunch all over your food. The nachos offers a more balanced flavor. Also I've tried the chicken quesadilla. I think their chicken tastes weird, almost sour-tasting, so I didn't finish it. They basically have the same four basic ingredients in different forms, not a lot of variety except in the meat. Oh and no fajita seasonings, like onions, green and red bell peppers, etc. I know they don't offer fajitas but I think their menu is lacking options bedsides the meat choices.
(3)ronnie g.
Awesome great tasting food, fantastic service. I get a small cheese nachos, n a steak burrito, for free using the Groupon that expires soon in phoenix.
(4)Jordin M.
Went here for the first time today and was very impressed. I got the grilled chicken salad and it was delish. The guy helping me decide what to get was very nice. Definitely a good spot for some baja style Mexican food!
(4)Erica S.
I do like this place because I feel like the portions are enough and yummy and make me feel like I ate pretty light but still full. However, there are plenty of competitive Mexican restaurants around who have way better prices and are more authentic(taste wise). Also they could make their green salsa way hotter! It's pretty sweet and they only offer student discounts for the daily special Costa vida is good and everything is always hot when you get it but they seriously need to lower there prices compared to other great Mexican places.
(3)Chiara F.
This place is seriously AMAZING. I'm SO glad it opened up so close to ASU campus! Everything is good. My favorites are the raspberry chipotle chicken tacos, sweet pork tacos/salad, or the mango chicken salad. Although I do love a good taco (and this place certainly has it!), I was surprised by just how much food is in the salad. If you're really hungry, get it! Haven't tried the other menu options yet... I want to try a burrito next. Anyways, I'm not sure you can go wrong with this place. The main reason this place gets five stars, though, is the customer service. I've seen some mixed reviews about their customer service here, but honestly, I'm not sure if they're true. I was stuck in the restaurant during an intense thunderstorm one night, and I was freaking out because I not only had to ride my bike to my class, but I had my computer and was afraid that it would get soaked in the rain. The manager came out and personally seran-wrapped my entire computer and phone, and then gave me some plastic bags to put my purse and computer in to ensure they would be protected from the rain. Needless to say, Costa Vida has a customer for life. Not every restaurant would do something like that.
(5)John B.
I just got back from one of the worst experiences at Costa Vida. Let me walk you through it. I arrive at Costa Vida and the whole team is just standing around. The guy at the front of the line who was supposed to start the orders was too busy making his own tacos first. I hope I didn't inconvenience him too much by coming in to get food. After the employee finished making his tacos, I had the pleasure of beginning our interaction. The man, eyelids half closed like he just smoked a bowl before work, asked me what I wanted. I asked for a burrito. Let the fun begin. The employee started making my burrito without asking me what I wanted on it, because he knows me better than I know myself. He started putting black beans on the burrito, even though I wanted pinto beans. Next, I asked for chicken and steak on the burrito. Somehow that translated to sweet pork, because that is what the employee started adding. He then wrapped up the burrito and put it in the oven before asking if I wanted it smothered, which I did. Something tells me this guy was really more concerned about eating the tacos he just made (Please refer to my bowl smoking comment above) After the burrito was finally ready, the good people at Costa Vida proceeded to put 2-4 small pieces of lettuce next to the burrito (because I always crave plain lettuce with my burritos). I then added guacamole and queso, and the portions were anything but generous. The best part is that this burrito cost me $12. I didn't order anything besides a burrito. Costa Vida stacks costs like nowhere else I have seen. ($7.49 for the burrito, $1 extra to be smothered, $1 for queso, $1 for guacamole, +tax on all of that). The food tasted pretty good - I'll give them that. However, the experience was terrible. There are plenty of places I could go for good food. If I am going to keep coming back to a place, I need better incentive. A Chipotle burrito is about $7, they have great service, and the food is amazing. Why pay $12 for a good (but way overpriced) burrito and terrible service? I hate leaving bad reviews. In fact, I had to make a Yelp account just for this. However, this was a terrible experience.
(1)Burcham H.
Too sweet and too salty. Very expensive. Look elswhere for real mexican food. For the price, we could have gone to Casa Reynoso.
(2)Amy D.
Super fresh and yummy food.
(5)Catalina S.
I love Costa Vida! The food is amazing and the employees at this location are really friendly. There is something on the menu to fit whatever mood you're in and there are so many ways you can switch it up. Different sauces, meats, beans, dressing etc. I will NEVER get sick of eating there.
(5)Bryan P.
It's a Chipotle, but not as good. Steak is not Carne Asada... by no means is this a Mexican place. Neither is Chipolte, but at least it's good. The thing that bumped it from one star though is fresh made tortillas and Coke in a bottle.
(2)Sam B.
Had a hard time deciding to pick just one meal on the menu. The employees were very friendly and raved about their personal favorite dishes. The atmosphere reminded me of chipotle but the food had much more variety/flavor.
(4)Gordon S.
I am crazy about Costa Vida! The food is spectacular, the atmosphere is inviting and the location is wonderful. The Sweet Pork is a must try if you haven't. I can't get enough of the tomatillo ranch and the chips and queso are ridiculously good. I could see it being a really great place for a student to call ahead and get their food on the way to class. It's nice to have a really fresh Mexican restaurant with a lot of flavor finally in my neighborhood. My experience has been that the staff and management are very accommodating if I bring something to their attention.
(5)Brooke E.
I like this location a lot better than the one in Mesa. I don't drink, but I should be noted that this location serves alcohol, whereas the Mesa one does not.
(5)JC W.
Still great! The guy putting the order together offered something we've never tried and it was great.
(5)Lou G.
Think of it as a Taco Bell that serves beer. Had the cheese enchiladas, not bad at all. Rice was meh, beans okay. Service at the counter was friendly. Atmosphere much cooler than the Bell.
(3)Chase H.
It's like Chipotle, but not as good. I ordered the sweet pork burrito, since it was the special (it came with a free fountain drink). Overall, it came out to a little more than $6, which is $2-3 less than what I would pay at Chipotle for a similar meal.
(3)Adam J.
I have driven by this place multiple times as they were building it. I finally tried it today for lunch. I was pleasantly surprised. The menu was quite extensive with burritos nachos salads pretty much anything for anybody's tastebuds. Their menu also included lunch specials which I tried myself. The food was fresh and delicious price was six dollars for a salad and a drink. Perfect place for Lunch or a quick dinner. Service was a little slow, I'm going to chalk that up to a brand-new restaurant opening. Overall perfectly comfortable place for lunch and I will be back.
(4)Angeline C.
This location is not as good as the one in Mesa on Val Vista. I ordered a shredded beef burrito and they pretty much slopped it together. I ordered it smothered and he did not even ask me what kind of sauce I wanted it smothered in, rather, he just put the green sauce on it. I got pico de gallo with it and assumed they would put it on top of the burrito, rather, they put it next to the burrito, then it became soupie with the sauce. I will probably not go back to this location until they at least get four stars like the other location.
(2)J T.
The food is awesome, especially the sweet pork. This is actually one of my favorite places. I would def pick over the likes of Chipotle or Qdoba anyday. Smaller than the Val Vista location, but glad they put one in Tempe.
(5)Lyndsey S.
The sweet pork is delicious. Getting it "smothered" is worth the 99¢ but all inlittle pricing for what you get.
(3)Chris B.
Honestly the first time going here I did not have a good experience. I don't like sweet pork on a Mexican burrito. They recommended the sweet pork so I tried it and it is not what I expected. Coming from a Spanish background I really love my burritos to be spicy. And even after I put all the hot sauce I could on it it didn't come back. I don't know if I would go here again.
(1)Michael W.
Love is fast food place. Very good for a chain restaurant. They have a wide variety of meats to choose from and not your typical. The sweet pork is really tasty. I usually have a salad which is served on top of a tortilla so it's really like a open burrito with lettuce and salad dressing. I could eat them everyday. Good specials for students too.
(5)Natasha J.
this place is the bomb.com this place is pricey but for sure worth it its like an upscale chipotle and they actually care about their food. i would recommend this place to anyone who looooves americanized mexican food.
(5)