On a stretch of 5600 West in West Valley City filled with shiny new (mostly) franchise restaurants and shopping centers, there is a marvelous family owned Mexican eatery that in recent years shot close to the top of my favorite local Mexican restaurants list. It is called La Casa Del Tamal and this, my friends, is the real deal. And now, I am happy to report that there is even more La Casa del Tamal to love with the recent opening of a second location – downtown in the Post District on 600 South. I guess technically this is the third La Casa Del Tamal “location” since there is also a Casa food truck.
Rajas con Queso & Rojos de Puerco Tamales
The restaurant started as a side hustle for Cristina Olvera, who made tamales at home in the evenings, and hand delivering them the next day before word spread and demand for them grew citywide. Hence the word “tamal” in naming the restaurant. It’s a family-run operation, with their birria tacos earning particular praise. They were named Best Restaurant of 2026 by Salt Lake Magazine’s Dining Awards, just one of many accolades La Casa Del Tamal has rung up of late.
The new Casa is eye popping beautiful, a spacious restaurant with a separate bar-lounge adjacent to the dining room. Compared to the West Valley location, the downtown spot has a bit more polish, per its “Casual Elegant” branding. Unique to the Post District’s La Casa Del Tamal is a glassed-in exhibition kitchen giving diners a chance to see the handmade tamales and other authentic Mexican dishes being prepared by Chef Olvera and her talented culinary team.
In addition, there is an attached coffee and drink space at La Casa Del Tamal downtown called Azúcar Cafecito Bar (or Azúcar Coffee Bar), serving specialty Mexican-inspired coffee drinks like Café de Olla, Ganzito Latte, and other unique beverages such as Chocolate Abuelita, Banana Pudding Matcha, Mango Immunity Spritzer, and many more. Food choices at Azúcar Coffee Bar include Avocado Toast, Chilaquiles, Croissant de Pavo y Queso, Flan, Tres Leches, and an Ice Cream variety.
Chips & Salsa
As you might expect, meals at La Casa Del Tamal begin with a complementary serving of chips with three salsas to enjoy as you peruse the restaurant’s extensive food and drink menus. Another fun way to get the party started is by sharing the massive Molcajete: A mixed grill of ranchera carne asada, chicken, shrimp, chorizo sausage, nopales, cheese, and salsa verde served in a heated Molcajete. It’s topped with queso fresco, a grilled jalapeño & onion, accompanied with rice, beans and two orders of corn tortillas – enough to serve 3-4 people ($55).
Ceviche de Atun
Seafood (Mariscos) is a specialty at La Casa Del Tamal and one of the most gorgeous – as well as tasty – items from the Mariscos menu is a house specialty: Ceviche de Atun (Tuna Ceviche). It’s a big beautiful bowl of generous ahi tuna crudo pieces marinated in lime and the restaurant’s rojo sesame oil and soy. The ceviche is then garnished with thin jalapeño slices, red onion and a pretty avocado floret on top, served with tostadas for dipping ($22).
Aguachile
Another excellent Mariscos menu item is the Aguachile ($24), which is a bevy of tender shrimp marinated in lime juice and seasoned in salsa verde, soy sauce and spices. The Aguachile is then topped with slices of orange, tomato, cucumber, avocado and red onion, garnished with fresh cilantro. It’s a refreshing blast of citrus and spice flavors.
Birria de Res Platillo
As mentioned, birria is a house specialty and the Birria de Res Platillo ($24) is terrific tasting and quite filling: tender, slow-cooked shredded beef stewed in a blended chile pepper broth and served with rice, refried beans and a choice of corn or flour tortillas. Additional Platillo options include Carne Asada con Nopales, and handmade 154-inch Quesadillas filled with mozzarella, a choice of meat, lettuce, sour cream and queso fresco. Birria is also available as Tacos de Barria con Consomme.
Costillas de Puerco
The platillo that my stepson ordered was also excellent: Costillas de Puerco ($25), which is tender bone-in pork ribs smothered in a spicy salsa with cactus strips, garnished with cilantro. It’s a bit messy to eat, but well worth the trouble.
Guacamole
Of course, no table in a Mexican restaurant should be without a bowl of Guacamole ($12). At La Casa Del Tamal, fresh avocado is mashed and blended with jalapeño and lime and topped with radish slices, pico de gallo and cilantro, served with housemade tortilla chips. Another great starter to share is Queso Fundido: melted mozzarella cheese served in a hot skillet with chorizo, bell peppers and onion mix, accompanied by a choice of tortilla chips or tortillas for dipping.
Guests 21 and over might choose to dine in the attractive bar area at La Casa Del Tamal.
The restaurant offers an extensive beverage list ranging from cocktail classics and specialty drinks like Ave del Sol, Batida and Oaxaca Old Fashioned, to wine, beer, spirits, aguas frescas, fountain soft drinks and bottled sodas from Mexico.
Grilled Pulpo
My wife rarely passes up octopus when she spots it on a restaurant menu, and La Casa Del Tamal was no exception. She ordered the Grilled Pulpo ($43) – octopus “a las brasas” or grilled over coals, marinated in a smoky chipotle sauce and served atop the restaurant’s signature salsa macha with blistered jalapeño and grilled Mexican green onion (cebollitas cambray), served with a side salad.
Pulpo Side Salad
When you think of the term “side salad” you’re probably not thinking about La Casa Del Tamal’s side salad. It came with my wife’s Grilled Pulpo entree and it could serve as an entree itself: fresh romaine lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, grilled corn, crispy tortilla strips, pumpkin seeds, queso fresco, lemon and more, drizzled with cilantro-lime dressing.
Cielo, Mar y Tierra
If you’re looking for a surf and turf type dish, I recommend ordering Cielo, Mar y Tierra (Sky, Sea & Earth). It’s a Parillada (Skillet) dish of a choice of meat with shrimp, grilled jalapeño, queso fresco, salsa verde, rice, beans and tortillas ($32).
Tostada Ceviche de Camarón
I’ve had ceviche in coastal towns all over Mexico, but none was better than the Tostada Ceviche de Camarón ($18) at La Casa Del Tamal. It’s a large, crispy handmade corn tortilla topped with chopped tender shrimp marinated in lime juice with red onion, cucumber, cilantro, and thick avocado slices.
Enchiladas con Mole
The Enchiladas ($16) at La Casa Del Tamal are excellent: Four crispy corn tortillas are filled with shredded chicken & melted cheese, served on a bed of your choice of salsa (Rojos, Verdes or Mole), topped with lettuce, queso fresco, tomato, avocado and sour cream. We particularly like the rich tasting mole version.
Tinga de Pollo Sope
A unique menu item offered at La Casa Del Tamal are Sopes. These are hearty, thick, handmade fried corn masa cakes served taco-style with refried beans, your choice of meat, lettuce, queso fresco, & sour cream. Filling choices include Carne Asada, Pollo Asado, Tinga de Pollo, Al Pastor and Nopal. I especially liked the Tinga de Pollo Sope with a scrumptious tinga sauce of tomatoes, chipotle, chiles in adobo and onions.
Flan & Pastel de Tres Leches
After all those dishes, dessert was a challenge but we managed to make room for Flan ($8) – a slice of sweet, airy, creamy custard with a rich caramel sauce, and also for Pastel de Tres Leches ($8), which is fluffy white sponge cake soaked in three (tres) types of milk (evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream), topped with white icing and fresh strawberry slices.
With all of the delicious dishes we enjoyed at La Casa Del Tamal, we didn’t manage to get around to the Tacos, items like the Tamal Oaxaqueño con Mole, Pescado Zarandeado (whole grilled snook fish), Flautas, Fajitas, Quesadillas, or Caldos such as Menudo, Caldo de Res and Caldo de 7 Mares. We’ll just have to save those for our next visit to this outstanding eatery.
Photos by Ted Scheffler & Courtesy of La Casa Del Tamal
Culinary quote of the week: “You don’t need to go to church to be a Christian. If you go to Taco Bell, that doesn’t make you a taco.” – Justin Bieber
