Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill ~ regional chain : Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Jan 2023 (Colorado Springs - North Gate)

First visit: Jul 2013 (Colleyville, Texas)

Happy New Year everyone! Back for our first move forward of 2023 (or technically the second, since Freddy's got a head start in December). On this visit I switched things up and had the carne asada which was very good - tender and tasty. They smothered it in red sauce - and then smothered it again with the same sauce on top of the burrito with cheese on top. No honey habanero or chile verde this time, just that red enchilada sauce. It was hotter temperature than last visit. While I don't go here very much, Costa Vida always satisfies.

Costa Vida is a regional chain from Utah (Lehi - in the row of towns between Provo and Salt Lake City) that originally came up during the burrito craze of the 90s as lead by Chipotle, Baja Fresh, and Qdoba's. Their core audience seems to be in the Mormon country of Utah, Idaho, and Arizona with a handful of other western locations (including Alberta). Otherwise there's a couple in Kansas City, one in Minnesota, and one lonely location in Nashville. This remains the only location in Colorado Springs with 3 in Denver and one in Grand Junction (and Farmington, their sole New Mexico locale). And of course they're still in Texas, where the original RJG NE Tarrant location of Colleyville continues (wonder if they still have margaritas?), as well as North Fort Worth and Flower Mound.

--- 3/19/22 update

Back for the annual review. Had a full burrito this time with grilled chicken. They did have the honey habanero which I added generously to some of the bites. The rice was particularly good this time, as was the chicken. Nice red enchilada sauce with a slight kick, and melted cheese on top. I think the dish could come out a bit hotter, to fully utilize the aluminum pan, but it wasn't lukewarm either. They're advertising "chile verde" season, but they told me it wasn't very spicy. And it was loaded with pork, which can be a dicey proposition. So I passed. On the whole, Costa Vida remains a good burrito option.

--- 5/29/21 update

Had my first visit in a couple of years to our local Costa Vida. Went with the same Baja Bowl as below, but they were out of the honey habanero, so I settled for the medium red, which was flavorful (and chunky). Everything seems back to normal here. Definitely enjoying this more than the Qdoba that has lost their way over the years. No margaritas here, BTW.

--- original 7/16/13 review

We were reviewing new restaurants in the area, when I saw that they planned on opening a new Costa Vida in Fort Worth. I had totally forgotten about this place, and that reminded me of the one in Colleyville, which is closer than the new one will be to us. Surprisingly this is our first visit here.

I zoomed in on the Baja Bowl, which is their variation of the Naked Burrito or Burrito Bowl, and filled it with grilled chicken, pinto beans, rice, red enchilada sauce, and cheese. Now the distinguishing characteristic of Costa Vida is they then push the bowl through the heated conveyor belt (like Quizno's) for a nicely toasted dish with melted cheese. On the back end they'll toss on top lettuce, pico, and a salsa of your choice (in this case I grabbed a container of the honey habanero). Mrs. RJG did similar but she asked for half grilled chicken and half sweet pork, which is their signature dish. I also had a frozen margarita, because it's that time of year, right?

We both were satisfied. Their grilled chicken is slightly better than Chipotle's, and I've always been a fan of Chipotle's chicken. The toasting concept is fantastic, as the melted yellow cheese is excellent in this setting. The rice is also a major winner, besting the other chains. The beans are... well, beans. They're fine. On the downside, the sweet pork was indeed sweet. Too sweet, and too greasy according to the Missus. The honey habanero, while packing a little bit of heat, was also too sweet, and definitely pales compared to better salsas found at the three chains mentioned in the prologue. I need to try their other salsa next time. And finally, while on the topic of sweet, the margarita was more like a sugar Kool-Aid. So it's obvious the chain has a bit of a sweet tooth, which doesn't quite appeal to us.

Will we be back? Oh definitely. In total, an excellent experience. And we want to try their tacos, quesadillas, and maybe even the enchiladas. And I'll grab a beer next time. A good place for sure. I can't believe it took us this long to try it.

7/16/13 (new entry); 5/24/14; 7/13/19; 5/29/21; 3/19/22; 1/6/23

Colleyville, Texas; Colorado Springs, Colorado