A little about us....

Café Silvestre is a family restaurant in West Valley that's been operating since 1976, offering comfort food made by hand, served by people who are genuinely glad you came in.

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It started with Gloria Ruiz. She came to Salt Lake City from Colorado's San Luis Valley, raised in a Spanish-speaking home on hand-rolled tortillas, lard-rich beans, and roasted green chile. She opened a little restaurant in 1976 with the help of her seven kids. She had no business experience, just a way of cooking that made people feel at home. It caught on. Five locations later, she'd shaped how a whole valley eats.

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Today the third generation runs the kitchen and the floor. Gloria's granddaughter Gabrielle and her husband Eric keep her classics alive such as the slow-simmered chile verde, while folding in flavors of Eric's childhood in Mexico. Silvestre means "wild," and we take it as permission to keep growing and creating, honoring where we came from while we cook for the generations ahead.

What hasn't changed is the heart of it - real food, made in-house, and a seat saved for you. 

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This year we're celebrating 50 years - half a century of full bellies and happy hearts, thanks to you. Come be part of it.

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