Motel West — Restaurant in Orem

“Motel West is a promising new spot with a western-inspired vibe and a lot of potential. Having only been open for about a week, they’re still finding their footing, so keep that in mind when visiting. I truly hope they succeed and excel because there’s a lot to like here.

The menu is fairly simple, which I appreciated, and the employees were friendly and welcoming. Both the kitchen and dining areas were clean, and the overall ambiance felt very thoughtfully designed. They’ve also got some trendy merch like shirts, mugs, keychains, matches, and hats for sale, which adds to the “cool spot” appeal.

Parking is convenient, with a couple of spots available in front of the restaurant and more parking around the back, so it’s easy to stop by even during busier times.

As for the food, we tried the carne asada tacos, quesadilla, tres leches, and chips with salsa and queso. The salsa tasted fresh with a strong tomato base, and the quesadilla, while simple, was enjoyable. The carne asada tacos had great flavor, though the meat pieces were a bit large for the small tortillas. I’m not sure if flour tortillas are an option, but it might be worth asking. The tres leches cake was beautifully presented, but unfortunately, it hadn’t soaked long enough in the milk, so it was more like a dry biscuit than a proper cake. The queso was fine, but a little rubbery for my table’s liking.

The vibe here leans trendy and feels like it caters to the influencer crowd, with a heavy focus on the aesthetic of the place. While the food wasn’t bad by any means, it didn’t quite shine as brightly as the décor and atmosphere.

That said, I’m sure I’ll return and would recommend giving them a try, especially if you’re curious about a new spot with great potential. I’m rooting for them to grow and refine their offerings as they settle into...

Strange place. It comes across like the owners had this dream of an Instagrammable cult-following restaurant and so poured a lot of attention into decorations and merchandise, but forgot about the part where you have to cook and serve people food. They kept taking orders no matter how many people were eating, so there was a large backlog of people standing around (sometimes with their food already) waiting for a table. Rather than serving a table’s dishes at the same time, items were trickled out one by one over a long period, so I’d watch people eat one taco here, a side of rice there, etc, which kept them at the tables a lot longer. Out of what my group ordered, we got served about 2/3 of it over a span of 45 minutes. The rest seemed to have been forgotten; the trickle stopped and we gave up waiting. The food itself was decent. The part of my order that I got served and ate standing up was a chicken taco, consisting of what tasted like Costco rotisserie chicken on a very good tortilla that was drenched in olive oil. I also tried some chips and salsa and those were nice. Overall nothing I’d write home about though (on a restaurant-branded postcard). We felt bad for the staff, who were kind but frantic and seemed way in over their heads. They should’ve done a soft opening! If it keeps up like this I don’t imagine this place...

I was SO excited to try this place but was sadly disappointed.

Parking was very annoying and the location is not the best. I have heard amazing things on social media so I was excited to try! The cashier was no joke a 7 or 8 year old girl (likely a child of an employee) who didn’t know what she was doing and it took forever to get our order in. First impression of the place was very unprofessional.

We ordered chips and salsa to start and the salsa was so good!!! However, the chips were cold. Also worth mentioning that the restaurant was freezing so bring a jacket and a beanie if you go lol.

My husband ordered the rice and beans burrito and he loved it

I got the carne asada taco which was superrrr good. The meat was cooked perfectly. The beans are good too. I didn’t like the side of rice we ordered but my husband did. Very unique flavor.

Overall, it was pricier than I expected for a taco, rice and beans, and a burrito ($30). Not crazy expensive but kind of for the amount of food we got. I can tell the owners are new at this so I will give them grace there but they need to get children off the register and turn the heat on. Undecided if...