Cielito Lindo Cafe & Taqueria — Restaurant in Henderson-Massey

Friendly people and tasty authentic Mexican food in a tiny industrial fish and chip takeaway shop style place - exciting to see sopes and a few different taco options like beef cheek, nopales (prickly pear cactus) and lamb on the menu as well as quesadillas, burritos and nachos. They also had a coffee menu and a little cabinet of baked things like cornbread and pikelets with cream.

Sopes were hot and tasty with a thick, crispy base. The beef option had very oily meat but we were able to drain this off. Each serving had two little Sopes for around $10.

The tacos ($4.75 each) were a bit hit and miss - they were double soft shell tacos with as much salsa and chipotle sauce as we wanted on the side and a slice of lime (crucial!). Served super hot too. The lamb was fatty and delicious, beef nice flavour but slightly dry to my tastes, though my partner enjoyed it. Fish (special for that day?) was not very nice - it just seemed to be supermarket fish sticks sliced up - not quite what I expected after eating lots of amazing fish tacos in Mexico.

The place only has 2 inside tables that each hold 4 people, and a few little outdoor tables so not a place for big crowds or fancy dates - but definitely worth a lunch time visit for some pretty cheap,...

Horrible food. No flavour, watered down, dry meat with no seasoning or salt. I was constantly seeing them add water to their food to make it go further which made everything watery and flavourless . The soft tacos shells were stale and tasted like cardboard. Inside the tacos was just a whole lot of raw onion and coriander with dry tasteless what I hope was real meat? A few dots of sour cream, cheese and tomato which was so minimal you couldn’t taste it. The price you pay vs portion is a complete ripoff. The cheese sauce on the nachos tasted like plastic. I’m very confused by how this place has such a high rating and how people eat it? Water is dripping from the food as you eat it. The only good thing about the place is the lady who serves the front counter. She has an amazing ability to multiple task. She was serving customers and prepping food. I was amazed how she remembered who ordered what. I’m not sure if I agree with the hygiene practices of someone serving my food and then touching the till. I hope one day I will eat real Mexican food because this was the opposite to that. I don’t recommend any of the food here. I threw my food...

Guys, let me preface this review by saying you had me at hello. You have drawn me in hook line and sinker. I have only been to your joint once but the Food was exceptional and the vibe was second to none. I love tacos, and you habe some of the best in the business.

It’s an odd place to have a taco joint, but also it’s not, so who cares!

My only grievance is that you are closed on Tuesdays. As you are surely aware, Tuesday is also Taco Tuesday, so it seems like a massive missed opportunity to be closed on that most sacred of days (for tacos). I implore you to reconsider your position, and change your day off to Monday. Nobody will miss it if you are closed on Mondays.

Closing on Taco Tuesdays is sacrilege and I think for people cruising around and/or visiting the nearby Waitakere dump are Going to be a bit bemused as to why you Have the doors closed on Taco Tuesdays! Food for thought (no pun intended !)

I wish you the best while you consider my tactical proposition. I hope to see you at a Taco Tuesday in the not too...