Cielito Lindo Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Apopka

We’re a pair of gringos totally in love with Mexican food! It’s our 33rd anniversary of our first date where we went to the Cielito Lindo. A different restaurant in a different city, but with the same name. Tonight we went here in celebration of where we first ate together with friends. The place is nice, very clean and easy to be in. Colorful and friendly. The staff is very polite and courteous. As is usually the case in nearly every Mexican restaurant worth eating at, the waitress struggled a bit with English. Not a problem for us as while we know nothing about Spanish,but we do know that simple courtesy and a smile can overcome. This to me is a sign of a great place to eat and I know it’s counterintuitive. I know that many young workers in the Mexican food industry are doing their best and every day is one step forward. I totally respect a restaurant that helps them and provides more than just a a paycheck, they create a place to grow. Mad respect.

Now let’s talk about the food! First off I had to make some alterations to my items as I have some medical conditions and need to avoid certain things. Our delightful waitress got it perfect and the kitchen staff got it exactly right. This is shocking to me since it’s so often wrong at other places (not a language barrier thing, just a “me” thing. I’m unlucky by nature at all restaurants).

I had the burrito al pastor. This was a delight to me because I’d only had al pastor in street taco situations until now. In nearly every single Al Pastor street taco I was served. Very dry pebbly Al pastor and maybe a bit of pineapple. But tonight all of that changed. This burrito had Al pastor chicken that was moist, succulent and textured and fantastic. Mixing in some of the ample pineapple and acidic topping (id skipped the cheese sauces) I found myself with the perfect balance of savory, earthy, bright, comfortable flavors that I’d longed for. It’s not an another dry al pastor taco, it’s a magnificent al pastor explosion of tasty delight.

My wife had the shrimp, Cameron’s or something like that, I can’t remember what she had, I was too busy with my burrito al pastor.

Ok seriously, her food was terrific. The portions were very generous and everything had flavor, no bland side veggies here. And anytime someone offers “cilantro rice” I have to remind her that she’s still married and can’t run off with them. She was especially happy with the shrimp as they were less oily and heavy than you get at many other places.

This restaurant is a bit out of our range (geographically speaking) as it past our usual “worth the time” standard for dinner travel. But I have to say, it may have carved a special place in our heart. I can’t wait to try some. Of the...

Had a chance to try this restaurant out and overall, we will be back for another try. Atmosphere-really nice and felt clean and spacious. Booths were comfy! All staff very polite. Food: Chips&Salsa-one of the better restaurant salsas I’ve had locally by far. Reminded me of some of my favorite places up north. The chips were unfortunately not the best part of this…a bit bland and had an “off” taste but if you cover them in delicious salsa or cheese, not as noticeable. Queso fundido- a highlight! this felt a little expensive but was absolutely delicious. Cheese was perfect temp and chorizo was amazing. Loved the perfectly warmed tortillas-but definitely ask for some extra chips or spoon the cheese directly in your mouth (it’s worth it) Lunch burrito special (beef)-this was average but also better than many local places so still overall, pretty good. The beef itself lacked a little punch to it and felt more like a simple ground beef. But the burrito overall was still a good choice. I appreciated the tomatoes had good taste (were ripe and felt like good produce) Lunch enchiladas (chicken)-also a little bland for the meat but overall a solid choice Rice-good consistency and not too dry or too soggy Nachos (ground beef)-again the beef was a little lacking but the bottom layer with the amazing queso was fantastic! Fried ice cream-can’t go too wrong here! It was simple but good to try.

As another reviewer noted and I wanted to see for myself, the bill showed two “totals”- one of you paid in cash and the other with the credit card (obviously they pass that 2-3% fee onto the customers).

Service-great for lunch time! Our server was sarcastic and personable and had great timing with drinks, appetizers, desserts and even the to-go nachos so they were still hot when we brought them home.

TL;DR-didn’t knock my socks off but was one of the better local Mexican restaurants and can only hope they continue improving as they are still within their opening phase. Will certainly try again (which says a lot!) and update if it doesn’t live up to...

First time to this restaurant. Ordered the lunch steak fajitas. When the plate came out I was surprised that it was a little pile of meat and peppers and onions on a plate not on a sizzling platter like most places do. It came with tortillas that were wrapped in foil stuck together and mushy. The rice was nothing special. Didn't care for the beans as they were cold the cheese placed on top didn't even melt. Piled on the same plate was a little lettuce tomatoes sour cream no guacamole . No CHEESE!!! The very small portion of fajita meat and veggies were barely warm. They had no flavor and the steak was very tough. I was looking for the server, who was very nice, to tell her about the problem and she never came back to ask how everything was until I was about halfway through the meal. As we were pressed for time I decided to eat it anyway. When she finally did come and I was finished I told her about it being cold and she seemed very concerned but it would have been better if she had showed up earlier. Anyway she took a dollar 20 off the bill. My partner had a chile relleno a taco and rice and she said it was warm not hot and not very good. I frequent El Potro and wanted to try this new place but El Potro wins hands down. Their lunch fajitas are a dollar cheaper you get cheese and guacamole. The portion of fajita meat and vegetables is at least twice as much...