Cielito Lindo 3 Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Asbury Park

Parking is a a premium, a couple spots in front of the place on the street. We came in after a concert at the Stone Pony. Saw this place on our way back, and you know I had to give it a go. The place has great aesthetics, even had a wishing well in there. They were pretty busy too, most of the tables were full. Service was good, slow, but we got everything we needed. The customers did do a bit of staring at us...I'm guessing because we are so hermoso...

We all ordered waters. they were cold and delicious. No weird taste!!!

Chips & Salsa!!!!

Chips.... fried hard and could handle any dip without breaking. Salsa....green avocado cilantro salsa that had some heat, but wasn't overpowering.

I ordered the queso fundido. WOW!!!!!!! It came out on a steaming hot metal plate with peppers, steak and cheese. We were brought out fresh home made corn tortillas. These were some of the best tortillas I've ever had. I was even able to warm them up the next day and they were almost as good. The steak was seasoned perfectly, the cheese, the peppers, all came together in perfect harmony. Next time I'm near...I'm getting a double order...

I ordered tacos dorado, which came with black beans, and rice. If you don't know, it's pretty much a taquito. I was all pumped up after the fundido and this dish changed my tone. Beans...good, solid beans. Not as good as bandido...but serviceable. Rice....ok didn't really stand out to me. It was soft and fluffy. The taquito was fried hard as hell and the chicken inside was the dry damn desert that I hate to visit.

Everyone else enjoyed everything they got, but this was terrible. I even tried to hydrate them the next day....RIP...trash can.

I ordered tacos, 3 al pastor. They wouldn't let me order single tacos, 3 per order. I wanted to try different meats...I'm not buying 9 tacos. Pastor was tender and seasoned well. Did I mention those tortillas????? They made a good taco into a great taco. No dry desert in...

The food was very good. The waitress was friendly and as attentive as she could be as she was the only server, busser, cashier . The food is made to order so it is a very long wait. In the future I would definitely BYOB and have drinks while waiting. We had chips, tomatillo salsa and a pico de gallo salsa, both were mild. Even the guacamole was very mild. One appetizer came out after our main course. The choriqueso was served very hot. It was not overly spicy, the seafood platter was an enigma. The whole thing was room temperature. There was cooked rice and cold shredded lettuce, tomato and radishes under the pile of less than warm seafood. I dont mind head on shrimp. There was a nice size crab underneath. Pork skin Tacos were good. I have never seen any restaurant anywhere that served any kind of pork skin . So we tried it. They were a little too greasy and chewy for me but, the food was so inexpensive that I didnt care that we only tasted them. Portio s were generous. Prices are more than reasonable. With the amount of seafood the platter should have been 2X the cost. We ordered 6 desserts to go that totaled $14 !! Flan, tres leches, and cupcakes. I would give 5 stars if the wait...

My family and I have only been here twice but since I got back from a central American country this is the closest I can find to that level of authenticity. The music is real, the time care and effort applied to each freshly made meal is real, the attention to each customer is real. This place made me feel like I took a step out of Asbury and went right back into my trip. I will say that if you don't speak Spanish you might want to have your translation app available because not everyone there speaks English BUT struggling through sounding like a fool mixed with pointing and smiling is totally worth it. The drinks are either genuinely natural or imported and soo much better than store bought "juice". Also this is NOT a place to grab a quick bite. It's the place to sit and enjoy the space with the people you enjoy the most. We will...