This is probably the most authentic Mexican restaurant we've yet tried in Vancouver. It's in a somewhat seedy section of Gastown, but the interior is absolutely gorgeous, with lots of hanging lanterns that create a magical mood. The food is definitely authentic Mexican, not Tex-Mex, but the real thing. I particularly enjoyed my Enchiladas Sauza, which is a recipe I have not seen anywhere else except in Southern California. The chicken enchiladas were doused with a wonderfully piquant green sauce that was perfect. We also enjoyed the assortment of guacamole, refried beans, and salsa that was served with chips as an appetizer. The margaritas are interesting here because they are served as a cocktail, shaken, not stirred, and presented in a coupe glass, which I actually really liked a lot because you get much more margarita and a real purity of flavors. read more

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Loved this spot! Right inside the border of super-sketchy town, this place was worth checking out! It is a beautiful sky (ceiling) indeed. The service was great, sweet and thoughtful service and happy to modify a few items for us. Their drink menu was extensive and difficult to read - even the 20 somethings next to us had their phones out to try and read it so I didn't feel so bad (I don't usually have a problem reading anything)! I liked the spicy marg and my dining partner liked her regular marg but they were both lukewarmish - not complaining - just saying if you like your margs cold ask for ice which we did on the second round. We shared the trio plate (chipotle beans, guacamole and salsa) and it was great, very filling and we loved the salsa taste. The taco platter was a perfect follow up - nice to split 2 and 2 and the veg ones were very tasty and by all accounts the carnitas were awesome too. They do a nice tribute to birthdays if you're celebrating here, it was very nice and we laughed very hard. Thanks for a great night Cielito Lindo team - see you again soon! read more

We went to Cielito Lindo to catch a FIFA game and also for a late lunch. I ordered four tacos and a horchata. The food was full of really unique flavours, making this one of more unique Mexican restaurants I've need to in Vancouver. The staff were friendly and attentive, and restaurant was nicely decorated with soccer themed decor and featured TV screens that are visible from the bar. read more

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What a vibe! I highly recommend here if you want to enjoy Mexican culture and World Cup energy. They already have beautiful paper lanterns on the ceiling and they added soccer ball lanterns. So beautiful. All servers wear retaurant's name printed soccer jerseys. I had Quesatacos beef and my partner ordered Torta Ahogada that originally came from his hometown Guadalajara. Mine has salsa and consomme along. Both have good heat and depth. It's interesting that if I squeezed lime into the consome, it tastes better. According to him, the torta is almost same from hometown. I guess they make very authentic Mexican food. If you booked birthday dinner here, the server brings a Sombrero and a cake with firework to your table. It's perfect for taking memorable picture. They play special Mexican Happy Birthday song as well. It was noisy honestly. However in Mexico, I heard it would be noisier. Oh well lol The drink menu has pictures and easy to understand. Yes, we came for dinner but felt like we attended a party at end. read more

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Loved the inside/atmosphere of this place - the lanterns and decor are so wonderful. The food was pretty good and the offered some authentic mexican dishes. Their cocktail selection and quality was great. They also gave us a dessert and mini celebration for one anniversary for free which was really kind. Would recommend to anyone looking to celebrate an event. read more

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Warning ! Come here only if you love everything about Mexican culture-food, vibe, music & customer service This place is an epitome of mexican hospitality. I wanna take a moment and cherish the beautiful ambience of this place. Since the surrounding is very boring & dull , the moment you step into their door , it's the vibrant atmosphere that catches your attention. Great servers with good English and Spanish language skills who are happy to mention details about any drink or food item. Our food order was huge for two people but we were greedy. Enchiladas suizas was outstanding . Barbacoa which is a lamb dish to be eaten with corn tortilla just like tacos was delicious. Presentation of food makes you even more hungry. Warning - eat enmolada only if you like the traditional Oaxaca mole sauce coz it's not meant for everyone's taste buds. Atleast it's not for me. It's healthy and combination of great ingredients but not for me . Did you check out the drinks menu?? Omg nothing could be better than this.. I loved the idea of serving cocktails in huge glasses , jars , jugs and what not . The toppings of candies and Mexican tamarind sauce will definitely tingle your taste buds . I loved everything else and I am going back to have more of everything. We took the instagram read more

Came here for my husband's bday as he loves Mexican food. The menu options were great and the food tasted authentic enough. We got the lengua plate (kind of spicy), ribeye tacos, Birria plate (take note this comes in a bowl and you have to assemble your tacos yourself), and the machete (kind of like a big quesadilla). We got free churros for the bday boy and they brought him a sombrero to wear for pictures! Service was fast and the decor is very festive. Mixed with Mexican and Christmas decor! It was quite loud in there (louder than my liking) so this wouldn't be a kid-friendly place -- also given its downtown location. Otherwise, overall good experience! read more

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Food, decor and ambiance were great! Beware of smokers! The door of the restaurant was kept open all night and there was a constant stream of smokers outside who stood too close. The stench from smokers kept wafting inside which is a very gross experience trying to eat, smelling the good food and smelling smoke. I thought there was some sort of required distance smokers must stand from entrances? Maybe not. But a sign or a staffer asking them to keep away would've been helpful. I asked a staffer to close the door but didn't get a real answer and she pointed out that a smoker walked away. But that was only one and they went on all night. read more

Cielito Lindo - Entrance - Mexican Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Their drinks were good :) Never had a Mazapan drink in my life but it was great!!! Their chips and dips were okay nothing to rage about.

I found this place through Instagram and ambience and unique mexican foods caught my eye! The restaurant Mexican atmosphere was so fancy. What we ordered: Licuachela -Twist of traditional mexican Michelada topped with chamoy sauce, variety of gummies, spicy candies. Spicy and flavorful drink. It was a lot of fun to drink and eat gummies and candies together. Very instagrammable drink! Ribeye Chicharrón Molcajete -- served over a bed of house-made guacamole, Ribeye was well-seasoned and paired with guacamole so well and I like presentation. Cochinita Pibil -- Marinated pork in achiote, a typical Yucatan dish. Slow cooked for 24 hours in a banana leaves. Served with tortillas and pickle habanero onion Very delicious! Slow cooked marinated pork was very flavorful and so tender!. Highly recommend . Side dipping sauce was very spicy. Quesa Tacos --Three 6"inch Corn tortillas with Asadero cheese, filled with your choice of Birria, Carnitas, Chicharron, Asada, Suadero, Lengua or Frijoles. With consome. Another hightlight dish! We chose chicken which was right choice. So delicious, Side dipping sauce was also very spicy. We also got nachos and guacamole. It was nice to start meal. Overall, I really enjoyed this full of Mexican atmosphere and their traditional Mexican dishes. Every dishes were delicious! I will try another menu for next visit. Must visit place! read more

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Amazingly delicious food. We didn't have reservations so sat at the bar and decided to try something than our usual Mexican fare. We ordered menudo soup and lengua tacos and they both were so delicious. The margarita was small but tasty. Had two and wanted a third, lol. Service was good, not great. Highly recommend, overall. read more

What a great place for authentic Mexican. The guac was fresh and chips were very moorish. The lengua tacos were flavourful and tender, and tequila selection isn't bad. Service was fantastic and food came out quick. The music and ambience were perfect for a catch up with friends. My only gripe is the location. Wish it was downtown or nicer part of town. read more

Cielito Lindo - Mexican Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

The atmosphere always great, service was a bit slow, but food was tasty and good. Portions a bit small. The best part are their drinks they are at another level, got to try it out read more

Cielito Lindo - Interior of restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

We found this place last year when we were here from L.A and couldn't wait to come back. It didn't disappoint a year later. The food is authentic and delicious. The decor is vibrant and delightful. Valeria our waitress was outstanding. This is definitely a must when in Vancouver! read more

Really like the atmosphere and service of this restaurant. Food was good. I found their drinks a bit salty but overall I would recommend this restaurant. Great place for celebrations! read more

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Delightful ambiance and outstanding food. On this visit I had the Cazuelita as my entrance dish, and the Enchiladas Suizas as my main dish. Both were **outstanding, perfectly sized portions. and delivered fresh with little settling time. Staff were charming and happy to explain nuances with the dishes, as well as recommending options for my next visit. read more

Found this place through social media and decided to stop by and check it out. Had a nice modern take on their decor, which was nice . The meat in the Chilaquiles and Suadero were good and tender. Just needed a little bit of seasoning on the meat in terms of salt. The tortillas were good. The service was so and so as the place got pretty busy. I was however disappointed when they've notified me the Birria and the Tres Leches was sold out . read more

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As always amazing food and ambiance. The staff is very friendly. And the cheese cazuelita is to die for read more

Cielito Lindo - Horchata and cheese cazuelita - Mexican Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

As Californians who like to travel, we are always on the hunt for good Mexican food in other countries-- and we're a bit picky about it, too. I haven't written a restaurant review in ages, but we loved this place and want it to keep thriving. When we entered, we noticed that most of the diners were speaking Spanish, so we took that as a promising sign as far as authenticity. I had the enmoladas (tortilla-wrapped chicken smothered in mole sauce and drizzled with cream); it didn't come with rice or beans, but it was a portion plenty big enough to fill me up. My partner had the quesatacos with carnitas and said they were delicious. I now regret not taking photos of the food. Service was good, they have an extensive drink menu, and the decor is lovely. In all the Mexican restaurants I've visited outside Mexico and the US, I've never seen menudo or pozole on the menu, but Cielito Lindo has both! The server told us that the owners are from Mexico City and Guadalajara and import as many ingredients as they can for the food. Price-wise, it's not cheap, but we thought it was worth it. We might even eat there again before we leave Vancouver! read more

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Went for dinner and it was great! Authentic Mexican food with great service. The best part? The drinks! We ordered the picafresa, cantarito, and a tamarind drink - all perfect. For food; the barbacoa and quesatacos de birria were great. My only complaint was the tacos de asada were not the best. The meat was cut into big pieces, quite a bit of fat, and it had a sweet flavor that I wasn't used to. The place itself feels spacious but cozy, with ambient lighting and cool decorations. read more

The drinks were great ...food was hood too.i got barbacoa.very close to steam clock.thsts it.

Food, Ambience and service was excellent . Restaurant was very close to the hotel we were staying.

Service was friendly and efficient. Atmosphere really great! It's such a wonderful thing when lighting is done right. There are beautiful colored lanterns hanging from the ceiling casting the perfect amber hue against organic, brick walls. A+ Authentic Yucatecan food. We had the chicken enchiladas which were decent. The chicken was tender, but a bit lacking in flavor. The Gorditas were good. Very authentic. But the real winner here was the cochinita pibil! SOOO GOOD!! I have made this from scratch myself, creating the achiote paste from scratch and slow cooking in banana leaves. Not cheating with pre-made achiote paste is key. Mine was the best I have had until this. Theirs blew the doors off of my recipe. Rich and unctuous, tender and well balanced. I really enjoyed their red salsa as well. It had a nice balance of heat and acid that just took the pork to yet another level. If I lived in Vancouver, I would come back for this at least once a month. Must try! read more

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I'm giving it a 3 star because I didn't like anything I ate, but my husband really did enjoy his food. It was a 1 star for me. I found the guacamole tasteless and the shrimp tacos were spicy without any actual flavour if that makes sense. My husband had the beef tacos and loved them. He loved everything he ate. Service was very good. Music was a bit loud for such a small restaurant, but it's a really beautiful space. read more

Food and atmosphere was amazing and our server Santiago was super great. Highly recommend.

The food and service was amazing! Such a nice environment beautiful place, Santiago is great! Highly recommend!!

Super cute place unfortunately we were asked to leave because we didn't order food. We were Not aware that we had to Order food in Canada if you want to have a drink. No one informed us when we sat at the bar after a 3 hr roadtrip From Seattle. Also, this is the first Mexican restaurant where They don't automatically offer your chips and salsa when you sit down. Here they charge $15 for a basket of chips and salsa. The bar staff was very nice and for some reason the hostess was the one to ask us to demand that we order food. We decided to leave. Being from Texas and a resident of Mexico, this will be the last Mexican restaurant we visit in Canada. read more

We went to celebrate a birthday with a party of 10. The menu was authentic Mexican and extensive, and the portions were generous. The wait staff were friendly and very attentive without being intrusive. The drinks were original and excellent. The overall vibe was lively without being raucous. It was a privilege to meet owner, Mario, and Chef Aza. We'll be back!! read more

Amazing authentic Mexican food and presentation. The mazapan water is outstanding and well suited to families. Extra friendly staff. Highly recommend especially for those wanting a truly homemade authentic Mexican experience read more

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Ordered three hot dishes to share between three of us. Delivered without plates or cutlery. We had to ask for plates which she brought without utensils then disappeared. The plates we were given to use were 6 inches across. Chips front sides and back. Tiny. The Flouta was bigger than the plate and placing one sent bits of food everywhere when cutting the flouta. I asked for a bigger plate and they brought three plates, two plastic and one frisbee!!! Yes a plastic frisbee...to eat hot food from! They said this was tradition. The other people around us all had ceramic plates. They refused to give me a ceramic plate! I either used the tiny plate or I used the plastic. Plastic like the ones you find in a beach holiday house. They could not explain why they refused me a ceramic plate except to say that the three hot food items were on ceramic. They said if I wanted a second plate I'd have to satisfied with the plastic plate and the frisbee. To eat off of. A frisbee for hot food. WTF? Thought I got a photo of the unhygienic frisbee and plastic. Here's the 6 inch plate and the plates others had. To top it all off half an hour later an I'm rushing to the bathroom. I better not get sicker Oh yeah. We told them we were celebrating a birthday and they just said ok. Nothing else. I wondered if the waitresses and bar tender were high on something. read more

Food was amazing and service was fast and excellent. We had the carne asada and the meat was super tender and juicy. Ambiance felt very cozy and comforting with very spacious seating. read more