Cielo Mexican Restaurant

The girl and I had a living social coupon.... So we went.
fajitas were hot and tasted great with shrimp. The flank state in it was over cooked and tough. The girls taco was flavor less and cold. Chicken enchilada was cold too.. WTF.
We asked for hot salsa. She brought a side of pico 1/4 the tiny bowl.. $1.99.
My girl said she was gonna eat my guac from my fajitas... Waitress never told us I didn't get guac or sour cream with my plate. $3.00!!! They penny pinch the hell out of you!
Please stay away.

I tried to give them a break on my first review, however on our second trip there is no excuse for the absolute chaos that you feel as soon as you step in the door.

I really hoped the service would improve and they could get a liquor license, so I could happily boat over or walk over. However, I fear for my safety as the food is served lukewarm to cold and the salt content could trigger a heart attack.

I have had equally tasty Mexican food at Taco Bell which also got my order right.

This place needs one of those restaurant rescue shows to come in and teach the staff some systems and how to create food from fresh ingredients and not from a can.

Just close and get a new concept! there are only 50 other Mexican restaurants within 2 mile radius that are better and more authentic. Plus eating a burrito and beans then swimming off into the lake seem like recipe for a disaster.

This restaurant seems out of place. It's too nice for the area it is in. It's right by a small, strip mall, and yards away from a residential district. From the outside, you would hardly know it's a restaurant unless you had a Groupon to go there. I, for one, never knew it was there until my wife came up with this Groupon. Inside, is a different story.

This place overflows with potential. Someone spent a lot of money making it look upscale, and trimming it out nicely. The building is very well done, and the point where, when you walk in, you think, "This is going to be expensive," but it's not. Cielo is very affordable and priced pretty much the same as if the building were ordinary and plain.

Probably the biggest problem at this place for me is that there is almost nothing vegetarian to eat on the menu. That's no surprise. I expect that at a Mexican restaurant, but they didn't even have the usual choices I can go to. One good, vegetarian point is that they do offer "Whole" beans, and the waitress assured me there was no "meat" in there, but I'm not so certain there wasn't any lard.

When they bring the chips and salsa to the table, the salsa is nice. I like the flavor and texture, and it's mildly spicy so that you know you are in a Mexican restaurant, but anyone in the group can eat it. The chips are definitely from food service, and unlike any others I have ever seen or tasted. They were neither good, nor bad, just different.

The food was pretty pedestrian. It was nothing really remarkable, but not bad either - just "run of the mill," or ordinary.

What really sets this place apart is the view. It's a beautiful view of the lake we used to call Hidden Lake that is just south of Westminster HIgh School. From the dining room, and on the patio, the view of the lake is spectacular. The owners chose an excellent location, and an excellent interior, but there is still a problem with the interior - they need to keep it clean.

They had tile floors that showed the dirt of every customer who walked in that day. All around the place it was borderline messy, dirty, and unkempt. That really distracted from the overall experience, and it was really inexcusable since we went there when the place was not busy at all.

This place is beautiful, and, if I wanted to sit on a balcony sipping Margaritas, this is where I would go. I did not order alcohol, but a full bar was there and ready to serve. I do not know if they have their liquor license yet. I would not, however, go out of my way to dine here just for the food. They need to upgrade the food and its presentation to fit more with the upscale style of the restaurant. The place has potential, but they'd better iron out the problems quickly, or they will be moving on.

Cheers:

* Our waitress was very friendly and attentive.
* This is a beautiful spot. It's going to be awesome during the summer when they can open up the patio area overlooking the lake.
* The chicken in my burrito was tender and juicy.


Jeers:

* Still no liquor license - naturally to get a good feel of a Mexican joint, I must sample a margarita! ;)
* The queso appetizer tasted identical to Velveeta. We had to add lots of the table salsa to make it edible.
* It's a turn off to me that they also offer Italian food. Seems to me a place should master their prime offering first.
* They seem to nickel and dime a lot of things like sour cream, a soda refill, etc.. - especially for the price they already charge.

We would like to give Cielo another shot after they get their liquor license and maybe when the weather allows us to enjoy their patio area.

I give Cielo one star because I can't give 0 stars. We walked in and got a table...that's as far as it went. The restaurant is pretty and the view is gorgeous - we didn't even get try the food.
Our waitress was COMPLETELY uninterested in us. We were the only customers inside and there was one guest outside on the patio.
I know we were in a Mexican restaurant, but it IS in the U.S. so English might be a good thing to learn. The true reason we left was our waitress' ambivalence. She had no desire to help us nor assist us with the menu. A very strange experience. Too bad, because it has amazing potential to be a great eating place.

I really wanted to try this place, i really want to like this place, then i found a groupon and BOOM!!! done deal, lets try it on the cheap.

The view was amazing, overlooking the water is beautiful on a late winter night, It is awesome year round i'm sure.
The hamburger my kids had was fresh, not frozen. Thats a positive.
I was disappointed with the albondigas soup. It was lukewarm when brought to my table, it didn't taste very fresh and it had a tangy flavor reminiscent of spoilage.
The green chili was decent but heavy on the cumin.
I had a grilled chicken breast with beans and rice, all of it was good, the chili was sketchy due to the cumin.

The service was good, the lady taking care of us was very attentive.

sigh...if they're around once summer hits i'll try it again. They still don't have a liquor license..that could make up for the mediocrity.

word.

Let me start by saying that I have never posted a review on yelp, nor am I a critical restaurant go-er. I've worked in the service industry and appreciate/understand all that goes in to it. That being said...I couldn't help myself from hurrying home (as fast as I could possibly get away from this place) to post my review.

My husband, three year old son and I decided to try this place out tonight and boy are we regretting it. The ONLY bright spot of the night was the view from our table in the back patio....and we had plenty of time to admire it while we sat and waited...and waited...

Fortunately, our wait wasn't quite as bad as the couple attempting to pay their check at the table next to us (I'm sure as anxious to leave as we eventually were). They handed the waitress their credit card and she NEVER returned. When she finally did come back about 20 minutes later she told them the credit card machine was down and could they go find an ATM to get cash. I almost fell out of my chair and chimed in that they absolutely should not do that.

Back to our experience... while we waited to get our drinks, and then to order, and then to get our food we were forced to listen to music blasting through the patio speakers that seemed to be broken or warped or possessed. It was like some sort of torture device. One after another, people started asking the hostess or anyone they could find to turn it off but no one could figure out how. One table even walked out mid-meal it was that bad. FINALLY about 20 minutes later it went silent, and we cheered!

We never got a refill on any of our drinks (which became a desperate measure once I got my sodium bomb of a meal). I got up and refilled my own water from the pitcher sitting on the waitress station.

Our food finally came out about 40 minutes after we arrived, and the ONLY decent thing that showed up was the Kraft Mac and Cheese. My Chiliquiles probably had a week's worth of sodium in it, and my husband's meal had zero flavor. We didn't even care at that point, we just wanted to eat something and get out. But if we manage to get through the night without food poisoning I'll be shocked.

Unfortunately, as we expected after witnessing the poor couple that FINALLY left (without having to pay at all thankfully) ... getting out wasn't going to be easy. I had to go find our server and ask for the check because we never saw her after we ordered, she came back 5 minutes later and said their computers were down and she was going to have them up soon. Ha! Likely story. She couldn't tell us how much we owed without the computer but said "It's probably about $35.....but we can't accept credit cards." WHAT?!?!?

Ever heard of a calculator? Or a knuckle buster? This place is clearly not run by experienced or intelligent folks. What a disaster.

I wanted to at least pay for what we ate, but I sure as heck wasn't going to just let them guess what the amount was. Lucky for them the computers started working as we walked toward the door.

If you're thinking of going here. Don't.

The service is incredibly slow and terrible. (i.e., it took 25 minutes after we gave the waitress our credit cards to get them back). They put meat in our vegetarian order. The guac wasn't seasoned. The view, however is lovely and the back patio has a nice breeze. Once they get their liquor license, I'll try again for chips, salsa, and margs.

I DO NOT recommend this place even with a Groupon, which we did. I ordered the Fajitas mixed skillet and after biting into the first one it was burnt to a crisp. I did politely tell the waitress who just sort of shrugged and said "sorry". Beyond that, for a family of 3 to order just dinner and sodas, about $56 bucks. A little pricey for what I thought all you got was a nice view of the lake. Try Chipotle and sit on your patio, you'll save a TON!

First thing is first. They don't have a liquor license. I feel like everyone should know this information prior to visiting. Margaritas & Mexican food go together like PB&J!
For the food, overpriced for small meat portions. The hard taco shell itself appeared to be store bought from Costco. They don't have mushrooms at all. Also no vegetarian options. Salsa was good though. Colored tortilla chips were just ok (not made fresh) Overall restaurant vibe and decor is nice but seating is super close to one another-essentially you are eating with strangers. Wouldn't go back unless they get their liquor license so I can have a margarita on the deck.