Reviews Cielo Rojo

My family stumbled on this fine restaurant one day after church! What a find!! The food is absolutely delicious! Traditional Mexican cuisine with class. If you’re in the area it’s a definite stop!

A very nice brunch find in Takoma Park, with excellent and well presented dishes, warm and engaging service, and eclectic decor in a cozy if somewhat cramped space. CHILAQUILES (Heirloom corn chips tossed in a choice of salsa roja or verde topped w/2 fried over-medium cage-free farm eggs, frijoles negros refritos, queso fresco, cashew cream, & guacamole) were excellent, and I got both the salsas Christmas-style and with their house chorizo (also delicious). QUESADILLAS (heirloom corn tortillas filled w/ oaxacan & chihuahua cheese & your choice of fillings w/ pepitas & duo house salsa) were amazing, so robust in all the flavors and the corn tortillas were so fresh and flavorful on their own. I had the drunken mushrooms in one and the carnitas in the other, and they were both exquisite. I rarely like carnitas because they end up tasting dry and flat in flavor but these were perfect. And the mushrooms were more than a vegetarian consolation, they were outstanding on their own. Everything else we tried as a family was excellent as well. I only just realized after the fact that the owners hailed from Gracias Madre in San Francisco, where we lived and enjoyed the food from that restaurant many times. They have definitely translated the quality and creativity across coasts quite well. Parking is a bit challenging, I had to park about a 10 min walk away in the adjacent neighborhood but that's literally the only nit.

We stopped by on a Thursday evening around 5 for food. We didn't make a reservation, but we got lucky with 2 spots left at the bar!! The ambiance is nice and cozy. The restaurant is pretty small... so reservations are highly suggested! We also made it in time for Happy hour, which ran from 3 to 6 PM. I thought the deals were decent! We ordered chicken mole and tinga quesdillas. Each quesadilla was 7$ on the HH menu. I like the smokiness of the mole. The chicken tinga was good but nothing special... shredded chicken with some salsa type of taste. I really liked the chicken mole though, the flavors were excellent and I loved the smoky flavor. The quesadillas were filling. One quesdilla makes for a decent meal. The tacos were good but I liked the quesdillas more because of the cheesiness. Drinks: we ordered the Mango lime and hibiscus. The hibiscus was very fruity and refreshing. I love that it wasn't overly sweet. The Mango was really good too. I liked that it had a good spice and tartness. I really loved both drinks. Salsas were good, there was a creamy Chipotle one, a mole flavored one and a green salsa. I thought the portion of the salsas were WAY too small for 5.50$ and some tostadas. Not worth it. Parking: park around the neighborhood for free. Service: excellent. You could tell they really put effort into each dish. And the waiters were very attentive. But not overly attentive. Loved the vibes and the food. Recs: Go during happy hour for better deals. Quesadilla > tacos. Skip the salsas. Drinks are excellent.

The first time I came here, it was on a whim because I was in the area and I just have to say it was a culinary delight! I grew up eating Mexican food with my mom and my abuelita and now living on the opposite side of the country I don’t get to experience that as often as I’d like — Plus, I have made a lifestyle change and have been vegan for almost 3 years now so having true Mexican food was usually out of reach. When I dined at Cielo Rojo for the first time, I was literally brought to tears because A) they have an incredible vegan menu and B) it reminded me of my moms cooking. I was instantly transported home and was overwhelmed by the attention to detail in each dish— they made them comparable to their non-vegan counterparts. The salsa macha quesadilla is probably my favorite thing but the posole verde, homemade guac with tostadas and the sweet potato taquitos with pepitas are delicious and I HIGHLY recommend the jalapeño basil margarita. Spicy, but soooo worth it. I dined again last night with my boyfriend for an early birthday dinner and it was just as amazing. I’ve been raving about it and he’s been wanting to go so we made a late lunch reservation and drove 45 minutes from Alexandria. Although we got the nopales in our quesadilla instead of the drunken mushrooms we ordered, everything was still fresh and delicious. All that to say, if you are in the area (vegan and non-vegan alike) PLEASE DINE HERE! I am a foodie from Vegas and this place is one of my FAVORITE restaurants. Cheers!

Amazing Mexican cuisine! They had several vegan options that were very good, well thought out, and comparable to the non vegan options. The cashew cream was particularly good and melted to a bubbly a texture that was divine! Our server and the other staff were attentive, kind and quick to get plates out of the way and refill drinks. The margarita was very good and strong! I love that they had nopales, my favorite, on their menu. The location is a little tricky but they had excellent directions on where to park on their website. Excellent food and we will come again!