Cilantro Fresh Mexican Grill

Reviews 8

KI

Kirk Mehlin

This place had been somewhat of an out of reach, bucket list type place for a long while. My wife often drives by here on her way to work, and she had noted on more than one occasion that she liked the look and curbside feel of the place. And were both kind of self-admitted Mexican fan-boys. The problem is that I rarely leave my home town, and when I do...I do everything I can to get back to my town as soon as possible. So, sadly, it just never came together. And every time we mentioned it, I was afraid I was missing something special. As it turns out, I was. As it turns out, this past weekend found me at the Southern Connecticut State University with my son and girlfriend and her sister for an admittance interview. We had been there most of the morning and didnt finish up until around 2, so, clearly, food was a priority. I hadnt even considered Cilantro and was pretty set on barbecue at House of Bones. As we were leaving, my sons girlfriends was like "oh, theres this awesome Mexican place right around the corner, you should try it." "Mexican" + "around the corner" = automatic! Firstly, getting in to and out of the location can be challenging, especially during "busy-ish" hours. So Im thinking some people might just pass it by without giving it a 2nd thought. If youre that person, give it a second thought. The interior of the place was clean and quiet, with just a few other late-lunchers seated as we walked in, and as we approached the counter...I was greeting by a large menu on the wall that read like a whos who of my digestive addiction list. Everything literally sounded amazing. I started easy with a taco combo plate with chicken and steak. My son decided to start with a hail mary and pull the trigger on the Carne Asada, and our lady friends went with Cali Burrito (in a bowl) and the Sweet Potato tacos. The format of the place is awesome, like...my favorite type of format. Order at counter, get a number, sit down, number called, eat, leave. No messing around with table side service, and in and out and on your way much faster. Once your order is place, youre each handed a personal sized bag of tortilla chips and offered a kind of dipping sauce salad bar selection. I went with the "hot" salsa, and it was amazing. Chips were just about perfect as well, and to be 100% honest, this was my of my favorite parts of the meal. We sat down with the chips and drinks and our number was called about 10 minutes later, no issues with the wait time. Visually, the food was amazing looking. It kind of reminded me of those fancy plates of Mexican food in California that I see on cooking and travel shows. But as we all know, looks can be deceiving...sometimes, now and again...just not in this case. Everything was spot on. Meat was fresh and seasoned perfectly, toppings, rice, beans, it was all just about perfect. The thing that stood out most to me was that it didnt taste like "Mexican" food; that is, it didnt taste like that standard type of Mexican food you can find anywhere. Very unique seasonings and you can tell that there was much time and effort put in to the menu items. Luckily, the menu isnt huge (which is a good thing), and I should be able to hammer through the whole thing within a year. Given the variation of the 4 dishes we ordered though, I would say that its safe to say that its all good across the board. This place is a must-try if youre in the area. We left super happy, and I couldnt wait to get home to tell my wife about the awesome Mexican restaurant I had discovered in New Haven. She was quick to remind me that we had talked about the place numerous times and that it was actually HER that discovered it. I was quick to tell her how nice her hair looked today. :/

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VA

Vanguard G

Excellent variety of traditional Mexican foods. The atmosphere is perfectly in keeping with the upscale decor. We have sampled many of the items on the menu and my favorites are both the steak and cheese tacos and the Carne Asada . The guacamole is also spectacular. The rice and beans are always well prepared. The service is quick, friendly and efficient. Whenever, Im in a restaurant and see local police and fire personal ordering and picking up from their, its a very good bet the food is good, as guys "on the job " eat out a lot and they know the best places. The place is a gem with great service and absolutely reasonable prices. Cilantro s in New Haven clearly puts Chipotle Grill to task.

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YU

YungAh Lee

I was at first concerned about their recent bad press on salmonella outbreak in June. I had great experience there before so I went anyway. And Im glad that I went!!! I got tacos as usual-- the quality was even better than I remember r! The sauces now come in small pre-packaged capped plastic cups- which I thought was smart to minimize contamination from many hands of customers. Their salsas are SO DELICIOUS and the tacos were very yummy. I like their new tofu taco also. The beef was well seasoned and cooked, it went perfectly with the green chili oil sauce it came with. Despite what all happened in June, I hope people go and enjoy this place more because I do!

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AL

Alex Bozzi

My wife absolutely loves this place. She would eat here every day if she could. Unfortunately, I feel that way about Asian food, so when I want a good Chinese she is really jonesing on good Mexican. This is one of the two Mexican restaurants I will go to when my California girl wife demands Mexican food. When they have it, their tortilla soup creates an out-of-body experience in its eaters. They also have a salsa bar, with a green sauce my wife would drink with a straw if it didnt look funny. The counter girls are all very cheerful, and they always recognize the regulars.

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KE

Ken Kirchoff

I stopped in because I wanted to try something new. The restaurant is very well decorated and gives a hip vibe. I had a pork, shrimp and a sweet potato taco for about ten dollars. I was surprised to find out that the sweet potato was the best. What I really liked is that the food is extremely fresh and authentic. I would definitely recommend this to friends. I had about a ten minute wait, but the food more than made up for it.

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JA

James Hart

Cilantro is a great local place. Im lucky enough to live close by, and whenever Im in the mood for a burrito, this is my go to spot. Its certainly comparable to a Chipotle, except no lines and they dont charge you for every add on. Things like guacamole are already in the them. Im usually very happy with the quality of the food. All in all a great spot to grab lunch or dinner or some take out.

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GA

Games Kaye

Being shut down for a salmonella outbreak and lying to customers with a sign in the window saying it is for a broken pipe tells you all you need to know. Acknowledge the problem and fix the problem, dont lie about it. Why would anyone trust you and your restaurant again when you knowingly put customer lives in danger?

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WI

Will Quiroz

Very generic and sloppy. Ordered a steak burrito a couple of times and for the life of me cannot figure out why its so wet. Leaks everywhere. Oh and getting a case of the poops for 4 days didnt help either. Come to find out a Salmonella outbreak had place shut down. Will never go back.

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