Cielito Lindo

This is the best Mexican restaurant on the jersey shore! Mixed fajitas are outstanding! Guacamole!!! Nachos. Everything is cheap but delicious! And the servers are so sweet. Not a place you come for atmosphere, but the good is great.

Food is fresh and very good. The place needs a sprucing up and a good cleaning too. The service is good. Prices are very fair. Been there quit a few times. Will go back.

This place reminds me of my Mexican Meth dealers neighborhood (and that’s a great thing). Even better you can bring your own beer. Get the tortilla soup and bring your appetite !

Food was just ok really not that good. Service is absolutely horrible. Table was dirty and not cleaned when we sat food took forever and just about anything to do with service was way below par. I hope they step it up soon as they have a good location for a byob right next to the spirits of 76. I would not recommend this place or their food.

Food was not good… very, very dry beef tacos and chimichanga. Inexpensive… but you get what you pay for. Menu had interesting choices that you don’t often find –goat, tripe, esophagus, cactus, tongue. I wanted to like this place and there are probably some good dishes but the wait was TOO LONG– well over an hour for 2 dinners — 2 tacos and a chimichanga. They told us our food was ready and then we waited another 5 minutes to bring it out. Television was on– a Spanish nature program. We got to watch ants devour a snail and a leech sucking blood. At least we left there laughing.

The food is only ok, BUT the service is terrible. I love the authenticity of the place, but twice they have botched my delivery order. When I called to tell them that the second time around, I got a super rude girl that tried to defend their mistake! «What do you want me to about it?» I should add that i am a vegetarian and they sent me pork chops. Don’t even bother with this place. Jose’s Mexican Restaurant is way better any way.

Seriously good, authentic, inexpensive, high-​quality Mexican dining without having to drive to Asbury Park (la tapatia). It’s on par with all the best Mexican this area has to offer. Large menu with real Mexican fare, not tex-​mex slop. Steaks and chorizos are wonderful. Pork chops are excellent as well. The staff is very friendly and welcoming. Would love to keep it out little secret, but that’s not going to help anyone.

After seeing positive Unilocal reviews I decided to take a ride to Manasquan and check this place out. Nice little place off to the side of a Hibachi restaurant, don’t drive too fast or you’ll pass right by it. Friendly staff, served a bowl of tortillas with a nice salsa verde that was fresh and perfectly spiced along with a bowl of pico de gallo that was also fresh and delicious. Ordered 4 pork tacos, and they were excellent! They were filled with spicy pork, seasoned to perfection and absolutely delicious. The presentation of the plate was out of this world, and the whole thing set me back $ 8.50. I will definitely be back to try some of their other dishes.

Awful. I stopped by on my way home to pick up some guacamole and salsa, having read all the glowing reviews, having lived for several years in the DF, I was immediately struck by the authenticity of the décor, the menu, the music and the (sparse) clientele; I was prepared to be impressed. It was a late Saturday afternoon, snowing heavily, only two tables occupied. I ordered my to-​go items, paid, tipped, and waited. And waited. And waited. After fifteen minutes, I told the waitress (who all this time had been on the phone, walking around the kitchen and dining room, and talking to the kitchen staff — not waiting on any customers) I had to leave; she shrugged. Apparently the service is as authentically Mexican as the ambience. I am very disappointed; I really really wanted to like this place, I just moved in nearby from NY and could have become a loyal customer of even a mediocre Mexican restaurant, but it never gave me a chance. I left hungry and very unhappy, crumpled take-​out menu in my discouraged paw. I won’t be back. I would give it zero stars if that were possible.

Went here for lunch just after arriving in Manasquan for a weekend getaway from NYC.
We had some fantastic tacos, namely chicken, carnitas, goat, beef, and pork esophagus which were all great despite the esophagus being kinda weird. They came with sides of radishes, cactus and grilled onions which was more elaborate than at any Mexican place I’ve been before.
And the cherry on top of this tasty Mexican feast was the fact that each taco was just $ 2 !!!
Wish we had these kind of joints in our neighborhood.

Authentic and tasty. Great little BYOB spot to hang out and watch a game. The minute we sat down, tortilla chips, guacamole taquero, and pico was provided. Service was slow, but food took time and love to prepare. Beef brisket taco was very good. Really good if you like an authentic taco– definitely no sour cream or cheddar cheese here!

Great tacos, average enchiladas rojas, slow service.
Overall worth the trip, kind of spur of the moment on a rainy 4^th if July. Good atmosphere but waited a long time for our food and for our check. Food came out mostly correct, some food was forgotten and didn’t arrive until we were ready to leave. I would definitely try this place again though because of the quality of the tacos.

It’s true. You often overlook the local area in a search for something new and exciting. I live within walking distance to this fabulous Mexican restaurant and have driven passed by it numerous times without a thought, Today was Cinco de Mayo and I was trying to find an authentic Mexican restaurant, THIS IS IT. Asked my neighbors to join my wife and I. We all were very happy with our freshly prepared meals. The ladies had the Fajitas Mixtas. They couldn’t finish it and it was delicious enough to take home. I had the Burrito de Polla and the other male had the Chiles Rellenos-​both were fresh and delicious. The Mariachi band for the Cinco de Mayo celebration was a nice addition. I think I just found my new favorite Mexican restaurant.

Holy Guacamole! You have to try this place! Food is outstanding– had the best chicken burrito & guac last night (yum!)

Authentic, delicious, affordable. This is simply the best spot to get good Mexican food around. Now that Cotija’s in as bury has stopped doing dollar tacos they have the cheapest tacos around. Luckily for us they are also some of the best tacos around. I would suggest the chorizo tacos as they are my favorite. I am almost ashamed to admit that I haven’t tried anything besides the tacos yet (I’ve been maybe a dozen times now) so I cannot comment on the rest of the menu. Basically if you are in the mood for authentic and tasty Mexican food that burns your mouth, not your wallet Cielo Lindo is the place for you.
Edit: I tried some of the other menu items besides the tacos and found them to be (mostly) great! The fried quesadillas and normal quesadillas are amazing and offer a great value. The torta Cubana is an amazing monstrosity of a sandwich (and I mean that in a good way). It is just an epically large sandwich that they throw everything on. My only critisisms after trying more items are that the cactus doesn’t seem to lend itself well to the American palate, or mine at least. But I believe that it was cooked fine, I just don’t like cactus. Also one time I got hotdog on the torta Cubana and that wasn’t so great but I took it off and the sandwich was otherwise great. So if you venture outside of the tacos on their menu be prepared for some flavors that you don’t expect, which may delight you or turn you off a particular dish on their menu.
Edit #2: I have since developed a taste for cactus, and it is delicious so disregard what I said in edit #1. Also I should reccomend the molcajete which is basically a mix of beef, chicken, and shrimp fajita dish. It is excellent. I keep branching out further onto the menu when I feel brave (it is mostly in spanish). And they have yet to disappoint me.

Not sure how they do it. Just had a spectacular sandwich and guacamole.
This place isn’t trying to be a Chili’s or chipotle.
This is as good as any Mexican I’ve ever had.
All this and the prices are so low I felt guilty and left a larger tip