Vancouver, WA: Bueno, But A Weak Margarita And Bad Guacamole Ruined The Meal

Lindo Mexico Restaurant and Cantina 

316 SE 123rd Avenue, Suite D-11

Vancouver, WA 98683

Phone number (360) 433-2296

Website: lindomexicovancouverwa.com

Prices: $$$$

Decent food, weak margarita. I even ordered The Bomber ($6.75 / 17.5 oz) with "extra tequila" and it still barely gave me a buzz.

We got a side of guacamole ($2.75) because we did not want to order the larger Table Side Guacamole ($7.99) for just two people. It was mostly tomatoes and chopped onions, making me glad we went with the side order because my wife is allergic to tomato, Why do so many Mexican restaurants use tomatoes in their guacamole? It pisses me off because they are much cheaper than avocados, that is the reason why, so it always amazes me how they get off charging $8 for "guacamole". It should be called "tomato, onion and avocado salad" instead.

My wife ordered a Beef Quesadilla ($3.99) and Shredded Beef Flauta ($4.29) ala carte. The quesadilla was small, but good for the price and the flauta was tasty even though the same tomato, onion and avocado salad came on the side along with some pico de gallo (I actually could barely tell the difference).

Quesadilla

Flauta

I had a Combination (3 Items with rice and beans - $13.99), selecting a shredded beef taco, cheese and onion enchilada and shredded beef chimichanga. THe taco was actually pretty good, coming in a fresh fried corn tortilla, not the "pre-fab" variety most lazy places try to get by with. The enchilada was also very good as was the chimichanga. This was the the best Mexican plate I have eaten out since arriving in Portland. Bravo!

Combo

The service was excellent and the free chips warm and the salsa homemade.  The owner (or manager) makes the rounds checking on tables and helping the servers out, even comping a table of regulars with tequila shots as we were leaving. Too bad he did not toss one of those shots in my the weak margarita because that and the tomato-guacamole ruined the experience. I am still looking for my "Go-To" Mexican restaurant in Portland/Vancouver.

Margarita

Regular Salsa

Hot Salsa

CombatCritic Gives Lindo Mexico 5 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

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Read Chris S.'s review of Lindo Mexico Restaurant and Cantina on Yelp

Title: Vancouver, WA: Bueno, But A Weak Margarita And Bad Guacamole Ruined The Meal

Key Words: Lindo Mexico Restaurant and Cantina, Lindo Mexico, lindo, Mexico, Mexican, 
123rd, taco, tacos, Vancouver, WA, POrtland, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato

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Cielito Lindo ("lovely, sweet one") ... Mediocre Mexican Is The Norm In Lawrence

Patio

We ate here for the first time in August 2013 while in the midst of moving, so I did not have time to write a review. I recently returned for some follow-up visits and now provide my candid opinions.

The restaurant is large and the service pretty good. It reminds me of a real Mexican cantina inside with colorful decor and an open feel with a balcony on the second floor overlooking the dining room. The patio in front is large and inviting on a mildl day or evening and Cielito Lindo has been named the 2014 BEST OF LAWRENCE "Best Outdoor Dining" spot, a great place to have a drink, appetizer, and/or meal with friends and family.

The margaritas are decent, both on-the-rocks and blended, but compared to most places in town they are overpriced unless you can catch a special as we did recently ($12.99 for a pitcher on a Sunday night). 

The chips are abundant and appear homemade and the salsa one of the best I have fond in Lawrence. The guacamole ($3.99 for a "regular") is reasonably sized and not bad, containing tomatoes as is the norm in many restaurants and a faux pas in my eyes. The regular queso blanco (white cheese dip - $3.99) comes in a similar size bowl, but was lukewarm and runny, not thick enough to cling to a chip and making quite a mess on the table and my clothes as I attempted to get it from bowl to mouth.

The tacos and enchiladas are adequate, yet boring. Tacos are tasty enough, coming in small, prefab shells and the small cheese and onion enchiladas are bland with little melted cheese. The chili relleno's are well done, coming with plenty of cheese in a large chili surrounded by fluffy egg, but again the sauce was lacking flavor. Tostadas, which are hard to mess up, are OK, nothing special. Combinations are reasonably priced ($7.99) and ala carte items can be mixed and matched for a cost effective meal.

Carnitas

The carnitas appeared underwhelming at first look after arrival, but were crispy, well seasoned, and delicious pork tips that when pulled apart (as most restaurants serve them) filled the four corn tortillas that accompanied the meal ($10.49). I asked the waiter if the dish came with guacamole and pico di gallo before ordering, and he assured me it did, but when the plate arrived there was barely enough guac for one taco and zero pico di gallo. The rice and beans were flavorful and good. Some canned jalapeños topped the dish for some unknown reason with little value added. 

If you do not mind paying $10 for a plate full of grilled onion and a little meat, then the Cielito Lindo's carne asada is the plate for you! Carne asada is routinely sliced and/or pounded very thin (in this case less than 1/8 of an inch), so it appears much larger than it actually is. In this case, my steak did not even appear that large. The abundance of perfectly grilled onion obscured the small, thin steak ... weighing in at a maximum of four (4) ounces. At the equivalent of $40 per pound for a very inexpensive cut of meat, I would expect a top quality piece of beef, which was obviously not the case here.

Side Order of Quesadilla (2) - $14.98?

In conclusion, Cielito Lindo is comparable to the other mediocre Mexican restaurants in Lawrence, all of which fail in comparison to some of my favorite spots in Mexico, California, and Texas. Make sure to check your bill as we have had rather large errors, in their favor of course, on at least 50% of our checks. On our most recent visit, we were charged $7.49 (twice - totaling $14.98) for two small flour tortillas baked with a little cheese (aka quesadilla), accompanied by some lettuce, tomato (half a slice), and some sour cream. So before you leave, check your check and make sure you get what you paid for (or pay for what you got).

CombatCritic Gives Cielito Lindo 5 Bombs Out of 10 ... MORE BOMBS ARE GOOD!

Read Chris S.'s review of Cielito Lindo Mexican Restaurant on Yelp





Key Words: Cielito Lindo, cielito, lindo, Mexican, restaurant, Lawrence, Kansas, menu, food, eat, taco, patio, outdoor, dining, Best of Lawrence. Lawrence, Kansas, 66044, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value