My wife Jun and I never say no to Mexican food, and we are always eager to discover a Mexican restaurant that offers a satisfying culinary experience. We were in Mexico City earlier this year, so our expectations of what a terrific Mexican cuisine should taste like have certainly been elevated after visiting some taquerias and fine dining restaurants. I think DC metro area is a slight notch below the CDMX standard when it comes to Mexican food but there are certainly some good choices like Mariscos 1133 and Pascual. Cielo Rojo, located in Takoma Park not far from where we live in Maryland and owned by husband-wife duo David Perez and Carolina McCandless, has long been on my radar as potentially another great Mexican option and we finally visited earlier this summer. Overall, the food at the restaurant was solid across the board but didn’t quite land an impact we were hoping for.

As we usually do at a Mexican restaurant, we started with the guacamole and tostadas; the guacamole as certainly above-average compared to other places but the star was the crunchy tostadas that Jun couldn’t stop munching on. Tuna tostadas were also quite delicious, especially with the spicy kick of salsa macha sauce. The tacos at Cielo Rojo were a bit more mixed. Jun and I were very intrigued by the description of “drunken mushroom” tacos (with tequila-infused organic cremini mushrooms) but I thought it was just fine and Jun was rather disappointed the mushroom’s flavor and texture were a bit off. On the other hand, the chicken mole tacos (with local farm chicken stewed in house-made mole sauce) tasted better, as did the al pastor tacos (with marinated adobo pork and pineapple), although I couldn’t stay either was a game changer. For the last savory dish, we shared cochinita pibil, a huge slow cooked pork shank accompanied by heirloom corn tortillas. We both liked the rich flavor coming from the dish, but I felt the pork would’ve been even better with more moist texture. We finished our dinner with churros; again, nothing to find fault here but we’ve certainly had better churros (with more crunchy texture) elsewhere.

Getting a reservation at Cielo Rojo wasn’t too challenging but the restaurant’s dining room quickly filled up during our dinner so booking in advance is recommended. The restaurant has a full bar with a solid list of Mexican cocktails as well as tequilas and mezcals to complement the meal. The modern and bright dining room wouldn’t be out of place somewhere in Mexico City. If Cielo Rojo were within walking distance from our home, I think we would’ve visited every once in a while. We may still visit again in the future, but I just couldn’t get over the fact that there was no dish that would make me exclaim “Oh my god, I’m going to be thinking about this dish for a long time!” Perhaps on our next visit, Jun and I should try other dishes we haven’t tried yet.   

KenScale: 7.75/10 (Jun’s Score: 7.5/10)

Address: 7211 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912

Website: https://www.cielo-rojo.com/

Reservation via Tock