Lacto
Ovo
Beer/Wine
Delivery
Take-out
Mexican
Catering
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. Family-run casual Mexican restaurant. Menu marks the vegan items; some others may be veganized upon request. Uses ingredients like cashew crema, nopal, mushrooms, potatoes, and peppers. Open Tue-Fri 11:30am-10:00pm, Sat 10:00am-10:00pm, Sun 10:00am-9:00pm.


Venue map for Cielo Rojo
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27 Reviews

First Review by cookiem

aenikirk

Points +671

Vegan
20 Oct 2024

Ask for the vegan menu!

I met some new friends here, and we all shared vegan appetizers! Really tasty, and great accommodation.

Pros: Excellent staff!, Vegan menu, and vegan options marked on normal one, Even a dessert!

Cons: Difficult to find parking if busy, Pretty long wait despite having a reservation

SharonR

Points +2931

Vegan
15 Sep 2024

Flan!

Good vegan menu, and good drinks. Great that there's dessert as well, the flan is worth getting. I find the new location a bit overwhelmingly big, although now it's less of a hassle to get a reservation.

One time, despite ordering from the vegan menu there was cheese in my tacos, which made it so I now have trust issues with anything at Cielo Rojo that is cheesy-like. But overall a good place to go for Mexican.

LisaBlighton

Points +33

Vegan
20 Jun 2024

Excellent full vegan menu

If you are vegan, you will be taken care of! Excellent authentic Mexican food (not Tex-Mex) with attentive wait staff who are well trained for serving vegans.

Pros: Extensive vegan options , Wait staff helpful

wifopeoskckflepqpflf

Points +44

Vegan
15 Jun 2024

Menu has a vegan section, excellent tacos

They also have a great tamarindo

amberleeoh

Points +74

Vegetarian
18 Mar 2024

Great Vegan Menu

Vegan menu available. This is the best Mexican food I have had in a long time!

Pros: Mushroom tacos, Tostadas with guac and salsa

DCvegangirl

Points +24

Vegan
25 Jan 2024

Consistently Delicious

I tried a 5 star on this but it won’t let me.
The food here is consistently delicious. We have been going for years and it’s one of the few restaurants where I always want to try the new vegan dish or the special because they do such a great job. Bring your veg and non-veg friends. I could eat their beans, rice, and plantains every day. Gorditas, beet salad, whatever is on special, vegan enchiladas, and margaritas are all great.

ViennaVegan

Points +1558

Vegan
05 Sep 2023

High end Mexican -- with separate vegan menu

Great service, friendly staff. They understand what it means to be vegan. The separate vegan menu has options for appetizers, mains, and the vegan flan for dessert. Highly recommend.

Updated from previous review on 2023-09-05

Pros: Separate vegan menu, Vegan flan!

sarahisvegan

Points +102

Vegan
12 Aug 2023

great vegan options

vegan options are clearly labeled and the food is delicious! the website has the vegan menu laid out separately. prices are reasonable for quality of food!

i’ve had the vegan horchata and flan and they are both wonderful. i’ve had a few of their entrees like the enchiladas and they were great as well. they have 2 different kinds of beans as well as vegan cheese and different vegetable fillings of choice for entrees (mushroom, cactus, etc).

Pros: delicious food, clearly labeled vegan options, friendly staff

inkybrown

Points +360

Vegan
13 Jul 2023

tasty, vegan and gf Mexican food

Cielo Rojo is amazing! Lots of options for vegan food and almost everything is gluten free for my best friend.

MadisonPaige

Points +50

Vegan
24 May 2023

Very vegan friendly

I was blown away by the multitude of choices available for vegans. I’d say 50-60% of the menu is either vegan or can be requested to be made vegan.

I had an amazing mushroom enchiladas with cashew cream and more and I finished it off with vegan flan.

All around amazing experience. If you have non vegan friends and want to go out for where you can actually enjoy the options, this is a perfect place.

Updated from previous review on 2023-05-24

Pros: Lots of vegan dishes, Almost everything can be ordered vegan

Cons: Could be more flavorful

JasonManias

Points +1387

Vegan
14 May 2023

Delicious vegweek meal

I appreciate that they participated in and had a vegweek special, the vegan flight. Everything was outstanding!

VeganBeans

Points +191

Vegan
07 May 2023

Pretty mid

Respectfully, the food had weak flavor and no spiciness in the salsa but it makes sense given the era . However, the presentation was really pretty and I respect the hard work of the chefs. I’m just disappointed and so are the non-vegans I went with. Service was great though and the staff were friendly

(I ordered a taco, quesadilla, and horchata btw)

Updated from previous review on 2023-05-07

Pros: Staff were hospitable

Cons: Expensive , Weak flavor

sapientia

Points +1187

Vegan
17 Feb 2023

Separate vegan menu

The vegan quesadilla had real veggies. Loved the vegan flan. Service was good also

Pros: Great tasty choices

Cons: Small dine in

RNVeg

Points +188

Vegetarian
09 Feb 2023

Ooooh so good

I’d heard about this place from a friend who raved about their tortas. Unfortunately, they’re only served on “Torta Thursdays”and at lunch, so it took me a while to have the chance to stop by. So glad I did. I ordered the vegan torta and the flavors were perfect. It had pickled jalapeños on it which some might find spicy, but I think it added just the right amount of heat. I would love to swing by and try other items another time.

Pros: Well marked vegan items, Super tasty, Fairly priced

Cons: Parking isn’t always convenient , Some items available only at specific times

Laurenveronica7

Points +1592

Vegan
31 Dec 2022

A MUST GO TO

This restaurant is my red sky at night, it’s simply a delight. Warning: this place is always popping so make a resy. We didn’t but it’s ok we had a 40 min wait but there’s a lovely wine place across the street. Seating: we sat outside even though it’s December, it was a rather warm day, but they have outside heaters. Limited seating inside. Very popular take away spot it seemed. Foods: We started with agua fresca and horchata. 2 of my favorites and they did not disappoint, I wish I could’ve drank 2-3 more of them they were so delicious. Could do with less ice though. Then we got guacamole and tostadas, soooo creamy and good. We also got the 3 salsas with them, which is a must the árbol salsa I think is the best, it’s also this pretty orange color. I got the vegan blackened mushroom enchiladas and my partner got the vegan gorditas and a vegan quesadilla. My enchiladas were so rich and filling and I thought the gordita was a crunchy masterpiece. The quesadilla was a good quesadilla, not my favorite. We ended with the vegan flan which had a chunky but smooth texture, but the flavour was out of this world amazing!!! Go today, go tomorrow, Cielo Rojo is the spot.

Pros: Separate vegan menu, Reasonable pricing, The agua fresca

Cons: Long wait , Limited seating

mgilmore

Points +359

Vegan
11 Dec 2022

Great find in Takoma Park

They have a separate vegan menu making ordering a breeze. I had the flautas, enchiladas and margarita and everything was amazing, especially the flautas.

gabandtonic

Points +3011

Vegan
22 May 2022

Best Mexican in the DMV!

Mushroom tacos were my favorite! The cold brew horchata is to die for.

killermiller

Points +334

Vegan
23 Feb 2022

DELICIOUS!!!

I absolutely LOVE this restaurant. Can’t give 5 stars because they’re not 100% vegan, if they were they’d definitely get 5 from me. They have several vegan appetizers and entrees and they are all delicious! They even have vegan horchata and flan! They have indoor and outdoor (heated) seating.

Pros: Lots of vegan options.

mike1366

Points +1299

Vegan
30 Aug 2021

Great Mexican food

Really delicious and creative food, with fresh ingredients. Especially great for takeout and the food is consistently packed well and travels well.

ElissaBVegan

Points +3008

Vegan
18 Aug 2021

Fabulous Mexican Food

This restaurant is very vegan-friendly and offers delicious, upscale Mexican food. Covered outside seating and a good reservations system. Friendly staff.

Pros: Lots of vegan options , Good service, Great atmosphere

shineonyou

Points +941

Vegan
27 Apr 2021

Awesome food

Awesome food! Lots of vegan options, marked in the menu. My favorite is the quesadilla and the tortas (tortas sadly only available on Thursday lunch), but there are many delicious things on the menu.

They also label gluten-free items in the menu.

If you’re willing to park on a residential street and walk a few minutes, you can typically find parking. Also not a far walk from metro.

They’re currently only open for outdoor seating and to-go orders.

ohemgee

Points +823

Vegan
10 Jan 2021

Fresh and authentic

First time trying this place out and WOW I have been missing out! Incredibly delicious food. Tried the chilaquiles, papas raja quesadilla, and maduros. I want to try everything else now!

Pros: Delicious, Lots of vegan options

Cons: Parking

ShaeChanel

Points +46

Vegan
11 Nov 2020

So good, went twice

We loved the food so much wen went back a second time in less that two weeks. The food came out fresh and fast. And the margarita was delicious.

Pros: Lots of vegan options , Outdoor seating with heaters , Great cocktails

beetsrock

Points +807

Vegan
04 Aug 2020

Drunken mushroom enchiladas

I ordered a lot of vegan items on the menu to try them and they were all delicious! Gordita, drunken mushroom enchiladas, nopales, huarache... and there are many more I haven’t tried yet.

Pros: Many vegan options, Cashew cream, Fresh ingredients

AlwaysForAnimals

Points +270

Vegan
01 Dec 2019

Soooo gooooood

Amazingly delicious and beautiful. Can’t wait to go back.

Pros: Delicious vegan tacos

mexicali

Points +15

Vegetarian
28 Sep 2019

Delicious authentic Mexican food with lot’s of vegan options

They have really yummy authentic Mexican food with a lot of vegan options. You can get vegan flan made out of cashews that’s delicious, vegan ‘works’ on tacos w/cashew cream, vegan chilaquiles for brunch, vegan tacos, gorditas, nopales tostadas.

Pros: Lots of vegan options, Delicious, Authentic Mexican

Cons: Not fully vegan

cookiem

Points +5888

Vegan
21 May 2019

Great authentic taco shop

This place is an adorable edition to the Takoma Park food scene, from a couple with culinary experience in San Francisco... so, you can believe there are some legit vegan items. Many items are vegetarian and easily veganized with the vegan "works" option of cashew cream and guacamole on them for an additional charge. They keep it authentic, so there's no tofu or meat substitute.

What can you order? Depends on if you're there for lunch, dinner or brunch. There are tacos and quesadillas with 3 different fillings - drunken mushroom, nopales and potatoes with poblano peppers. There are also appetizers and salads, including guacamole. The tortillas and chips are made from scratch here, in a mix of blue and yellow corn. They have brunch items like Gorditas and chilaquiles, as well as the stew pozole. There are a million drinks to float your fancy. Finally, they even have cashew-based vegan flan, one of two dessert items. Great vegan choices in a not 100% vegan restaurant.

The flavors are delightful and fresh, with the right kick of spice. The folks who opened this place have paid their culinary dues and created this restaurant out of love, but clearly with a talent and flair for great food - not letting us veg*ns be second class diners. Love this place!

Be careful if you go - it is small and gets super busy. Also, the portions are just the right size- not too big and not too small. They're what you should be eating. However, if you're really hungry, you'll probably want more food than just a couple tacos.

Pros: Veganize so many items, Vegan and vegetarian markings/ knowledge of menu, Flavors are wonderful

Cons: Not 100% vegan




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