Cilantro's: Mexican Bar & Grill

Thursday, July 19 2018

Cilantro’s Mexican Bar and Grill

1224 S. 103rd Street, Omaha, NE

Where we went:

Today we got invited out to dinner by our friends Rodney and Timothy to their favorite restaurant in all of Omaha, Cilantro's Mexican Bar and Grill located on 144th and F in the Millard area. This is a place we have both been before because Eric use to live right down the street from Cilantro’s, so it was nice to go back.

What we Eat:

Having eaten here a number of times we all wanted to try something different. Kyle had the fajita enchilada, with rice and beans and Eric had the Quesadilla Yucateca. Rodney went with his classic taco salad and Timothy tried the burrito special with rice and beans.

Rodney and Timothy had their standard house margaritas, but Eric wanted to try something different. He noticed they had both a tropical and Caribbean margarita on the menu, but didn’t list what was in them, or what made them different, so he tried them both!

The Food:

Cilantro's always has great food and tonight was no exception. They always include bottomless tortilla chips and salsa at your table, and even give each guest their own little bowl of salsa for those of us that like to double dip! The chips are fresh and crisp, and light enough that even if you go overboard on them while waiting for your food, it would take several refills to fill up on them. The salsa is fairly standard: It’s good, but doesn’t taste like anything special.

Kyle’s enchilada was excellent with its thick cuts of steak and vegetables. Eric loved his quesadilla. This one is different from quesadillas at most mexican places because of the pineapple and special chipotle sauce they use inside. The extra sweetness from the fruit, paired with the extra spice from the sauce make for an amazing combination in your mouth. One of Eric’s favorite things is that the quesadilla also comes with a small scoop of masa to add to the mix. Masa is kind of a thick cornmeal paste. It sounds kinda funny, but it is faintly sweet and is really really good. Eric’s never seen it at any other Mexican restaurants, and he frequently finds himself craving it and it draws him back to Cilantro’s again and again.

The two margaritas were also really good. A perfect blend of sweetness with a nice strong kick from the tequila. The Caribbean margarita tasted like a traditional margarita but with some coconut and pineapple flavors mixed in. The tropical margarita was actually made by adding some fruity sangria to the margarita. Both were strong and refreshing, but Eric preferred the coconut and pineapple flavors in the Caribbean version.

The Atmosphere:

Cilantro's is located in a suburban strip mall, but is decorated inside like an old school Mexican cantina, including stucco walls, Spanish tiled overhangs and shelves, and wooden seat backs. The restrooms can be a bit of a journey to find as they are kind of tucked away near the rear of the restaurant and require some sharp, un-intuitive turns throughout the restaurant to find it. There’s a sign near the front area that points vaguely in their direction and says “Restrooms 5 miles,” so the owners at least have a good sense of humor about the awkward layout.

The Service:

Rodney and Timothy come to Cilantro's so often that they have their favorite waitress to serve them, unfortunately she wasn’t working tonight, so we got someone else. The service, like the food, is always top notch, tonight we waited a bit longer than usual to take our orders, but we were so busy talking we didn’t even realize how long we had been waiting until she came over. Otherwise the services was fast and friendly. Our waitress was very keen to keep our margaritas nice and full.

In the End:

Cilantro's is always a top notch place to grab a bite to eat. It has great margaritas and a fully stocked bar for the adults, and plenty of options for the kids. With plenty of parking and a prime location in the Millard area. If Millard is too far to travel, they have two other locations, one on 144th just north of Dodge and a third on 75th and Pacific.