Cielito Mexican Kitchen

Rhode Island Restaurant Cielito Brings Great Mexican Food to Providence | Eater Boston

"Opened in August 2024 on a bustling downtown block, this second restaurant from the James Beard-nominated Alcantar family showcases plates from Michoacán under matriarch Maria Alcantar. The guacamole and ensalada de nopal, or cactus, transform typical apps into events; each comes with sizable fried tostada discs that can be broken up as you go and dipped into the verdant, chunky guac or the texturally dreamy salad of serranos, tomatoes, and queso panela. Meat was a faint memory after the enchiladas verdes, densely doughy pockets stuffed with queso chihuahua and cotija, carrots, potatoes, and onion, atop a bath of mole verde (a bright emulsion of tomatillos, chili peppers, and pumpkin seeds). The comfort dish for our table was the mole de olla, 12 ounces of braised short ribs swimming in guajillo pepper broth alongside chayote peppers, potatoes, corn, and green beans. The dining room is vibrant, with punchy teal walls and terracotta tile accents, and the bar and outdoor seating are just as fun; the night we went, a live jazz trio was playing next door. It’s best for a celebratory group dinner in the dining room or an intimate catch-up at the bar, where the cocktail list is fun and thoughtful—including an Oaxacan old fashioned that imparts smoke from El Tequileño reposado and Doba-Yej mezcal, and sweetness from a bar spoon of agave. There are no hot sauces or seasonings on the tables because every dish roars with flavor, but if you want to add a kick to your Mexican rice, ask for the house hot sauce—you’ll be wishing they’d bottle the stuff." - Jess Mayhugh