El Cilantrillo Restaurant

I’ve visited this restaurant many times, and it has always been a must whenever I’m in Orlando, FL. However, today we had a very disappointing experience. The host in charge, a young lady with black hair, was extremely rude—so much so that we decided to leave rather than wait to be seated. It’s really sad that such a negative attitude can ruin what should have been another enjoyable dining experience

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 1

Let me be real: this place is regular Puerto Rican food the same kind of food you can get at any good mom-and-pop spot for a better price. They used to be amazing back when they had the Kissimmee location, but ever since they expanded, the quality and experience just haven’t been the same.

I’ve tried multiple locations hoping it would redeem itself, and honestly… still not worth it. The hype doesn’t match the reality anymore. Overpriced, inconsistent, and nothing special that justifies the wait or the cost.

And if you’re thinking about ordering through Uber or any delivery app? Don’t even bother. They constantly cancel orders, never have half the menu available, and I genuinely don’t understand why they’re even on delivery platforms when they can’t keep up.

If you want real Puerto Rican flavor, support the small spots. They’re outcooking them every single time.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

Ordered from the holiday menu from their catering menu for Thanksgiving and our entire family loved the food! Everything was perfectly seasoned, authentic, presentable and packaged with care. Will be ordering again!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food was very tasty and we would come back for that. We started with the bacalaitos and they reminded us of when we had them in Spain. Pretty good. I ordered the Asopao de Camaron and my wife had the Trifongo with camaron. She always asks for extra criollo sauce with her mofongo/trifongo but the waitress, Erika, apparently didn’t hear her. So the food comes with no extra sauce and my wife just asks again. She didn’t complain. She didn’t get upset or demanding as this was an issue that could easily be resolved. Nope. After some time with no extra sauce or an update on our request we asked two other staff about it. Finally, she showed and said “they are working on it”. When the sauce did show it was that apparent that it had been quickly made. If the waitress had acknowledged our inquiry when she was reminded by other staff that we were asking about it and come by to update us and said, “I know you’re still waiting for the sauce let me check on it for you, it would have gone a long way to making the wait and the experience tolerable. Nope. If she had said, OMG I forgot, sorry I’ll get it right away that would have been OK. Things happen. But nope. We were left waiting with my wife slowly eating her meal hoping some sauce would show up. From the rehearsed greeting (spiel) the waitress gave us when we were first seated it was apparent that she had been trained to greet customers cordially and professionally. It’s unfortunate that she wasn’t trained to care about what happens after that.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 1

My family and I went in at 8:30pm they don’t Close until 10pm the waitress took our drink order brought over all drinks but didn’t bring my moms lemonade until my brother asked for it again. Then she took all of our orders and only my food did not come out that was meant to be an appetizer I asked her for the food and she said oh and and it was 10-15 minutes before I finally got the food NO apology. So we spoke to the manager and the manager did not apologize either she just said “do you still want it?” And “it could have been a kitchen mistake” REGARDLESS no apology for you guys mistake. Never came and offered refills and did not check on us ONCE after our meals until she brought my tostones. I won’t be going back here due to the lack of service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 1

Food was cold and arroz con gandules with beef stew was terrible. There must be a new chef in town. I've been here several times and the rice is unusually really good.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

Absolutely Outstanding Service!

I dined here a few days ago and had such a great experience thanks to Fernando, who is truly one of the best servers I’ve ever had. He was warm, attentive, and incredibly knowledgeable about the menu without ever being pushy. Every recommendation he made was spot-on, and he anticipated what we needed before we even had to ask.

What stood out most was how effortless he made everything feel—checking in at the perfect moments, keeping drinks filled, and making sure our table had everything we needed to enjoy our meal. It’s rare to find someone who can balance professionalism with genuine friendliness, but Fernando does it flawlessly.

If you’re dining here, definitely ask for Fernando. He’ll make your experience exceptional.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Delicious food! Great atmosphere, Christopher our server went above and beyond!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Nancy Is Amazing . Awesome Customer Service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

When we first walked in, there was an off putting smell at the entrance - where we were seated smelled fine, the service was good but the food was okay

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 5

Amazing service, everything was perfect from the food to service. Can’t remember her name but she had green died hair tips. Would definitely come back for her

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Ila served us for lunch.. a pleasant beautiful girl! Recommended the snapper and offered great service. Excellente!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Delicious and great service.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Oh boy. You better be hungry if you come here, the plates are huge and everything is so good you’ll eat it all, authentic Puerto Rican food!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

For 2 years, We've been trying to get out to El Cilantrillo hearing on the radio about their food, and We were not disappointed. It was definitely worth the 1 hour drive. We ordered the Mamposteao Croquetas appetizer, and those were a blast of flavor. We also had Chuleta Kan-Kan & Mofongo Dupletas. Those 2 plates were the best that We've ever had. For dessert, we had the Flan Cocho that, too, was different but flavorful. Our server was JESSEE. He greeted us with a huge smile, took care of us with great personable professional service, and he made sure that we weren't missing anything and that our food was perfect. We will make sure not to wait another 2 years before visiting JESSEE at EL CILANTRILLO