A recent trip to various spots of interest around Newfound Lake had us passing back through Bristol, NH around dinner time. While I’ve already got some good places in Bristol that I enjoy, such as The Bristol Diner and LinCross Roast Beef, I decided that this was a good chance to check out another spot. We’ve driven past Cielito in Bristol several times (it’s across the street from The Bristol Diner), and decided that this time we’d actually have dinner there.
Cielito opened in 2017, opening in a spot that’s been a variety of bars over my years passing through Bristol; I remember the Downtown Pub and The Rumor Mill both being here at various points, with Cielito opening shortly after The Rumor Mill passed up shop. It’s a nice location just off Bristol’s town square, and, unlike most of the other restaurants in the area, even has it’s own parking (although parking is never in short supply in Bristol in my experience).
Inside, the bar (which pre-dates Cielito to it’s prior bar existence) still dominates the space, with a scattering of tables around the bar and in the other half of the dining room, but it’s pretty substantial seating, around 10 seats at the bar and as many tables around the edge. This place gets pretty busy on weekends, but you should find yourself waiting too long for a table. One think I like about Cielito is that it’s got reasonable decor: bright colors, a lot of traditional Mexican decorations and themes, but nobody went over the top with sombreros, Mexican flags, piñatas, and mariachi frog statues (I’m looking your way with a bit of side-eye, Margaritas). Tasteful decoration wins the day here.
So, speaking of margaritas… Like most Mexican places that hold a liquor license around here, Cielito has both a decent house margarita, and a pretty decent selection of both upgraded and flavored margaritas, including several varieties I don’t usually see until I’m in the Southwest, like jamaica (hibiscus), morita (blackberry), and pepino (cucumber). Carol opted for the Jamaica Margarita and was quite pleased: a nice combination of tequila and lime notes while also having the rich hibiscus flavor of an agua jamaica.
But in addition to the margarita variations, Cielito also has a decent list of other house cocktails, most of them variants of classic Mexican drinks. I went for the “Spiked Horchata”, which was Horchata Rum, Captain Morgan, spiced rum, cinnamon, sugar. While not being quite as flavorful as a freshly made from rice (or better yet, chufa nut) horchata, this was a nice, enjoyable drink with good cinnamon notes.
For the main courses, Cielito has a surprisingly broad menu: in addition to the classic taco, enchilada, and burrito dishes, they’ve also got a good selection of fish and shrimp dishes, cochinita pibil, and even tortas. So they’ve got a nice range of options. Carol opted for their Enchilada Mole Poblano, which were some nicely executed chicken enchiladas (proper shredded, moist chicken) in a rich mole sauce, with black refried beans, rice, queso y crema fresca, and pickled red onion. The mole was the star here, with a nice, rich chocolate and pepper flavor.
Myself, I went for the Chorri Pollo. Grilled chicken, with grilled chorizo, pineapple, queso dip, black refried beans, rice, and tortillas. The grilled chicken was very nicely seasoned and cooked, with a nice tender texture and a good crisp, and both the pepper notes of chorizo and the smooth cheesiness of the sauce combined nicely with this, I’d definitely consider getting this again.
And a special mention goes to the service at Cielito. When ordering, our server had inquired how spicy we enjoyed things (Cielito does have a tendency to dial back the peppers to meet the expectations of New England diners), and when I said I liked the food really spicy, he followed up, and in the resulting discussion ended up having him bring out some of his favorite traditional Pulaprindo tamarind and chile pepper candy. So the staff is particularly friendly and welcoming.
Really, I’m glad I finally got to check out Cielito, it’s actually one of the most enjoyable Mexican places I’ve found in Northern New England. The food is good and flavorful, the prices reasonable, and the staff really pleasant. I’ll make it a point to come back soon.
