Cielito Lindo Mexican Restaurant offers family recipes to Cedar Park diners

But the main focus for Roxana is the food, she said. The menu is based on interior Mexican food, instead of Tex-Mex, and the family tried to recreate many of her grandmother’s recipes, Roxana said.

“We make tamales very traditionally like my grandma,” she said. “Ours are almost as good as hers.”

[caption id="attachment_200494" align="alignright" width="217"] Tamales de Chile Colorado ($2.25) are filled with a family recipe of pork in red chili. Vegetarian tamales are also available.[/caption]

Eusebio brought 30 years of experience to the restaurant after working at Fonda San Miguel in Austin, she said. He and Roxana run the kitchen, creating popular dishes, such as the Tamales de Chile Colorado and the pork-based Cochinita Pibil.

“We love to cook, and we love to feed people,” Roxana said. “A restaurant is a perfect fit for our family.”

[caption id="attachment_200492" align="alignright" width="217"] Restaurant Manager Roxana Alvarez said the paint scheme reminds her of where she grew up in Mexico.[/caption]

She said the restaurant focuses on fresh and natural ingredients, and everything on the menu is made from scratch. Roxana said the staff is happy to substitute ingredients or replace a dish in order to make sure every customer enjoys his or her meal. The menu also offers vegetarian and gluten-free dishes.

After moving from Austin to Leander, Roxana said her family felt comfortable and familiar with Cedar Park.

“Everybody here is so nice and friendly,” she said. “I had no restaurant experience before we started this so I had to learn as we went, and everyone was so patient.”

The community was involved in decorating the restaurant, Roxana said, and guests offered to line the walls with paintings and photography.

To put a personal spin on each meal, guests are able to bring their own beer or wine to Cielito Lindo, which does not yet have a liquor license.

For Roxana, the main goal is that everyone leaves feeling like they have just visited their grandmother’s house.

“When you go to my grandma’s house you have to leave happy and leave full,” she said. “So we made that our motto here.”