Cilantro Chinese Cuisine
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Hours
Sun
11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Mon
11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Tue
11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Wed
11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Thu
11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Fri
11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sat
11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Details
This business is unclaimed.
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CUISINES
Chinese, Asian, Szechuan
Meals
Lunch, Dinner
FEATURES
Reservations, Wheelchair Accessible
Is this a Chinese restaurant?
Details
CUISINES
Chinese, Asian, Szechuan
Meals
Lunch, Dinner
FEATURES
Reservations, Wheelchair Accessible
Contribute
4.5
11 reviews
Excellent
6
Very good
4
Average
0
Poor
1
Terrible
0
travelinbluesgal
Cambridge269 contributions
Dec 2018 • solo
I have done both take-out and dine-in and each time has been pleasant. The food is quite good. They have a lot of the "Americanized Chinese food" staples as well as authentic dishes. The service is courteous and prompt. It's a good place to pick up Chinese food when you're in the mood for it.
Written December 7, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nutgraf
Cambridge7 contributions
Nov 2018 • solo
We order take-out for lunch at our office. The lunch specials are delicious and a great deal. The style of food here is lighter than some other local places. That is, the sauces are not as thick and dark and the taste of the main ingredients shines through. Same is true for the fried rice: it is less dark and oily than at many restaurants. Try the Chinese Eggplant with Basil (or Garlic Sauce). It's delicious. I noticed that some listings online say "no alcohol" and others say "full bar". Neither is true. There is a small selection of red and white wine, Chinese rice wine, sake, and beer.
Written November 16, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pmmnc
Cary336 contributions
May 2018 • none
What a terrific find this was; having lived in the San Francisco area and being spoiled by the Chinese food there, being on the east coast, one's expectations are lowered. Then we stumbled upon Cilantro... wow, it was amazing. The wonton soup was best I ever had...handmade wontons. Every dish we great...we ordered more just to sample, it was that good. Cannot wait to travel back to Boston so I can go there again.
Written June 28, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Knot000
2 contributions
Jan 2019 • solo
I came to Cilantro last week and ordered moo-shi pork. It was fairly good (no lily buds) and so I came back this week. I ordered ma-po tofu. To go.
I think the cook may have been new or may have had a grudge against the owner, because the food tasted like it had been seasoned with road salt. Disgustingly salty, quadruple or quintuple salty. And kind of chemical tasting too. Just vile. Ptooey.
The waiter (very nice guy) asked if I wanted rice (charged extra). Thank goodness I said yes -- that was the only edible thing! My advice would be to proceed with caution -- take a taste before you take it out!
Written January 15, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
M G
Boston17 contributions
Jul 2017 • couples
I really love the food here and only recently discovered it. The food is really wonderful and the staff very nice. As a vegetarian I found there to be plenty of options.
Written July 2, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lunalover
New York City63 contributions
May 2016 • couples
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our dinner here one night. The food was well prepared and extremely tasty. I will definitely return!
Written January 14, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maui Mom
152 contributions
Oct 2016 • family
Reasonably priced, delicious variety of usual and exotic dishes. They took our reservation which was helpful. Friendly staff. Only you improvement would be if they would use larger dinner plates. The house was full of Asian students, but then so is cambridge so maybe that's not a big "tell" for good Chinese food. Big hit with the family, will go again for sure!
Written October 23, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CBEB1
Boston104 contributions
Jul 2016 • friends
I've been frequently ordering take out from this newish restaurant as I live in the neighborhood. I've also eaten in once or twice. I've always found the food to be very tasty and have ordered a good variety of items from the menu. I prefer takeout as the service has been a little slow when I've been there for dinner (albeit very friendly). Prices are very good for the quality and portion sizes. The restaurant is located In a storefront that I think of as the Bermuda Triangle of restaurant concepts, as many have come and gone over recent years. I hope these guys stick around a little while.
Written August 14, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Susan M
Cambridge80 contributions
Jun 2016 • family
We just had an excellent brunch at Cilantro. The restaurant was pretty empty (Sunday noon), which was surprising. I thought I better leave a review or they'll go out of business! Anyway, some of us wanted dim sum and some wanted main courses, and all of us left feeling good. Here's the run down:
Delicious:
- Crispy Fried Tofu: light, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. not greasy at all.
- pan fried noodle (chicken): a mild dish with slightly crunchy, slightly soft noodles and silky chicken. loved it!
- braised chinese eggplant: with scallions, delicious with a splash of soy sauce (I like a lot of salt).
- scallion pancakes: crispy, not greasy and a nice soy-vinegar sauce.
ok:
- spicy broccoli in garlic sauce: this had a hint of sweetness that I personally do not like.
- shao mai: not so great in my opinion. I don't know if they make these or buy them, but they didn't taste like anything special.
Also
- shrimp dumpings: my mom liked these a lot. i didn't try them. shrimp inside a rice flour wrapper.
I think the food was better than our last visits, and the people were very nice. We'll definitely go back. And note, we have no affiliation with the restaurant besides eating there!
we spent $48 on 7 dishes, ranging $3.50 to $10.95 each. very reasonable.
Written June 19, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Freelance9
Cambridge195 contributions
May 2016 • solo
After the December, 2014, fire that destroyed the Mulan restaurant on Broadway, I had given up on finding excellent, reasonably priced Chinese food in Cambridge. Then I happened upon Cilantro. The place was packed with Chinese young people and I heard almost no English during a late May dinner there. When the food arrived, I could understand the appeal. Cilantro served some of the most authentic Szechuan food I have had this side of Beijing. Not at all “spicy for spicy’s sake,” the two Szechuan dishes I tried were both heavily peppery and very tasty. The buzz of the peppers beautifully offset the mild wrappers on the soft dumplings in the appetizer. The two-inch-thick layer of peppers atop the “Szechuan bubbling fish” were cleared to reveal soft and creamy fish that had absorbed some of the powerful spice. Truly excellent and apparently unique. Hot and sour soup was not appealing compared to these other excellent dishes. The place was crowded and the servers were racing around but they still did a great job. The crowding and the frenetic activity increased the sense of authenticity. The bubbling fish was about the most expensive dish on the menu at $19.99. Very reasonably priced. I will go back.
Written May 27, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mark H
Waverley35 contributions
Dec 2015 • friends
I've had lunch here three times and dim sum once. They make their own hot and sour soup (it's a little different each time) and the $8.50 lunch specials have very fresh vegetables and good portions of protein. Try the spicy fish. They'll soften the heat on their spicy dishes if you ask. Now that Yenching has closed, I'm going back to try the rest of Cilantro's lunch menu.
The weekend dim sum is terrific. You order off a menu and it comes quickly. We had crispy scallion pancakes, spicy soup dumplings, spareribs, shao mai, leek dumplings and bbq sticky dumplings . The last was our least favorite, but everything else was superb, and fresh. Notably better than Emperor's Garden and China Pearl in Chinatown, but without their atmosphere. It's a small place and the staff is busy but they try very hard.
Written December 20, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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