Cielo Rojo – which means red sky in English – is slated to open in February near 16th Street and Palm Lane. The restaurant will draw on cuisines from Guanajuato, where the Maldonado family is from, as well as Oaxaca, which owner Emmanuell Maldonado calls the culinary mecca of Mexico.
“There's not enough mainland Mexican culture represented,” says Maldonado, who with his sister Yesica have joined their parents Jose and Maria in running the restaurants as well as their michelada mixer business, Sabor a Playa. “That's our goal is to bring a bit of home and a bit Oaxaca to Phoenix, and if we do that in the way that we're preparing to do it, I believe it will be a success, God-willing of course.”
The Maldonados’ Mariscos Playa Hermosa has been a favorite for Mexican seafood since they opened the restaurant in 2002. It was our Best of Phoenix pick for 2023’s Best Mexican Seafood and among the New Times' Top 100 Phoenix Restaurants. Maldonado is aware of the pressure that comes with opening a new concept when one so beloved is less than a mile down 16th Street.
“We have 22 years of brand recognition with Playa Hermosa, so people are going to judge us, based off of that,” Maldonado says.
But, he says the family is up to the challenge and ready to showcase another style of Mexican food.
“I feel like if we did a blend of those two cultures in a unique way, in our way … we will stand out,” he says.
The Maldonado family is known in Phoenix for their colorful seafood restaurant Mariscos Playa Hermosa (shown).
Lauren Cusimano
What’s on the menu?
The menu is centered around foods the family and the kitchen team enjoy cooking at home and for each other. Maldonado says the menu will include some of his favorite foods from his childhood, like his mom’s red Mexican rice, hand-made tortillas, enchiladas and his dad’s carne apache – a ceviche-style preparation that swaps the seafood for steak. It’s an appetizer that the family would beg Jose to make.“It's just such a special experience,” he says. “He would make a big batch. My family and I always loved it.”
Also on the menu will be a 21-ingredient mole.
“It’s going to be as authentic as you can get,” Maldonado says. “It depends on where you're from, so if you’re from Oaxaca, you're used to that sweet but spice(y), and if you're from down south like our family, it's more spice than sweet, but we're trying to make something universal.”
Maldonado, who went vegan for a year during the pandemic, says he also wants to focus on vegetarian and vegan options.
“I realized there's not enough Mexican delicious food(s) that are vegan friendly,” he says.
One example of a vegetarian dish that Cielo Rojo will serve is a squash-blossom quesadilla. And, the restaurant will offer brunch on Sundays with options such as pumpkin French toast and chilaquiles.
The full drinks menu is still under construction, but Maldonado says they will serve a spicy mezcal margarita and a tequila sour that he calls “the margarita’s more fancy cousin.”
What’s the vibe?
The interiors will be more contemporary and moody than the bright, beachy decor of Mariscos Playa Hermosa, Maldonado says. There will be a lot of wood tones thanks to chairs and tabletops being handcrafted in Oaxaca from red oak. A bar will center the space and the owners are working with a local artist to create a mural of the Arizona landscape.“It will be a fine-casual vibe,” Maldonado says.
The name Cielo Rojo reflects not just Arizona’s iconic sunsets but also the Maldonado family’s roots in Phoenix and its dining scene.
“We're gonna pay respect to here who we are, that we're here in Phoenix, but also that we're a Mexican restaurant, we're a Mexican family, we're bringing something special to the Valley,” he says.
Cielo Rojo
Opening in February1919 N. 16th St.
