At Lime & Cilantro, which opened in Silver Spring in May, a server pours a deeply verdant aguachile (chili water) around ultra-thin slices of branzino decorated with dainty dollops of avocado crema and tiny pickled spheres of cucumber and radish. The sauce, zesty from jalapenos, transforms the raw fish into a delightful ceviche imbued with—no surprise here—lime and cilantro. The dish is a study in modern art with hallmarks of refinement found at the fanciest of fine-dining restaurants. But Lime & Cilantro is a no-frills spot offering tacos and tortas (sandwiches) as part of its contemporary Latin fare.
Chef and co-owner Danny Chavez, 36, was born in El Salvador. When he was 12, he moved to Windsor, Connecticut, to live with his father, a chef in an Italian restaurant. Under his dad’s tutelage, he trained over the years on every station, starting as a dishwasher and winding up as the sous-chef. When his maternal grandmother died in 2012, Chavez went to D.C. to help his mother, Maria Torres, and two siblings. A friend tipped him off to a job at the Liaison Hotel (now YOTEL Washington D.C.) as a banquet cook at its restaurant, Art and Soul, where he worked his way up to line cook, sous-chef and, after returning from brief stints at D.C. restaurants Plume and Gravitas, executive chef. He left in February 2024 and opened Lime & Cilantro with Fathi Sarsouri, who had been Art and Soul’s food and beverage director. The two had been looking to strike out on their own, Chavez says, and when a pal told them about the availability of their current space, he contacted the landlords and signed the deal that day. “We thought it was the perfect location for our modern Latin concept because there was nothing like it in that area,” he says.
The business partners rolled up their sleeves, scrubbed the former fried chicken joint from stem to stern and prettified the 1,700-square-foot, 40-seat space on a shoestring budget, with design help from Chavez’s fiancée, Sarah Reinecke. Walls, painted in off-white and sage green, are decorated with collections of basketry and wooden spoons. Narrow pinewood planks of varying lengths line the walls horizontally with small wooden shelves protruding between them to hold flowerpots of cascading faux flora. Woven baskets on each table hold cutlery, paper napkins and salt and pepper shakers.
Chavez, wearing a black T-shirt and apron, can be spotted in the open kitchen in the back of the restaurant standing under two large copper heat lamps as he puts finishing touches on dishes. In addition to the branzino crudo, start with guacamole brightened with plenty of lime juice and topped with queso fresco, pickled red onions, chili oil and cilantro sprigs. Then move on to a round, flaky empanada filled with chicken that has been braised in a mole of dried peppers (guajillos, pastillas, poblanos and fiery, smoky chipotles), chocolate, sesame seeds, corn tortillas, cinnamon and cloves. Chavez pulls and shreds the chicken and mixes it with caramelized onions to add a hint of sweetness to the already flavor-packed filling. The pie is served with dollops of chipotle aioli and striations of dark green chimichurri, a South American salsa that, in Chavez’s version, includes ramps in addition to more traditional herbs, including cilantro, chives, parsley and garlic.
Another starter, a hummus made with 75% corn and 25% chickpeas and served with roasted corn salsa, is a good idea that, with boosting of some of its ingredients—perhaps more lemon juice, cumin and chili oil—could turn into a great one. The homemade potato chips that accompany it are fab, though. The “not-your-classic” Caesar salad (it has corn and avocado in it) could also benefit from a boost of extra anchovies and garlic in its timid buttermilk chipotle dressing.
Chavez offers four kinds of tacos, all made with corn tortillas pressed and griddled to order, including al pastor (adobo-marinated pork butt sliced and cooked on the flattop griddle and served with fermented pineapple salsa enhanced with Korean gochujang, a fermented red chili paste), carne asada (griddled flank steak that has been marinated in a puree of guajillo peppers, soy sauce, chili oil and a paste made with annatto seeds, garlic and spices) and a vegetarian option made with sauteed mushrooms (maitake, cremini and button), refried beans, charred broccolini and whipped goat cheese. The standout, though, is the fish taco, thick batons of perfectly cooked and moist fried sea bass lightly coated with crispy cornmeal and beer batter and crowned with pickled cabbage and chipotle aioli. (The slaw, touched with oregano, is the recipe Chavez’s mom uses to accompany her pupusas.)
Among the entrees, a marvelous choice is the roasted chicken breast with a red, chili-based sauce called pozole. To make the sauce, Chavez simmers chicken stock, garlic, bay leaves, chipotles and charred poblano, guajillo and jalapeno peppers for 90 minutes and purees the mixture after removing the bay leaves. To assemble the dish, chicken breasts are brined overnight, then pan-seared to order with garlic, thyme and butter and enrobed with pozole that has been sauteed with browned and rendered chorizo sausage, corn and kale. A final spritz of lime juices adds just the right touch of acid. The chicken is tender and juicy, its sauce layered with complexity.
For another entree, Chavez braises seared short ribs for 10 hours in the deep, rich mole used for the chicken empanadas. The tender beef then gets glazed with more mole and served with wild rice, kale, pickled cabbage, queso fresco and a swirl of chili oil. The result is luxuriant and rib-sticking.
Pan-seared branzino basted with lemon, butter and thyme and accompanied by a kale, quinoa and avocado salad dressed with chipotle tamari vinaigrette is also a winner. I have high hopes for tamales—one corn, the other chicken—but find them a tad bland and stodgy and their fillings skimpy.
Tortas, lightly pressed sandwiches filled with mortadella, herb-crusted pork, pastrami-spiced chicken, or mushrooms and broccolini, are not a strong suit at Lime & Cilantro. Do try the fluffy cheesecake with rhubarb jam and caramel sauce or the rich tres leches bread pudding with macerated berries for dessert.
Chavez won my heart moments after I sat down for my first meal at Lime & Cilantro and eyed a dog’s menu alongside the fare for humans. “There’s a veterinarian next door to the restaurant and I’m a dog lover with two dogs,” he says. Offerings include grilled, unseasoned flank steak tips, “awoof con pollo” (braised chicken with rice and veggies) and “bon a-pet treat” (popsicles made with peanut butter, banana and yogurt). Chavez says you have 30 minutes to get the popsicles home before they melt. The restaurant has no outdoor seating except a two-top right in front of the building.
A sign on one of Lime & Cilantro’s walls says, “Vive tus Sueños,” which means “Live your dreams” in Spanish. It’s heartening to see Chavez living his.