This place is pretty good. I think the price of the food was priced than I had anticipated, only because the place kinda looked like burger joint. Anyway, the food was good, the servings were pretty generous and the staff was friendly as well. I probably won't be going back only because I don't like Tex Mex. read more

If Chipoltle and Pappasitos had a love child, this would be it. We sat down and quickly were brought warm salsa and chips and the waitress took our drink order. I went with the crawfish enchiladas which had a nice cheesy sauce on them. They were delicious! It came with rice and a choice of beans. I went with the black beans which had a nice seasoning but were nothing amazing. The rice on the other hand was really nice with like a cilantro lime flavor that you could actually taste (not just a slightly green hue). I left quite satisfied and most dishes are $15 or less. I look forward to coming back. read more

I had spoken with the (owner?) manager, and said that I never give 5 stars, because it implies perfection, and he asked what they could do differently. Well, we took the blackberry mascarpone cheesecake home, and I decided to give them the fifth star. From the complimentary queso (a reward for joining their site) to the pork enchiladas (house special), Caliente is super nummy! I had the outside skirt steak with fresh corn tortillas (made to order!); and I have to say the salsa compliments everything nicely, with a subtle smokiness owing to the chipotle they include in the recipe. You should eat here. The focus is on the food, where it should be. read more

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great food and price was so good for portion size. service was good the server was very nice and helpful. restaurant was also very clean and the table was set for us when we arrived. read more

I always get their caliente bowl and the ingredients always tastes fresh and the portion is the perfect amount. They have the best salsa too

The food was absolutely delicious and the wait staff was great! Our drinks were strong and delicious as well. Our food came out fresh and hot and the flavor was the best I've had in a long time! Will definitely be back soon. read more

So I decided to give these guys another chance & dropped by after 11am to order chicken fajita nachos to go along with an iced tea. The very nice gentleman that took my order at the counter actually came from behind the counter & fixed my tea for me whilst I was busy trying to put my receipt in my wallet. After a brief wait my bag 'o goodness came out & I was on my way home. Once home I took my deconstructed nachos out of the bag (I love that they did this so that nothing got soggy on the short trip home) & reassembled them. The nachos were very flavorful! The chips were a bit thin for my liking (some places use a thicker chip for nachos), broke easily but after a couple bites I figured out how to eat each wonderfully laden chips. The beans were tasty as were the chicken fajita meat & queso. I really enjoyed these nachos! The only thing missing were pickled jalapenos, which they were out of but the nice gentleman at the counter offered to grill some fresh jalapenos which I politely declined for extra pico. Overall the service & food was top notch. I'm glad I gave this place another go! I'll be back. read more

Poblano chicken, quesadilla burger and crawfish enchiladas . So freaking good, the food and service is amazing. Highly recommend

Service is 5/5, super friendly and fast. Food is 5/5. I ordered a Pork Enchilada and I would have to say this is THE BEST Tex-Mex restaurant we've ever tried since moving to the Houston area 4 years ago. Their queso is made out of real cheese-white cheese of some sort. The pork was cooked perfectly with great seasoning full of flavor. Not dried out or lukewarm mush!! Not shredded or soggy. The cilantro rice is also excellent and the charro beans were consistent with the amazing flavor profiles and dishes that exited the kitchen. In the charro beans there were chunks of beef. You will want to try the other dishes too-it's that good!! Dining is 4/5. Restrooms were in need of cleaning and some tables needed to be bussed. read more

Caliente - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

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This isn't what I expected. It's a smaller restaurant in an upscale area. We had to wait for the server to print kids menus before he even brought our menus. We sat outside under an extremely loud speaker and wound up moving tables. I think the service could have been slightly better in some areas but there was only one server serving the entire restaurant which is scary to think given it wasn't busy. We took his recommendation on the caliente fajitas which the sauce is what sold me and then he forgot to bring me the sauce. We did go on kids eat free night which was nice. Good experience but does have areas to improve on. read more

Caliente - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

I'm surprised service is so good here at this location! They never disappoint. They have a tomato based enchilada sauce that is amazing! Their frozen margaritas are strong and tasty. Perfect for a movie and date night or a girls night out. The location sits on the corner so you get to watch all of the action on the patio. read more

Great spot for drinks and amazing food! Awesome vibe and the people who work there are very friendly. Went around lunch time and was served super fast. read more

Caliente - Menu - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Where to begin. We went on a Sunday afternoon and place was empty. Legit we were the only customers sitting inside. Sat down and ordered withinin 5 mins. The queso came out cold. We asked for them to warm it up, she took it back and came back 5 mins later and it was the exact same. As if they had just taken it back to the kitchen and brought us the same cup of queso. Cold. Second time, she went back and brought it back and it was finally warm. Okay, we won't hold this against her, the kitchen staff was obv struggling. We ordered our dinner while that fiasco was happening. 30 mins later, one plate came out (fajitas) and we waited another 15 mins before the other 2 entrees (enchiladas) came out. Such a large gap between dishes. And how is cheese enchiladas harder than meat fajitas! Finally got the enchiladas, and they were wrong! They had given us both chicken enchiladas instead of cheese. We are vegetarian so had to send it back. 1 hour later, I asked for an update and just kept being told food would be done soon, "soon." 1 hr 10 mins later we received our enchiladas. Again, wrong! They were filled with zucchini fajita veggies etc. wtf, how can you not get it right a second time! I really think this staff was high or something b/c you cannot be that seriously dumb. Literally, the place was empty so couldn't even use the excuse of it being busy. 1hr 30 mins later, we just ate what we got b/c we had a flight to catch and didn't have time for this horrible place to get our meals right. Definitely do not recommend and will not ever be returning. Go somewhere else! read more

I dined here for lunch about 3-4 years ago and my only rememberance of that visit was of a middling experience. Last week, I came back for another try. I ordered the chicken fajitas and selected charro as my bean option and flour tortillas. The complimentary chips and salsa came out. The chips are homemade here and are light and good. The dark red salsa served had a distinct peppery slant to it and was also a little runny in consistency. I gave them a 3. The fajitas came out in about 10 minutes (see pic). The first thing I noticed was the large amount of white meat chicken on the platter. Seriously, it was one of the largest chicken serving amounts that I have ever received anywhere. I started with the charro beans and considered them good to warrant a 3. The chicken was moist and utilizing the pico, guac, sour cream and cheese on the tortillas and adding onions and bell peppers from the platter, I stated eating. I appreciated the sour cream and cheese as added condiments coming standard with the meal. However the veggies were slightly undercooked on the platter and that's a negative to me. I like them cooked. The meal overall was decent but that's all. I would have preferred the platter that the food was served on to be sizzling when it arrived. It wasn't and that's probably why the veggies were undercooked. I was missing the carmelization of the veggies with the meat. The bright spot was that Alexa provided excellent table service (5). She was on the spot during the entire meal. If I returned, I would most likely order something else. One peculiar thing about this place is that in the open kitchen they use two small ovens to heat the food in before serving. When the food is cooked each oven starts signaling with a sound that is very similar to the beeping noise coming from an 18 wheeler backing up. It's distracting to hear that in a restaurant and I am surprised that management would not remedy it. read more

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Delicious food and service! Our waiter Pedro was excellent, on top of all our needs. We ordered the chicken fajitas for two which is really enough food for four. The sides were very fresh and tasty. The guac was wonderful. I am a huge Mexican food fan but have never had cilantro rice and now don't think I can go back. The margas are huge and great blended. Pedro recommended having the mango marga blended instead of on the rocks and so glad he made the recommendation. Caliente is a must! read more

Very casual atmosphere, food tastes incredible. Good for lunch or cafe style dinner. The manager working behind the counter is what makes this place 5 stars. Great service and tasty food! read more

This is a hidden gem! Some of the most vibrant and delicious Texmex I've ever had in 35 years of living in Houston. The specialty meals are where's its at. Check out the Monday special! read more

I normally don't write bad review but this time i have to because of the very discomfort feeling and humiliation the old waiter gave to me and my group. We stepped into the restaurant around 7:30pm, there was no customer at all at that time. He came to us ask what we want to drink ( his face didn't give us even a welcome smile) . After a little bit , he came with all drinks, and then we started to order. He asked the first guy friend in group, and that friend told to me and another girl to order everything, but then that waiter looked at my friend asked "so you not gonna eat?" ( with the serious look) Then we told him the girls gonna make order for everything ( After we came in, there were more customers starting to come in) When the food already came out like 70% of what we ordered , we about started to eat but we realized that we needed some green sauce so we asked for it, he said okay he would bring some out. But when he came out , he brought food to another tables, then back in for awhile, i thought he might so busy and he forgot. So when there was another waiter walked by, i asked him again for some sauce so we can start to eat. That guy came out , and then that old waiter came out after, saying to my face with ATTITUDE that " you eat here and you should be patience " , i answered "sorry sir , im so hungry and i cant be patience anymore" ( i didnt say it with the attitude but with a smile ) , then he replied with even stronger voice that " you have to" then he turned his back. After that, we noticed he go around to ask customers if everything ok, BUT NEVER ONCE ASKED OUR GROUP THAT. We had 2 cokes empty needed to refill , but when he walked pass by, he didn't even care to ask. Then we have to ask for it. The food overall was good that why i gave 2 stars. This restaurant is located at "high-end" location, the service should have been better. read more

Evan "i only give 5 stars" M. raved that he normally doesn't eat queso (so basically you don't get an opinion), but "couldn't stop eating" theirs. It was heavy whipping cream with some cheese thrown in. I could make this review about the value being poor, but as I know rent in this location is "too damn high" I will stick to the food. Background. Houstonian. 30+ years. El Real is my "bar" . Their queso and fajitas are what i'm comparing your tex-mex to. They've been a bit sloppy lately, so i'm by no means tooting their horn, but come on. It is the Tex-Mex Houston standard. Queso: 1.5/5. When it doesn't stick to the chip and cools in about 30 seconds even though you've brought me a significant amount... I'm drinking milk. I was starving so I slurped it down. It was some basic beach, i'm making queso but i'm from Canada, sort of queso. Beef Fajitas for 1: 3/5. Quality of the beef was quite nice. It was a shame to see a decent protein disrespected with onions and peppers that had seen the grill for, at most, 60 seconds. You could have reserved the dried-out Kraft cheese for school lunch, because my refried beans were not grateful. Biggest complaint: the flour tortilla. Nearly raw. Tasted of raw flour. It was obvious the line cook wanted to get back to whatever the hell s/he was doing beforehand: nothing. Place was dead at 7pm. Finale: Didn't check the bill and handed them my card to get out of there quick. Rang me up for 12$ guac when i ordered 10$ queso. Cool. Just debit my card a second time for a $35 meal for one, and you don't have the courtesy to remove my diet coke? Wouldn't want to comp the highlight of my meal. Tip was $6 on $32. I'm not a monster. Sorry for whoever has to wait tables here and thinks they'll get repeat business. read more

We had friends visiting us and we went to try Mexican food, we arrived at this restaurant, Caliente, which does not live up to its name because all the food was cold. starting with the cold, fat-filled chips, but the worst was the Main course fajitas for two of chicken and meat, the meat was literally horrible, we paid without eating because we were sorry with a man only attending. the worst fajita I've ever had really horrible!! read more

Chips were okay to good but food was very disappointing. I had fajitas tacos and the beef tasted as if it had been previously frozen and rubbery. My wife has a chicken breast of which she didn't like either it tasted old or warmed up. We both sent back our orders. Positive was the waitress who was understanding and she gave my five year old more fruit which was good. His chicken quesadilla was very good me and my both had some. Not sure what was wrong this day but the restaurant was very receptive to our gripes. read more

The food was fresh and hot. The strawberry mimosa was DELICIOUS! The waitress was really nice.

Well sadly even taking COVID into consideration this place is not good. Mediocre food heated in a turbo oven in front of you. Three of us at the table. All served one plate at a time as they heated up each plate. Disappointing breakfast tacos contrary to the signage in the restaurant. Joke of enchiladas. Truly surprised by the 4 and 5 star reviews. No clue how they have lasted thru the past 18 months let alone the years they have been in business. read more

This place should be packed with people because it is a fantastic place to eat! We really enjoyed everything we ordered. I got a lunch special that had a taco, a enchilada, rice and beans. I liked that I could choose any enchilada and taco. I got the chicken enchilada with avocado sauce and the taco with beef fajita, green sauce and queso. Both were filled with generous portions of meat. The chicken in the enchilada is chicken breast. The taco was my favorite though. That fajita beef was sooo good! My hubby got the Diablo chicken which is chicken breast with sauce and cheese on it. Comes with tortillas, rice and beans. All was yummy good! Can't wait to try more things here! Employees are friendly. Place was clean with lots of seating. Plenty of parking. Good prices. read more

Caliente - Lunch special- taco and enchilada - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Absolutely loved Caliente! Came here on Saturday afternoon. Caliente is a no frills Mexican joint in City Centre fishing out some amazing eats! Pro tip- Yelp check in offer for queso. This queso was absolutely amazing. Easily top 5 in my life!! We split the chicken and steak fajitas for one and a cup of tortilla soup. The steak was insanely tender. I also really loved the rice and beans that came with the fajitas as they were both super flavorful. The chicken soup was made from scratch. We know this because it took a while to bring out and found out the delay was because they were making it for the day! The tortilla soup was so flavorful and hearty. Easily one of the best soups I have had. We will definitely be returning! read more

Who the heck is giving this place 4 stars??!!!...ill tell u who!!! .......you read my mind!...I rented the whole place out so I can eat in peace....ok..fine..I didn't rent it out it was already empty....they wrapped chicken in a tortilla covered in some white and red sauce with cheese and threw it in the microwave and yet u call it enchiladas....the nerve...I'm not mad just grossed out....it was pretty bad... read more

This restaurant is truly Tex-Mex. The plates/portions are huge. The music is a mixture of spanish and country. The paintings on the wall are beautiful. The decorations are very cute. Perfect for a selfie backdrop. I also was to recognize the two gentleman that were there last night serving. A young tall man with slick hair and a shorter older gentleman. They were so helpful and polite. They were cheerful and happy to make conversation with me when I'd ask a million questions. I never had to ask for a refill on my water. The waiter was very on top of that. I also love that they have vegetarian options. I ordered the veggie enchiladas. They were on the spicy side. They were delicious. Overall I had a good experience here. For me personally I wish they would've had more Mexican deserts and at that also a vegan desert option. But I enjoyed my visit. Thanks Caliente Staff! read more

Caliente - Veggie Enchiladas with no cheese. Spicy! - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

Very nice owner. Good food, willingness to make customized dishes. Try it, lots of parking read more

Love it love it I fucking love it... Fast, clean, delicious, ladies are the bomb with the service. México city in a little corner of downtown Houston read more

Caliente - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

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The service was amazing, the girl tending to us was super sweet. The food is alright, tasteless but alright. The green avocado salsa is pretty delicious. Didn't like that the red salsa for the chips was cold and my food was bland. I was better off going to chipotle. read more

First time visitor.... will definitely be back! The food was outstanding, the rice was AMAZING!! The service was fantastic, great dining environment and experience. Highly recommend! read more

The experience for trying to order online was so terrible I decided not to order. Was trying to order beef enchiladas without the texas chili sauce, but there was no option for it so I called in and spoke to someone on how to order it like that. He might have just been busy, but both times (second time I asked how long the order would take once placed) he seemed eager to hang up as soon as possible so I didn't want to call him a third time to bother him. Most places usually allow you to place your order as a guest, but Caliente required you to create an account. On top of having to create an account and maybe hope the person I spoke to over the phone tell the cook to use a different sauce (or having the cook read the special instructions), I decided the trouble was not worth it. I was trying to order a beef enchilada that wasn't spicy so that I could share it with my daughter, but they just didn't have that option online. Edit: An option to order over the phone (if not possible online) would have been nice for those who don't want to create an account. I'm not going to make an account for a place I just want to try out first. If I like it enough, then I will make an account. The delivery savings don't matter to me since I was planning on ordering for pickup and the loyalty rewards also don't matter because I just wanted to try the place out first. I'm not sure why the beef enchiladas are the only enchiladas on the menu that force you to order it with texas chili. Instead of giving us an option to order it without the sauce, why not let us order a beef enchilada with different sauce options instead? And like I said in my first review, I didn't think it was worth the hassle to type it out under the special instructions. I've ordered from too many places where the chefs just ignored the special instructions and didn't think it was worth the effort to gamble on this order after all of the other things I had commented on. To say the ordering system didn't seem easy to me is a slap to the face. The ordering system was easy. You just did not have the option to place an order as a guest nor the option to order beef enchiladas with different sauce options without having to type it out under special instructions and hoping the chef reads it. You also didn't even offer phone ordering because you just hung up without saying good bye after answering all of my questions. Your comment that other customers like the online ordering system is questionable based on our phone interaction. It really felt like you were just pushing customers to order online instead of giving them the option to order over the phone. Updating to one star for that offensive comment. read more

When this restaurant changed their name from Hugo Caliente, to just Caliente, everything else changed too, and definitely for the better! I really wish that more people knew about this place, though its a little hard because it's tucked away on the backside of City Centre, and anyone not familiar with the area wouldn't really have a reason to be on the road where it's located. The first time I visited since the name change, I had to completely go back over the menu and decide what I wanted. I was reeeaaalllyyy interested in enchiladas, but there were so many different flavors to choose from. Almost like all the flavors of wings you'd have to choose from if you went to a wing bar! Our server ( I really wish I could remember his name because the service he gave us was AMAZING. I honestly thought he might be a manager because of how awesome and humble he was.) brought out a complimentary entire tray filled with small little bowls of each sauce offered for enchiladas so we could eat each sauce with chips as an appetizer and decide which one we wanted our enchiladas sauced in. I decided on the cheese filled enchiladas with a chili sauce, and my friend decided on the avocado sauce. Both were so good, I could have died from all the food we ate. The portion sizes are HUGE and the price is totally affordable and cheap for what you get. Definitely a place to come back to, and a place to share with all your friends. read more

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I wouldn't recommend coming for breakfast in the AM if you don't speak Spanish because it will be difficult to communicate your order correctly. read more

Came in because it was the closest place nearby for queso. Was pleasantly surprised by their menu and ordered the queso and empandas. They were so good! The waiter there was very friendly and attentive and gave us good menu recommendations. Definitely will be coming back to try their full entrees and tacos. read more

The food was very fresh and flavorful. I really enjoyed my shrimp tacos with a Caribbean twist. I don't give the place five stars because their drink selection was limited. They offer wine, wine based margaritas and beer. However, we were told by the waiter that they had hosted a large party the day before. Therefore, their beer selection was very limited and scarce. We all ended up drinking water. I would definitely return because as I had mentioned, the food was awesome! Everyone at my table enjoyed their meal. Additionally, the meals are very inexpensive in relation to the portion sizes they serve. read more

Caliente - Shrimp tacos served with a side of black beans and a bed of rice. Everything on my plate was truly scrumptious. - Tex-Mex Near Me - Houston, Texas

The food was delicious! I'm from Louisiana and the enchiladas there are usually small in size. The enchiladas at Caliente looked like two big burritos. I got a chicken and steak fajita plate and the steak and chicken was seasoned well and very tender. I really enjoyed my meal. read more

I stopped in for lunch and I told the server that it was very cold in there, and she made no attempt to improve the air temp (i was only person dining there). The price of the limited items on the lunch menu were outrageously expensive- I should have just left. The 'enchilada with the "Texas sauce" or whatever it is called was not good at all. Everything else was mediocre at best. I have ordered fajita delivery from there but it was several years ago and very good. I am thinking new owner and new cooks in the kitchen- never going there again. read more

DO NOT COME HERE!! My husband and I were adamantly ignored and never greeted. We walked inside and there were 2 TABLES occupied.. so clearly not busy. I waited for someone to greet us and finally asked a waitress if we could we be seated on the patio.. No response. We proceeded to go back outside to the patio and waited for 12 MINUTES and not even a glass of water. we finally decided to just leave. Very unfortunate and rude experience. Highly discourage anyone to dine here! read more

Had a neighborhood gathering yesterday and ordered catering for 10 with delivery! The food was on time, professional delivery from Pedro, and delicious! So glad we have Caliente close by! read more