I normally don't write long reviews, but this experience needed to be shared. My partner and I…read moretraveled from New York to Puerto Rico to visit his family for Thanksgiving week, and we decided to take his parents, siblings, and nephew out for a nice pre-Thanksgiving dinner. We saw Kalizo , thought it looked upscale and promising, and chose it for what was supposed to be a special family night. Instead, it turned into one of the worst dining experiences we've ever had.
From the moment we arrived, the service was disrespectful and careless. We were a party of six, and the host simply pointed to a section and told us to "sit over there" -- no greeting, no walk-through. He dropped the menus on the table and walked away.
We sat for over 20 minutes with no one approaching us for drinks or orders. We had to stop multiple staff members just to ask, "Can we please get a waiter?" Each time we were told someone was coming, but no one did. When the waiter finally showed up, he acted rushed, uninterested, and dismissive. He kept telling us that several items we wanted were "not available," rushing us to pick something else. I ended up ordering something quick because I honestly didn't know if he'd ever come back.
Meanwhile, there were only about three other tables occupied, and we noticed something very uncomfortable:
The English-speaking white customers were getting A1 treatment -- constant refills, servers checking in on them, drinks delivered correctly, food synchronized -- everything. Our table, where we were mostly speaking Spanish with my partner's family, was basically ignored.
Our drinks came out wrong. Refills took three or more requests. Food came out one plate at a time, so half the table was done eating before the rest of us even received our meals. My plate was missing the sides and sauces it came with. I had to physically get up and find someone to ask for them.
At one point, after asking three times for a Sprite refill, I just stood up and went straight to someone and said, "Can you please just bring me a Sprite can, a to-go box, and the check?" because I had enough.
The food itself? Not good. Definitely not worth the price. And the service? Terrible.
A woman who worked there quietly apologized to us and said she saw everything happening, but she couldn't intervene because she wasn't a server. That says enough about the environment.
Overall, it felt like we were treated differently simply because they assumed we were locals or because we were speaking Spanish. Meanwhile, the tables of English-speaking tourists got excellent service.
What was supposed to be a nice family dinner turned into a frustrating, embarrassing, and disappointing experience. I would not recommend this place, especially if you're expecting fair service or celebrating something special.
