Caliente Mex-Sea Kitchen & Bar

I believe this place has closed — but in view of the possible reopening/​rebranding, a couple quick notes:
The service was fine — the staff friendly. Given the size of the place, we couldn’t help but notice how inefficiently it was setup, I’m not restauranteur but it seemed awkward. The chicken southwest eggrolls were FANTASTIC — highly recommend. The chicken tortilla soup was bland, bland and cool. The lighting overly dark. The service was fine, but overall the dining experience took long — wrong model for a place whose main draw is a movie theatre and limited retail.
The location is sure to be filled again soon — I hope the entrepeneurs do a better job and don’t misfire.

What’s with all the negative comments? This was the finest Mexican place I ever went to, especially its shrimp diablo and chips. It was literally the best in my life!
So sad to see it closed though, especially going there just four times with my busy schedule. :(

We have been there twice, however rumor has it that this place has closed. The food was decent both times we have been. The sangria is just okay though. Anyhow hoping they didn’t close as we still have a Yipdeal we need to use… and haven’t heard back from Yipdeals or Caliente on how to get refunded for it.

The food here is below par and tastes like something a half decent cook could put together. Nothing very flavorful and the chips don’t taste like they’re made on site. The salsa isn’t bad, but dinner has just been ok both times that I’ve dined here. Once I tried the fish tacos (which had been suggested to me). It’s not that anything was overcooked or under cooked, it just didn’t have any flavor and the tortillas tasted like the El Paso ones from the grocery store. The second time we went here I tried the fajitas. Again– lacking flavor especially for the price. I would also note that on a weeknight, the dining area is filled with families and kids. If you’re looking for a Thursday night date spot, this isn’t it.
Now on several other occasions, I have been to the upstairs bar area and the outdoor bar in the summer months. The outdoor bar is great and the largest area to lounge outside in the town center. One suggestion for the owners would be to improve their liquor selection. They have several kinds of tequila, but for a vodka drinker– they only had flavored Smirnoff (yuck!). In the summer time I prefer to sip on a mandarin Absolut at least or a flavored Three Olives! An upgrade in vodka selection would probably improve their sales. I end up drinking beer due to the Smirnoff.

Fish tacos! Fish tacos! Fish tacos!
When we go to the movies at Brambleton, Caliente is one of the places we regularly eat. I’d really like to see this place succeed as my other favorite Mexican restaurant went under (RIP Mariachi, Lansdowne).
Pros: Never a long wait for a table, complimentary chips and salsa are great (salsa always tastes fresh and is different than regular tomato salsas offered at other restaurants), drinks are usually awesome and priced well, and ohmygod the fish tacos!
Cons: Service has been slow on occasion, which can be more important when you’re trying to catch a movie at a specific time.
Overall, and I go to Caliente about once a month, I’d give this place a solid B rating (A+ for fish tacos) and wish more people would try it out. The atmosphere is nice and whoever I’m there with has always at least been satisfied with their meal if they’re not raving about it. I’ve never had a problem with the noise level.
Finally, if you consider yourself a fan of fish tacos, then you absolutely must hit up this place for their Tacos de Pescado. I tried them on a whim thinking I’d already found my go-​to fish taco place, but Caliente totally reset the standard. They are so good they’re like wiggle-​in-​your-​seat-​oh-​joy-​here-​the-​waiter-​comes-​with-​my-​plate good.

We went on a Friday night and had no wait! Everything was amazing… the appetizers, wine, margaritas and our entrees! The best salsa EVER!
The only reason I gave 4 stars is because I love chips and salsa and the chips were over-​cooked. But everything else was great!
(I don’t agree with many of the negative comments on here)

I wanted to like this place. Was on a date to see a movie and we got a drink here before hand — it was Cinco de Mayo actually.
We sat on the outside, where a section is up at the bar.
The margarita was actually good — but I couldn’t get over the bartender. One of those loud, brash types, who said at least twice over 10 minutes «hey, I’ll be over in a sec.»
Right dude.
The icing on the cake was when our nachos came out he kind of handed the plate to us like ‘ah, I’m so busy and important, can you do me the favor and take this hot plate.‘
I can see he will not have a future as a waiter. :)

I came on a Thursday night before joining my crazy friends to see a midnight showing of The Hunger Games. It has an awesome patio with lots and lots of seating and space outside. The place is buzzing which is a good sign considering this seems to be in the middle of nowhere VA. Our service was a little odd — we had one server one second, then another the rest of the time and he was a little odd, walking around with half his shirt untucked in the front.
Overall though the mango martini on the rocks was phenomenal. It tasted just like drinking a mango with a kick of tequila and the cost was reasonable.

We went to Caliente last night for a drink and some chips, guacamole and salsa
Everything was bad. I don’t know where start. The «Host» brought us salsa and tired chips. As he put them on our table he spilled the salsa on my friends suede shoes and he didn’t even acknowledge it or even apologize even after she said «oh I think you spilled salsa on my shoe». He just looked at her and then looked away.
Then the waiter came and asked for our drink order. We all ordered Margarita’s and he got 1 out of 4 of them right. He told us we couldn’t have any more chips with our guacamole because the kitchen was closed. Just really bad service and food. What a waste of a great locations.

Ive had 2 good experiences and 1 bad. Calamari is salty!!! The salsa for chips is awesome fresh cilantro taste. Not typical tomato salsa. Ceviche was good. My hubby actually like the wings.
Frozen margarita was worth anything that was bad! The server was fantastic but I can’t remember her name I think Linsey or Lori. It was date night my hubby had my interest:)

Never again!
Hardly anyone in the place and the order took over 40 minutes. Chips and Salsa was OK. Server blamed it on having too many people at the bar, which I saw very few while I was there. Wife had the rattle snake pasta. The jalapenos were raw and cold mixed into the dish. I had the Carne Asada. It was good once I scooped all the rice off it. If you want something in the area with better service and food, go to blue ridge next store, and if you really want mexican go to California Tortilla

Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
Fool me a third time, I must be hungover, starving and spiraling into a state of hypoglycemia. Oh, and did you see the wait at Blue Ridge Grill!!!
I’ve tried to love you Caliente. You’re within stumbling distance of my house and I love tex-​mex. That should be a match made in culinary heaven every time. Except, except … dammit, I can’t overlook the food.
My first table side guacamole experience I looked on in horror as the «chef» (who I think was also busing tables) chopped up an avocado, threw in some perfunctory green and red things and a dash of salt, and then gave two hefty mashes. Hey, thanks for the avocado chunk salad guy! Rosa Mexicano is eagerly awaiting your application.
Fajitas. I love fajitas. As Mr. Brokeback said, «I wish I knew how to quit you!» My waistline agrees. I’ve gathered (ahem, eaten) enough fajitas across this great land of ours to form an educated opinion. And my opinion of the ones I’ve had (twice, mind you … see fool reference above) is a big fat MEH. Do us a favor, have one of your chefs visit Rio Grande or Los Tios and eat their fajitas. Have him/​her take notes … «cook medium, marinated with nice blend of flavors, tender and juicy.» Compare with what you’re serving …“cook to beef jerky consistency, end.” C’mon, you can do better.
BTW, I’ve always been perplexed with the whole Mex-​Sea tag line and fish logo. The only fish you have on the menu are fish tacos. Odd.
At least there is the alcohol. And the outdoor patio. Win/​win!

So this place is definitely hit or miss.
Our First Visit:
We decided to grab a few drinks while waiting to meet up with friends for a movie. I like the patio seating just off the bar. We had a few drinks, some chips and salsa and split the carne asada entrée.
Drinks were good and not overpriced as we were catching the end of Happy Hour. The chips and salsa were meh. Salsa was pretty good, but the chips desperately needed salt. The carne asade was tender and flavorful, but we didn’t enjoy the rice or beans.
Our Second Visit:
Decided to grab dinner on the patio. Salsa was watery and bland. Chips were beyond stale. I order the Diablo Shrimp, which amounted to 6 small shrimp (tails on) drowning in a heavy brown sauce that was mildly spicy with a side of mediocre rice and beans.
Summary — a decent place for drinks, but forego dinner.

This rating is solely based on my last visit not the previous 3
My husband and I had tickets for a movie around 730 on a Saturday night, so we got to the theater about an hour earlier to grab a bite at Blue Ridge but it was packed –about 40 min wait– so we looked across the plaza to Caliente and it was empty… so we were hungry we gave it yet again another shot.
We walked in and immediately got seated, the hostess was overly nice. Our waiter was fabulous, he gave us a few tips and recommended a couple flavored margaritas (I got a cranberry, husband got one w/​pineapple) they were good. I love the salsa at this place. The chips I think they mix old and new because some were chewy and tasted different than others that you can tell were fried that same day… I tried to sneak the crappy ones to my husband’s side of the basket =) We ordered the shrimp and calamari to start. Shrimp was amazing, calamari was a joke… the sauce was good but the actual calamari was terrible quality and looked dry/​skinny don’t know how to explain it. I ordered the ceviche as entrée and my husband got a poblano pepper stuffed with seafood. I enjoyed mine, I wish it had avocado on it but oh well. His was okay, not great not terrible.
I see hope! Keep improving Caliente I would love to be a fan.

Considering my work’s home office is in the middle of east bumblefuck, my coworkers and I don’t have many options for happy hour right after work. We opted to go here after someone recommended it. I figured at the very least a restaurant next to a movie theatre in a strip mall would have some decent people watching going on. I was right. A few cougars on the prowl, a mini mullet, a pair of mom jeans, and a gold chain-​wearing guido were all representing at the bar…*truly* living up to the establishment’s namesake. MUY CALIENTE.
The food was par for the suburban course. Typical crap. Cheese dip was thick and congealed in about 2 minutes. Chips were slightly stale. My grilled chicken sandwich’s description on the menu didn’t match what actually came out on my plate. The only reason that I actually had a good time was due to my coworkers and the half-​priced drinks. Caliente? No me chingues!

Ridiculously yummy Margaritas
+
Great salsa
+
Better than average Happy Hour drink specials
+
Mexican food
+
Nice location
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -
Blah
Wait, how can this be? Shouldn’t the answer to the equation above be FREAKIN’ AWESOME?
You all are in luck because I got a solid B in Calculus so clearly I know what went wrong.
1. Bad Service … The first time I went, it took someone a good 5 minutes to bring us chips & salsa. Not acceptable at a Mexican restaurant.
2. Lackluster Menu … The menu is relatively small and the items don’t sound appealing. The one exception is the Spicy Shrimp App … YUMMO!
3. Weird Smell … The place just plain smells weird.
Bottom line … The margaritas get 5 stars. They are literally the best margaritas I’ve ever had. The spicy shrimp get 4 stars. The rest of the stuff gets 1 star. Clearly this averages to 3 stars. Once they get their act together (read: REPLACE THE FUNKY SMELL) and beef up their menu … this place *should* be rockin’.

I’m on the fence here between one star and two. Here it is… the atmosphere is good (décor and potential), but in short… the place sucks. It’s as simple as that. It may be cool to have a drink before a movie, but you get similar quality food and service at any run of the mill chain (chili’s, fridays, etc.). I expected more. Synopsis of experience:
5:30 Tuesday
Get seated quickly, it’s pretty slow at 5:30
Served chips and salsa which were fine
Got a few margaritas
Had to walk to the hostess stand to ask for silverware after being there for 15 minutes
Food takes about 30 minutes to come out and there are literally 5 tables in the entire place.
Waiter asks if we want more chips… sure. it’s taking forever… he takes them from an adjacent table and says «do you just want these, they left and didn’t touch them». Sure dude.whatever.
Food finally comes: My steak fajitas were well done and would have been just as good, but probably better from any other place in the area. My fiancé’s tacos were ok according to her.
I couldn’t wait to get out of there.
It really deserves one star, but i bet if i just sat at the bar for a drink, i would have given it 2 – 3.

the service here is horrendous. i went with my sister when they had a «small» menu. server never mentioned that they were out of ceviche as well as something else, as that is what i wanted to order. ended up with fish tacos. the beans were cold and seemed to be old. the rice didnt seemed to be cooked throughout. my margarita seemed okay, corazon and grand marnier. but i think they forgot the GM. the guacamole was pretty fantastic and so were the «homemade» chips but for $ 10, i thought that was a bit high?
anyways, service was slow. unattentive.
went again on cinco de mayo just for one drink as it was the week of finals. they had 2.5 bartenders (the .5 was kind of a busboy) on the outside/​inside bar. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? of course youre going to be in the weeds. HOW COULD YOU UNDERSTAFF LIKE THAT? they were also working the service bar for the restaurant, which was on an hour of a wait. i didnt even see a cocktail waitress outside. i dont get it. youre the only mexican restaurant in ashburn other than the moes on waxpool and chipotle, make your entire staff work. everyone at my restaurant works every holiday, its just the way it is. it took us 15 minutes to get a drink.
i was super dissapointed.

I read some reviews of the place and was not impressed, but I thought I would give the place a chance. So I went there last Friday night. To be honest I was expecting better.
The bar area is nice, I will give them that. They have a nice indoor/​outdoor bar and the drink were ok. I just had a beer so it is hard to mess that up. The place was pretty busy at the bar. If I ever went back it would probably be just to have a drink at the bar and maybe an appetizer.
When we went and got a table the dinning room was pretty empty. I found out why after. We tried the guacamole, which they make at the table and it was not very good. They added way to much lime and they use white onions instead of red. It was not that great.
The rest of the food we had came out a bit dry and tasted like someone made it earlier in the day. The special of pork adobo was a menu item they should never try to sell again because it was horrible.
If you want good mexican food, try going to reston to Uncle Julios or something. I would not eat anything at this place unless you just want something small to go with your drink at the bar.

This place is horrible. We went on a slow Wednesday night. The waitress took our drink order and when she brought over our drinks, she didn’t even pause to ask us if we wanted any appetizers. We had to yell it to her as she walked away. Then, when the appetizer finally arrived, she didn’t bother taking our entrée order until we were almost finished with our appetizers. There were only 4 of us, but they somehow «misplaced» my order. Our entrees took forever to get to us too. The waitress and manager came over to apologize, but by the time everyone was done eating, my entrée still had not arrived.
They had a large dinner party that night, but when we arrived it seemed like they were already in the middle of their entrees. However, the staff kept using the «large dinner party» as an excuse for being slow the entire night. We saw the manager get yelled at by 3 different people, including my mother-​in-​law. He looked like he was about to cry. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets fired. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if this place goes out of business within the next year.
I’m never going back here. As my husband said, you should only take someone on a date here if you hate them.