This was the best restaurant meal I've had in Frederick in a long time. My Mom was visiting from NC and she was impressed too! Service was fast and friendly, and the chips/salsa were very good. We shared the 'Combination Saltada' and it was great--lots of shrimp, scallops (large), and beef! It was all cooked just right and very tender. I'm looking forward to taking my wife and kids soon. read more

Little pricy. Awesome chips, salsa, guacamole and service. Our appetizer was little too salty so waiter took it back and brought the new one, and gave us pitcher of beer for free. Been here many times and service was just awesome!! read more

I came here for a friend's birthday and we were a party of eleven. It turned out to be a three and a half hour affair because of how terrible the service was. It took 45 minutes alone to get drinks. Then, it took another thirty minutes for our server to even ask what we wanted to eat (mind you we had known already for close to an hour what we wanted). And took another hour to get the food! And a good twenty five minutes to get the check after asking. What was supposed to be an awesome evening turned out terrible. I will never return. If you want Mexican food with good service, take your business to lapaz. read more

Mussels, kabob mixto, Tempranillo combined for a delightful meal. Andy offered prompt service as did the entire wait staff. I want the Ribeye now, and the Malbec. Or perhaps a Rueda and paella. read more

This place had great food and quick service. A little pricey especially for the guac that sure on a bed of lettuce. It gives it a nice added flavor but makes it tries to hide the small amount of guac for price. read more

This place deserves to 10 stars! I'm from California and it's hard to get Mexican food here on the east costs that good! I will definitely come back. The carne asada fajitas were amazing. Michael our sever was on point. The food came out in 7 minutes! The drinks were delicious ... not a bad spot for Mexican Food! Y'all in Frederick better recognize good food!! read more

The service at this place fucking sucks! We waited on our drinks for over 30 minutes, they had 2 servers working, and everyone was rude. Also we waited for maybe and hour for our food. Fuck this place! If all you want for dinner is chips and water I recommend this place! read more

Best Mexican food in town. Sometimes a bit understaffed, but worth the wait. Eat here about five times a year. read more

Food was just ok. Service was slow and not good. Waiter had to come back to rewrite the order and it still came out wrong. And did not fix the bill until we said something. Would not recommend this place read more

My wife and I eat in Frederick Maryland often. We love walking old town Frederick and walking passed it's many restaurants. One restaurant we've walked passed many times and have said, "You know what? We need to eat here someday." is Cacique. Oh my gosh. What a gem. I had no idea what a fantastic experience we were in store for. We went on Sunday evening when the streets were closed to car traffic and blocked off for just pedestrians, and Cacique had an area blocked off for their out-door dining. We sat at a table for two with an umbrella. Chips and their special salsa came out immediately. There are two types of cuisine. One is Mexican, and the other is Spanish. Having been to many Mexican restaurants in our lives, we opted to go for Spanish. My wife ordered Stuffed Salmon and Crab Meat, and I ordered Seafood Saltado. Oh yes, and two margaritas. The food was perfect. The salmon was a very large cut and my wife kept saying, "This is so good." My meal was made up of shrimp, scallops, mussels, and calamari sautéed with onions, as well as cilantro, sliced jalapeno peppers sliced, and fresh tomatoes. Wow. My dinner was outstanding and was one of the best dinning experiences we've had in Frederick. The atmosphere was relaxed and our waiters were attentive. We had such a great meal that we came back the next night and had a little variation. This time we sat inside. Very nicely decorated with nice ambient lighting. I ordered the Combination Saltado and my wife had their kabob. Again, both meals were outstanding, and my wife boxed up what she could not finish there was that much food. (She had boxed up her first meal as well.) I read the other reviews and I just don't get it. For us, the manager came over several times to see how everything was going. No attitude whatsoever. Our waiters were on the ball and on top of everything. The interior was spotless. Sticky floor? Not even close. I highly recommend Cacique. We'll be back for sure and without hesitation. This will definitely be one of our go-to places in Frederick and will take our friends there the next time around! read more

I was visiting a friend for the weekend and we walked around Frederick to find a restaurant. Spanish and Mexican sounded good. Bad Idea. The service here was horrible. The waitress was not friendly and basically was miserable. It was probably because it seemed like the air conditioning was not on and it was stifling in there. When I asked the waitress what "Tails of Filet Mignon" is, she didn't quite answer the question. she said "the Tail". OK...i still didn't know what that meant and now am kicking myself wondering if that dish was better. It wouldn't be that hard considering my food was disgusting. The guacamole and salsa and chips were good, but its hard to mess that up. I ordered chicken stuffed with Spanish chorizo and it was god awful. Basically they took half of a chicken, gutted it, shredded up the meat in a fine powdery slop, mixed it with something and the chorizo, but really it tasted like uncooked bacon bits. I was expecting a stuffed chicken breast. not recommended. Pass it up and go for another restaurant. read more

Great flavor,, great service, love this place. All that we have tried here is good !! Worth the trip to Frederick. read more

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Just terrible. My daughter and I could not believe that it was so low in quality. So disappointing. We got the Aztec Platter and the Combination Saltado. BTW, we got this through Doordash. The Aztec Platter had only one item in it and had just plain rice which was oversalted. There was hardly any food with it since my daughter only received one item - the taco which was nondescript. The chile rellano was tiny - you cannot even describe it as an item. It was just nothing. The Saltado, which was what I got, was nothing to write home about, so to speak. There was hardly any steak, only two scallops, and three shrimp with the tails on. Not a well prepared dish since shells should not be in a dish with a sauce. The sauce was simply like beef broth and tomato sauce. Nothing special in the sauce whatsoever. My daughter tried to call the manager to tell him about our bad experience. She couldn't get any satisfaction. She tried to identify him as the manager. He could not understand any English to speak of and totally blew her off. She just had to hang up. There was no getting through to anybody else. With Cacique's reputation, we were looking forward to having a great dinner. It was anything but. Note that my daughter had been to the restaurant in early 2019 and it was wonderful. Unfortunately, this place has gone downhill and is resting on its laurels. And the fact that the food came from being delivered is no excuse. I forgot to explain that this order was delivered yesterday in early evening, July 10, 2020. read more

My wife and love the salsa, chips, cold beer, etc. but I notice the wait staff never smiles. The waitress seems angry and the waiter isn't very friendly either. Is it a racial thing? We are white. My wife is a hot blond. I honestly don't know what to think. I've noticed it at other Mexican restaurants, too. There is a big political divide in Maryland due to leftist politics, etc. I'm baffled. We are as gracious as can be to the staff. We thank them, we tip well; at least 20% even in the midst of this. read more

My husband and I chose this spot for our first post-covid restaurant lunch. It was perfect. Staff did everything right to make us feel safe. A cozy, but spread-out and cool atmosphere on a hot summer day. The dip for the complimentary (and very light) nachos is to die for. Not the usual pico de gallo or guacamole. It's indescribable. We wanted to eat it with a spoon! I'm a Caesar salad fanatic, and the seafood one was divine. Not just the same old salmon, but huge scallops and shrimp as well as white flaky fish atop a nicely dressed Caesar. And my husband's shrimp fajita meal would have fed two people. Spanish in Frederick? Who woulda thought? read more

I tried to go out for lunch here today, but we left after waiting 20 minutes for a server to come to our table, which never happened. Several staff members passed by, looked at us, and continued to service other tables. Even a man, who appeared to be the manager, brought chips & salsa and water to several other patrons and completely ignored us. A server never came to our table a single time. We didn't even get water. We ended up leaving and having lunch at a neighboring restaurant. Most likely will not be returning. read more

Love their food and service! Ordered their combination salteado. Absolutely delicious! Ordered a bottle of Enate Tempranillo and it was the best pairing with our meal. Thanks for a wonderful meal and service. Will be back for sure. read more

Delicious authentic food! Every dish we order has been fantastic (mussels, crab soup, and seafood fajitas)! Not to mention the margaritas are delicious. Great friendly staff and they delivered in no time! 10/10 would recommend! read more

Stuffed chicken breast was fantastic! The stuffing of mushrooms, peppers, onions etc. was so good that I spooned some over the white rice. Vegetables should have been cooked a wee bit longer. Otherwise a great meal, and my wife liked her chicken fajitas too. read more

Mothers Day take-out dinner was of mixed results yesterday. My wife's dinner ( paella) was as usual, good, but my dinner was Chile Rellenno, which I had never had theirs before was horrid. Let me explain, the description didn't mention that the beef was stewed beef not ground beef which is the only way I've ever eaten it numerous times before. I hate stewed beef, maybe they should have mentioned this on the menu or included in their description. The Chile Rellenno looked horrible, like a huge glob of a nasty blob because the batter coating was at least 3/8" to 1/2" thick and it tasted like I was eating mush. Ewe. Very very bland. I only ate one bite and then I gave it away or I would have thrown it away. So Dad didn't get to eat Mothers Day Dinner, although I did eat the Beans, Yum, how filling. Definitely the worst Chile Rellenno on the planet. I don't reccomend. My wife did enjoy her paella though! read more

Cacique - Spanish Near Me - Frederick, Maryland

We have been going here for years. I do not know what the problem is but I do not think we will go back. Last night for Happy Hour we ordered mussels. They were so cold, they were just taken from the fridge. Sent them back and they used a new sauce that was very salty and thick. Warmed the sauce and not the mussels, Awful. Plate was warm, food was cold. Service was awful Quesadilla was also cold. Ordered Ice tea and they gave a refill and no ice. Asked for salsa. Waitress had to be asked 4 times. Ordered a drink and it was sugar water. Had to ask for another. This used to be one of the better places in town NO MORE The last few times we have been there I ordered house salad. Every time they are out of ingredients. What a shame. To make matters worse, the place was empty so there was no excuse. read more

Joanna our Waitress was pleasant, professional and went out of her way to make our dinner enjoyable. It wasn't even her section and helped us anyway. We ordered the Mixed Fajita Combo with steak and chicken as well as the Chile Relleno with Chicken. #spellcheck. Good food and great service. Nice chill authentic vibe. We liked that and will be back. Thanx Joanna!!!! read more

The food is so tasty here, the margaritas are delightfully delicious and the service is very good! If you want to get that taco craving satiated then come here! Their HH is very well priced on cocktails and their $3-$8 snacks are well worth the cost. Filling because the sizes are actually worth the cost and they are amazing on the pallet!! Tacos aren't all they have, you can order a wide variety of Hispanic cuisine.... American too. They have create seafood too if your feeling tropical! read more

I would have to agree with many of the reviewers on this place, that there is nothing spectacular about it, but nothing terrible (except for one thing, that will be addressed later). The food was better than I expected, although I don't expect much from spanish/mexican on the east coast. I grew up in SoCali so I have yet to find anything around Frederick that makes me think of home. I will give Cacique this though; they know what a chili relleno is. I can't tell you how many times I've ordered one around here, if I even see them on the menu, and have some sort of mashed-up ball of ground beef, cheese, and peppers thrown in served to me. Very odd. I was pleased with this fact enough, to be happy with the food. My girlfriend was not so impressed. The service on the other hand, was AWFUL. I mean, AWFUL. 2 couples had been seated next to us, and had left before we got our check. We are not slow eaters or anything, but it was un-real. When I ordered a second drink, I asked for it to be a double, thinking the bar-tender would get the hint, no such luck. I spoke with the manager about the Hour and a Half debacle, but he just looked at me and said "ok". No apologies, nothing. Since then I have had a hard time bringing myself to go there again. So the food is better than average for the area, and worth the money, I just hope you experience better service than we did. read more

I'm giving 2 starts for 2 reasons.... 1. Ideal outdoor seating spot, I come here with friends every time we are craving outdoor drinks and people-watching. 2. Great salsa. However, the service is consistently bad. Food is so-so. I love the taco salad, but other menu items are not as great. I've also had friends who have has terrible experiences with servers and bartenders here over the years. I typically retry this place every 3 months and the service ranges from ok to bad. Never outstanding. Which is unfortunate because on a slow afternoon, when I'm picking up a carry out order I genuinely enjoy my interactions with the staff and business owners. It's the actual servers and table service that lacks. read more

I suppose that any evening that ends with me climbing over a wrought iron fence to sit on a cast iron dog statue should be considered an unqualified success, but how much of that was due to the one and half pitchers of sangria I had while waiting for dinner to be served, and how much of it was due to the magic of the evening, I'll leave you to be the judge. It was the night before 4th of July, and having the day off, my husband and I decided to celebrate by going up to Frederick for a night of prowling. Who would have guessed, but that the streets of Old Town Frederick was packed with pre-4th celebrations! After wandering around a bit for a place to grab a bite, we come across Cacique, a Spanish restaurant with sidewalk seating, that boasted of a menu that had more then just burritos and enchiladas. We are quickly seated outside in a cute little fenced off area off the sidewalk. The table was small and wobbly, and we were definitely at a bit of a slant, however, this is one of the "quaint charms" of dining al fresco, right? Although we were brought waters promptly, we didn't see our waiter for nearly 10 minutes. When we finally saw him, we ordered a pitcher of sangria and the ceviche to start. For our entrees, I order the Pato ala Sevillana (half roasted duck), and my husband ordered the Salmon Mediterraneo. Another 10 minutes later, another server brings us some chips and salsa and our sangria. The pitcher of sangria was delicious - cold, sweet, fruity and intoxicating, it was lovely to be enjoying this beverage under the stars with someone you love while munching on crispy chips and tangy salsa. However the overall feeling of "romance" tends to pall after a while (I have no romance in my soul). About 15 to 20 minutes later (and we have almost finished the pitcher and getting *quite* full from the chips) we finally receive our ceviche. While it was decent, lack of a complexity of flavor made this dish rather flat for me. Another 30 - 40 minutes later, we finally get our entrees. My duck was quite delicious with a marvelous richness of flavor that I found surprising after the ceviche. However, I did feel that the duck was a touch overdone, as I tend to like my duck served medium - and this was definitely well done. I was much more disappointed in my husband's dish. His Salmon Mediterraneo (for $15), was just a medium square of salmon, lost on his big plate with some white cream sauce drizzled over it. It did not come with any sides or anything to compliment the fish. While the fish was good, it was by no means $15 worth of good, for just one square of fish. Very disappointing. The service, as you can tell, was rather poor. I know that the wait on the food is controlled by the kitchen, however, our server didn't do himself any favors either. During the long waits for our food, he never once checked up on us. In fact, whenever we needed anything, we ended up flagging down other servers or the busboy - because our server just couldn't be found. Also, as I mentioned before, the table was rather small. With two water glasses, two sangria glasses, a pitcher of sangria, and a basket of chips and a bowl of salsa, plus the usual table knickknacks our table was quite full before the ceviche arrived. During the 30 - 40 minute wait for our entree, no one came by to clear off our table, and indeed, once our entrees arrived, our server just plunked down our plates without removing a single item. Our table was so overcrowded that both of our entree dishes were half off the table, and the (now empty) sangria pitcher hung dangerously off the edge. After ordering a half pitcher of sangria, we ask for our check - and was able to finish the sangria before we ever saw our server again. However, like I mentioned in the beginning - we did end up killing a pitcher and half of sangria, and I climbed over a fence and made my husband take a picture of me on a cast iron dog statue, so obviously we had a fabulous time, regardless of how dinner was. We also made friends with the very nice couple that was sitting at the table next to us (I'm super friendly after a pitcher and half of sangria), and the night was beautiful. I will say that the sangria, the chips, salsa and my duck dish were commendable and worthy of a repeat, however, with the slow service and the lackluster flavors of the ceviche and salmon, I will be sure to only come back when it's just a casual night with my husband rather then a special occasion with friends. read more

Atmosphere was very nice. The food came quick and it was delicious. Staff were also very attentive. I will be going back every time I am in Maryland on business. read more

Not a bad place. Food quality is inconsistant. Service is friendly and good. I went back and had the steak and shrimp. The steak was full of gristle and was tough. The shrimp were dried out. I'm never going back. read more

My favorite Happy Hour in Frederick by far.... Mojitos mottled by HAND in front of us, massive margaritas (both only $4), with an EXCELLENT menu of perfectly seasoned and fried calamari, guacamole, quesadillas, and especially the mussels ($3-5). The new bartender is amazing, I wish I could remember her name, she has short blonde hair, tell her Mrs. Harbison sent you! read more

Great service and awesome food. LOVE the fajitas!!! The salsa and guac are good too. :-)

We went for dinner on Saturday evening. We were a party of seven. For some reason they crammed us into a table that was too small while a 2 person table right behind us sat empty the entire time. There wasn't enough room on the table for our dishes. Two of us had fajitas which took up a little extra room. They could have and should have offered to combine the empty table with ours. The food was just average. Not good enough to go back again. And, our poor waitress was completely overwhelmed. Everything we asked for was forgotten and one of the orders was not correct. She went into the kitchen to fix it and never came back. We ended up asking three different people for refills on our drinks, extra tortillas, and even the check. Sadly, I think some of the chain restaurants have better food. read more

This place always seemed packed which is good. We've had really good food so far, the vegetarian fajitas and cheese enchiladas are actually really great. Unfortunately the lackluster service 2 out of the 3 times we've been here and the fact that I always smell like a taco kitchen the rest of the night is kinda horrible? Step up your service game and get five stars Cacique! read more

The food is excellent, the place is nice, and the staff is friendly enough. The service was incredibly slow despite being 2pm and a nearly empty restaurant and the restaurant was freezing, we had to eat with our coats on read more

I love Cacique. The mix between Mexican and Spanish is a great idea. You start out with free chips and their homemade salsa that's good. All the Mexican dishes we've had are great. Burritos, tacos and enchiladas. My favorite dish is the Zarzula Marisco. It's a Spanish stew filled with fresh seafood. Scallops, shrimp, calamari, and lobster. So good. Can't get enough of it. read more

No reservation, Friday 8:30pm, party of 8. Restaurant is huge, staff pulled together tables. Then 7 other friends walked in. Staff said "no problem". 5 minutes later they had a long table for 15. All with a smile even though it was at the end of the night. Yep, separate checks by couple (some didn't even sit together). Waitress knew exactly how to handle the large party. Again, this is all on-the-fly. Service and food were excellent, and the bills were all correct at the end. Wow. Impressive waitstaff! The seafood soup looked incredible, other dishes were all very good to excellent. This situation ends in disaster 90% of the time, but not at Cacique! BRAVO!! read more

I love their sangria but $30 is a bit steep for a pitcher. I had a shrimp, scallop and filet dish and i wondered why i wasnt asked how i liked my steak cooked...it was obviously one size fits all BUT while the steak was cooked more than i like the overall dish was wonderful -- full of great flavors and nice portion. The shrimp appetizer was wonderful but of course anything smoothered in butter, white wine and garlic is! I should have known better than to order a tiramisu at a spanish restaurant; nice but not the best. Yes, I will return. read more

Made reservations for 10 people at 7. Didn't get sat until after 7:25. Sat down at table and did not get menus. So the start to my wife's birthday sucked. Then we ordered drinks which took way too long and when the appetizers came out they only brought one and then the rest of them 5 minutes later. Dinner was ok as it took a very long time for the food to come. Sorry to say but we will not be going back. Wish it would have been better. read more

This is one of my wife's favorite restaurants. We've tried numerous different plates and have yet to find something we didn't like. The margaritas and red wine are great too. read more

Three hairs were found in the queso. Gets two stars instead of one because we didn't get food poisoning (which I was honestly expecting).

I've been meaning to try this restaurant for a while, but was a bit hesitant because of the Yelp 3-star rating. Yelp reviewers are indeed correct. I would give this restaurant 2-1/2 stars, but if I can't, a 2-star rating is more accurate than a 3-star. We had the spinach quesadilla as an appetizer, and were excited about what the entrees would be because the quesadilla was actually very good. Well, no. The entrees were less than appetizing. My husband had the Laredo platter, which was just OK, but my chicken tacos al carbon were horrible. The chicken strips were sooooooo hard!!! And tasteless. It seemed that they were probably frozen and cooked in the microwave. And the tortillas were also very hard and chewy. Regarding the service: not so great. We were brought our appetizer, but we didn't have plates to eat it on. The waiter did not even check. We took them from an empty table next to us. My husband ordered a lager beer on draft, but he was brought a dark beer. He drank it anyway, but ordered a second one, stating that he wanted the lager. The waiter said, OK, sorry, but we were still charged for both. We did not complain and left the waiter anyway a tip (19% over the total, including tax) because we are good tippers. We are never going back. read more