We go to Kaliente when we want a light but satisfying meal. I don't know much about Salvadoran food, but if this is a good example, then we like it. We've had their tamales, pupusas, bistec, and yucca with chicharron, among others. All very tasty... The service usually seems a little less than enthusiastic, but the restaurant is nice enough if you like hole-in-the-wall'ish types of places. Plenty of parking in the adjacent parking lot. My only real issue is that we usually chalk up a pretty decent tab, but I never really feel all that full. But maybe it's just me. Not a bad option for El Sobrante... read more

So so dissapointed. This used to be our spot to go to when I first moved to the East Bay. Now that they changed ownerships the Pupusas are just not the same. This was my 2nd time ordering from here and I have to say what a huge dissapointment of the quality and taste of the pupusas. I ordered to go: 3 pupusas of cheese and 3 of chicharon with cheese and a side of rice. When I got home I noticed they didn't even put my side of rice which I got charged for and then when I cut my pupusas there was nothing but chicharon and they tasted so dry, I do not know if they forgot to add cheese or put a small amount of cheese that I did not taste it I will definitely never order from here again. You can also tell the business is not the same because it's so lonely inside. I will stick to just going to Xinas Bakery down the block. read more

I stopped by while I was in town and I got the fish tacos and they were so delicious! I was nervous to try this place because it didn't have the highest yelp rating, but I have no idea why... I'm latina myself and I say this place is 10 out of 10 read more

I love Kaliente. The food is soooo good. Even my kids love it and they are super picky . It's also really affordable so it's nice to go out to dinner with the whole family. I can't wait for them to open again because me and my husband love walking down having a great meal and drinks. This is our family's go to spot. read more

First time ordering food from here I read the reviews and they were pretty decent so i decided to order pupusas strictly out of convenient since I live in El Sobrante and didn't want to drive to San Pablo to our go to place we normally order pupusas from Unfortunately I'm quite disappointed the pupusas had barely any filling in it and was mostly Burnt cheese on the outside along with just tasteless they were very dense and tough to cut through. Me and my husband ate two and threw the rest away WHAT A WASTE since we ordered 9. No thank you I won't be going back I'll stick to El Sitio in San Pablo they never disappoint. read more

The food that I ordered Pollo guisado was too red and dry and the bistec encebollado was a little portion of chunkies of meat and also to dry and no seasoning, sorry, but no come back to eat there. read more

Horrible food. Meat was very old. You could tell because of the taste. How can a restaurant treat a client with so much disrespect????

Platanos and pupusas are very good! I felt at home when I got my platanos with crema. If you have a sweet tooth, I highly suggest trying the flan here as it comes in a very generous portion with whipped cream on top! I had them cater my graduation party and they did a terrific job. I highly recommend this place when you are craving some homemade food. read more

I have a love-hate relationship with this place. Hate the service ( with the exception of the male waiters), the food quality varies, the price is inexpensive. Every time I come it's a gamble. But last week I saw a small roach on their wall along with a spider on its web in a corner. My chips were all cracked and broken to bits and I noticed when they took chips from another empty table they did not discard it, just set it on a counter. To top it off my child who usually loves this place got food poisoning and within 20 minutes of eating and was running to the restroom. The previous times I have had issues with service. When I ask for a high chair the lady would say while gesturing "go and get it yourself". The food is sometimes amazing, other times just ordinary and not worth coming back for especially if you have to deal with the service. read more

Cute lil place with parking lot. Clean, with an overhead big screen & a plethora of tables and chairs in a minimal size dining area. They have signature soups that I'll be trying, looks delish. Signature dishes looks awesome with pics on diff pages of the menu. read more

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Great food, great fun! They have some of the best service, and this place is a true gem in the area. You can't find much good food in El Sobrante that's fresh, and this place is it. Every single thing we ordered was delectable! I'd definitely come here again, but since we just moved to Oakland, the land of good food, we'll make trips just to come to Kaliente. We're truly going out of our way to come here again because it's THAT GOOD! I think the food is too cheap for how fresh and delicious it is - other (crappier) places around charge more! Keep it up guys - best food and best service in the area - you should advertise that! read more

Kaliente Restaurant - Shrimp soup OMG mmmm - Mexican Near Me - El Sobrante, California

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I been here for a lot of times, for many years, and always, always is a bad service. The food takes for ever to be served, and the servers have a bad attitude all the time. I always came back because the food was good, but I was noticing these last couple of times that I went that the quality of the food has change, it's not good as it was before. I wish they could hire real, good servers and faster people for the kitchen ... read more

Kaliente Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - El Sobrante, California

The best pupusas that I've ever had (next to homemade!) have always been at Kaliente. Cheese, pork, chicken...all of them are great. Friendly staff too! read more

The food is great. Has a Mexican-Salvadoran- American mix to it. You'll enjoy a great time when you dine here. read more

Kaliente Restaurant - Kaliente Hot Sandwich - Mexican Near Me - El Sobrante, California

Sad times.... I really used to love this place, but like I always say if the service is lacking after a while the food alone will not hold the business together. The food is pretty good, it used to be better. The nachos used to be smothered in jack and cheddar, and the salad used to be fresh and flavorful, recently I've noticed a change in the quality. But the service used to be wonderful about a year ago, something happened. You only receive service if you flag somebody down. It took way too long for our food to arrive. They don't ask you if you have questions or what you would like to drink, nor do they come to the table to see how you are enjoying everything. These are all pet peeves of mine that make it difficult for me to return to a business. What happened Kaliente?! Side note, the shrubbery those are really good. read more

I used to enjoy Kaliente - I can observe a change in the quality and portion size of the food and unfortunately a change in service. We inquired of sitting at a table next to us, and the response from the waitress was..."uh, we need to clean it, but we're busy serving this table right now, so we don't know when that table will be cleaned for someone to sit there.." Hence the table stood...alone and dirty. We didn't make a fuss, as we could work with where we were sitting. Our male waiter was very attentive, and courteous, even though he was busy. Ah Kaliente....what happened to you? read more

It's been way too long since I've been to Kaliente. Went yesterday and ordered some chile rellenos and a few pupusas. Food was fresh, hot, and delicious. Service is always kind and friendly. I'm glad to see they are still open after how this last year has been. 5 stars! read more

Is sad to know that the presentation of the order from yesterday was really poor and the flavor was terrible, and the chips while you are waiting for your order was disappointed. Chips were no fresh and completely crumble and salsa was the only thing that tasted good. We asked for fish tacos and Tamales, the waiting time was horrible almost forty minutes to get our order. When we got both plates served in the table I was in shocked, the two tamales where without the wrap, all crumble and soggy TERRIBLE!!! And the fish taco, OMG!! A quarter of a piece of fish no even that the bread was burned on the corners and the taste terrible no taste at all. What concerned me about is both plates have a taste of the oven cleaner, I don't want to make false speculations but we were unable to eat anything. This place was established 2001 I don't know how is holding up but the owner cooker and server should have a bit more of knowledge how to present a plate to a customer that it comes to the restaurant and eat there, I felt really disappointed with this place horrible food and attention speechless Please owner train your employees and cooker and your restaurant will be better not only in flavor but also with customer service read more

I used to go here and the pupusas were amazing but lately it's been crap. My boyfriend got me pupusas revueltas today and this is how it's . Thin and hardly anything. I'm just not satisfied . read more

Kaliente Restaurant - Mexican Near Me - El Sobrante, California

The second time I have lunch here. The Beens were sour. I COULD NOT EAT. After I complained she gave me míseros $3 dollars off. I will never go back. read more

Rinky and her "plus-1 and me and my "plus-1" came here today to eat pupusas and catch up on old times when we were younger parents. Good times, good food. Younger Yelpers: this is what to expect when you get older: comparing how alike your stubborn kids turned out, and how lucky you are that nothing serious happened to them (yet!) Anyway, if you are looking for Salvadoran food in a friendly setting, Kaliente's the place. Across the street is a Peruvian place, in case you need some aji hot sauce. Thanks for the recommendation and the company Rinky! read more

Eh decent place but not my fave... Flavor was just a little lacking! I felt like they could have punched up the taste of the rice & the tamales a bit. Even the tortillas was bland. I know they're supposed to be, but they just didnt have enough of a kick in my opinion.My husband loved his chile relleno though. Enjoyed the salsa that came along with the chips. read more

Into the burbs in search of pupusas. I like La Bamba on San Pablo but it's always cold in there in the winter so looking for a place with a bit more ambiance, shall we say. Or a door that closes at least. We went specifically for the pupusas, though the Salvadorean tamales looked good as well at 2 for $5. Next time. My daughter and I each ordered 2 "extra filling" pupusas and when they arrived at our table, we realized we'd over -ordered. These babies were huge. But we gave it a serious try and only left a little. Marina had the chicken and cheese which had an unidentifiable yummy herb inside and the black bean, pork and cheese , which is my favorite. The cornmeal outer part was perfect, light, chewy and well-browned on the outside. I had a cheese and loroco, which I was told was another kind of cheese and though I was concerned it might be bland, it was really tasty, again with some chopped up herbs that enhanced but didn't overpower the cheesy flavor. Love the little brown bits of cheese that leak out and harden on the grill. Yum. Prices were good; pupusas are $2 each or extra filling for $3 each. Wednesday the chalk board indicated a special of pupusas for $1 each! Service spotty but friendly. House cofee, well, I'll pass on that. read more

Mr Rinky treated me and son of Rinky to lunch here. We were immediately given menus, water, chips and salsa. I got the veggie sandwich with grilled veggies and cheese. It came with a side of french fries Mr Rinky got a veggie burrito filled with veggies, beans rice Son got a lunch special--bean pupusas and plantains Everything was yummy Grat service. read more

Kaliente has great salads, pupusas and veggie tamales. It is quiet and the servers are always nice. The portions are generous for their price. read more

Kaliente Restaurant - Grilled Veggie Salad, great portion and taste good! - Mexican Near Me - El Sobrante, California

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I really like this place. For one, it's down the hill from my house. Second, the food is very tasty. If you're ever in the mood for some good papusas and platanos, check out Kaliente. I can't wait to go again! read more

I normally love Kaliente. great food. always delicious. I come here almost weekly. le sigh. my brother and his girlfriend are visiting and I wanted them to try it. never gotten bad food or bad service. until today. we walked in, got sneered at by the two kids that were working, and sat down. there was only one other table taken in the entire restaurant. making us the second. TWO full tables out of like, twenty. we were never offered water refills the entire time, we were never checked on or communicated to, and when it came to pay, we waited at the counter, ignored, for over five minutes before I just walked out of the restaurant. if it hadn't been for my boyfriend being too nice and sticking around, we wouldn't have paid. THEY WERE SO NEGLIGENT, WE ALL WALKED OUT OF THE RESTAURANT AND THEY DIDNT NOTICE. if you have so much of a problem with us that you don't even want our money, then why should I come back? so bummed. that was bullshit. you don't ignore people. and we were ignored.. IN AN EMPTY RESTAURANT. read more

New ownership.. the love affair is over. The grandmother type lady who used to cook here was the real deal. I think they are marketing themselves to the non Latinos now. Maybe they will will find their groove eventually. read more

Food is really great, service was downright horrible, the waiter was eating behind the counter the whole time never once moved to wash his hands. Disgusting. They didn't seem to even want us there.. We had to get up and ask for more water which makes no sense being that it's a Mexican restaurant and people will need water with all the chips and breads.. When we finally asked her a 2nd time for water she brought us warm water and didn't say a word and didn't even bring enough for all of us (4people). I guess the worst part would be that we were the only table and it was completely empty. If this is how shitty their service when it's empty I thanked god I was not there when it was busy. To the owners, fire your kids and hire people who care about service and can do simple tasks like look at a table to see that we are all slurping on purpose empty water while your son eats chips and salsa right out of the main bowl he serves out of without washing his grimy hands. Never again. Seriously there's more papusas not even 2 miles away. Fuk this place never again!!!! read more

Just moved back in town recently and found this place. I love it. My wife has celiac disease so she can't eat gluten or she gets really sick. They have a separate fryer for wheat and corn. So far she hasn't been cross-contaminated which is a big plus for us. They are friendly and accommodating. We like the food and we now come here often. A really good place in my opinion. read more

Honestly I don't ever remember having a "bad" pupusa anywhere. I think they're pretty hard to mess up. Take some dough, cheese, beans, and or your choice of meat, fry it up and BAM! Salvadorean comfort food! (Disclaimer: I have never actually attempted to make a pupusa in my life so sincerest apologies if I totally trivialized the process.) At any rate, this place was recommended to me by a friend who really knows her pupusas. I have to say I was impressed. I could definitely taste the difference between this place and others. Pupusas were cooked just right and not too greasy. Masa and cheese tasted fresher and more flavorful than most places I've been to. The curtido and salsa were also tasty. Needless to say, I am now a big fan. We have been back a few times. The Guanaco breakfast was really good and so was their chorizo and eggs. Girlfriend got the fried fish once and it was o.k. Service was consistent every time we went. They don't rush to your table as soon as you sit down and we have had to eye or wave down our waiter a few times, but it's never been that big of a deal. Their location is not super visible and if you are like me, you will see it at the last minute and brake hard to turn into their tiny parking lot. So if there's a car behind you, it might honk or or curse you out as you slow down to pull into their driveway. However, if you can navigate this driving feat at the risk an impatient honk and or flipping of the bird from the car behind you, it will be totally worth it once you bite into their pupusa goodness! read more

It's no Balompie or El Zocalo but it'll do. You know I have the hardest time finding good pupserias on this side of the Bay. That being said for a non SF place it really does have good food. The restaurant is clean and colorful. Try it. read more

I met some good friends there for lunch and we all enjoyed our choices. I had a shrimp and cheese pupusa with a chicken salad, and my friends had loaded nachos and a pupusa plate. The food was scrumptious and our server was fantastic. We found out Kaliente just reopened after being closed for six months. If you haven't tried this neighborhood jewel, treat yourself. You won't be sorry. read more

Brought some family here, from out of town, to eat at one of my favorite restaurants in El Sobrante. I don't know what happened, but the staff ignored us as much as possible. For only having two tables of customers, we did not get prompt or friendly service, and only got water when we asked for it. Even after 15 minutes passed, and with loud slurping of straws in empty cups, we remained thirsty. I got up to get my family some more water -- the server was walking with the pitcher full, but not within 20 feet of our table. Upon waiting to pay, we were again clearly ignored. The other table across the restaurant received the standard, friendly service I expected. I don't know what earned us such preferential and discriminating treatment. I'm normally proud of my local Kaliente, but this was shameful. No complaints about the food. The staff at Kaliente can do better. read more

I came here a couple years ago and I'd say the food was OK... I'm used to going to El Tazumal and Susys in San Pablo near CC College. I decided to give this place a try. What a mistake! We ordered 24 pupusas, 10 mixed, 10 chicken/cheese and 4 plain cheese. When I went to pick up my order, first of all I waited 10 minutes to be acknowledged and two workers walked past me and seen me standing right there near the front counter. No one asked I needed help. Finally some girl walked up, not friendly at all. Not a greeting or nothing. I tell her I'm there to pick up my order. She hands it to me, I pay and leave. Not even thank you or bye. But when I get to my car I checked to see if I had gotten everything like always do because I've been shorted a few times. I open the box and I was missing 3 pupusas, and the order was wrong!! I was pissed. Cuz I had just paid $61 for 24 pupusas. I immediately went back in. Explained was wrong. The same girl was there, rude and arrogant people work here! Now they're saying that's what I had ordered! I asked for a refund. I work hard for my money. And to spend it here where they're not friendly at all and the food didn't look to good. Forget I'll go someplace else!! read more

The fourth star is for one of the better pupusas in the Bay Area. Corn masa or rice flour pupusas can be ordered with extra filling which makes them extra good. Here's a link to the lunch menu with all the fillings http://www.kalienterestaurant.com/menulunch.html PUPUSAS: Both rice and corn are good, served hot off the grill the outsides nicely charred and the inside oozing cheese. The rice shell a little crispier. The curtido or slaw was perfectly wilted and not squeaky crisp with a good balance of oregano, cabbage and carrot.. The tomato was not too watery or too thick. EMPANADAS DE LECHE: two fat little fried dumplings made plantain enclosing a custard center and were crisp on the outside and tender inside. PASTELITO: Corn masa dumplings stuffed with shredded pork, potatoes, peas and carrots are also some of the best in the Bay Area. Not as leaden as other Salvadoran restaurants. There are also sweet versions that look like turnovers and filled with fruit like pineapple. The chips are thin and they have a great green salsa CHILATE CON DULCE: Yucca Masa fritters fried and served with syrup and chunks of plantains. Served with a hollowed out gourd of atole, a masa-based drink with allspice and ginger. Definitely an acquired taste. There is only one restaurant where I liked these and it isn't Kaliente though it is better than most here. Two pancake-like yucca fritters are on a plate with chunks of fried plantains. There is a little syrup on the dish. After a bite of the sweet syrup/plantain, take a sip of the atole to cut the sweetness. This is a bland drink/fritter. COSTILLA FRITA ENTOMATADA : Spare ribs prepared with onions, tomatoes & green peppers. The veggies were only fair and the ribs, three small, grisly ribs, tasted stale. It came with plantains that were hot and pleasantly sweet. The green salad which is little more than crispy chopped romaine. Get it with Cilantro Vinaigrette. The Italian tastes bottled. They have three Salvadorian beers. I had the Regia which was ok. They have some tropical sodas like tropi champan, described as bubble gum flavored, fresta (strawberry) and Uai (grape). read more

It's sooo good I would go 24/7 Except there's a young lady who doesn't give the order that we ask for, she takes too long, even though there's like not so many customers read more

This is one of my all-time favorite restaurants. Pros: - amazing food - no seriously, the food is AMAZING - low prices - lots of space at the tables--you don't end up knocking elbows with the person next to you Cons: - service is on the slow side - there's a TV It would be 5 stars if it weren't for the slow service. read more

The pupusas are excellent, and the burritos and enchiladas are decent enough, though certainly not the best. I would rate this place more highly, except that they have now screwed-up our take-out order calls enough times that we are no longer willing to order out from them. Also, their table service, while still fine, isn't quite as good as it was two or three years ago. I feel bad writing a relatively negative review, because it's a local business we want to support,a nd we really loved this place when it first opened -- but the service is not as great as it once was. It's still worth going for sit-down meals in the restaurant (get the fantastic pupusas), but we've totally given up on take-out. read more

One of our favorite restaurants in E.S. Would probably be 4 stars if we consider options in the entire Bay Area, but a 5th star since they are so close to our home. Service is friendly, we've never had to wait to be seated, food is consistently good. We're regular customers. read more