food wasn't bad. waited for about an hour for my burrito... this place gave me the runs :( read more

Look no further for the best caldo de pollo thus far. For $4.88 it is the tastiest chicken soup around in the East Bay. read more

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This used to be one of the best places to go to get quesadillas but the new management as changed it. In a bad way. They seem nice which is why this gets a 2 star review but only that. The quesadillas are bad now and they charge you $3.00 for chips. I won't go back for a while. read more

SO disappointed! One of our favorite restaurants has changed hands. And, the change is NOT GOOD! :( What was once our favorite "go to" spot has become a "never go again" location. Although our waiter was a sweet young man (He is the only reason I even gave a 1-Star rating!), there is nothing good to say about the food. From stale chips, to tasteless beans, to the most horrible chili relleno ever tasted, not a single item comes close to the standard set by previous owners. Sad to say, but I do believe that Kaliente will not be around for much longer. read more

I don't know how anyone can give this place less than five stars! For the amount you are paying, the quality of food and service is stupendous. I was searching for a local pupuseria on Yelp, and Kaliente appeared. I visited it for the first time about a year ago, tried the pupusas, and since then have become a regular. I have tried many of the items on the menu during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For breakfast, you can't go wrong with their $1 pancake deals (available a couple days a week). For lunch and dinner, I would recommend all of the pupusas, the fish tacos, the tropical shrimp salad, and the plantains. I love that there are both Mexican and Salvadorian options, as the variety and possibility of discovering a new favorite menu item keeps me excited to come back. They also have great sangria and drink deals in the early evenings. Looking forward to my next visit. read more

Don't know what happen but I order some pupusas for a small group... they were terrible... very skinny pupusas.. no filling.. not even hot.. seen like they were maybe reheated. Maybe these people change ownership. I also notice when I picked up my order on Saturday at 5pm. Their were no customers in the resturant. . Not a good sign for a Saturday afternoon. . Never again.. read more

I entered the restaurant and could not locate any employees. I found a menu and sat myself. other people did the same. When the server came out, she seemed surprised to see people sitting down. Customer service was not very good, and unfortunately the food wasn't much better. I prefer the last owners over the current ones. read more

I decided to give this place a last chance and shortly after I got my food I realized why I don't frequent this place. First of all the pupusas were aweful... As if you were eating a think tortilla with no filling. The plantains were fried with old oil and the refried beans were spoil it tasted sour. The cabbage was salty and the chips were old. Did I mentioned that I got sick the following day after I tried the pupusas... read more

Really good food and nice service. If you want to try the best Salvadorian food, it is the place to go.

We eat here about once a week. Correction - we phone in orders here about once a week. While I live and die by the pupusas and wouldn't shake a stick at one of their crispy tacos either, there is, of course, a reason we phone in. The service is friendly but totally discombobulated. And really, why am I talking about how friendly they are? We order once a week yet they never give any sign of recognition when I come to pick up our pupusas. I even tip a little on phone orders! No extra complimentary extra curtido? A nod? Regardless of what I order, they tell me 15 minutes and regardless of when I get there, I wait for all to be assembled. Yet, the truth of the matter is - we go back again and again and again because: a) there isn't a lot around here b) their pupusas are better than anything far and wide c) whether they know me or not, they do smile kindly read more

We've been here twice now and the food has been really good. My husband thinks its the bomb.... absolutely loves it. I think its pretty good. My only complaint was that their "cruncy taco" is in fact a premade mass produced shell. I prefer the actual home fried taco shells that are a tortilla fried right there on the spot... not the mass produced shells. But thats just me. The rice is awesome. I had the nachos once too and they were REALLY good. And the salsa they serve on the table....... addicting. I would go just for the salsa. What I would improve (other than the taco shells): the chairs. Each time I had to look around for a chair that didn't feel like it was going to have the legs break off. The legs were "moving" before you even sit on them. If you are even slightly heavy...like over 150lbs... this might make you a WEEE bit nervous..... If it wasn't for chairs, I would give this an extra star. But good food and ther servers are very cool. read more

Awesome food! Try the papusas! Very vegetarian friendly with lots of options. Only negative is the waiters don't come by often enough to keep your glass full sometimes. Depends who is working I guess. But over all 5 stars for the great food! read more

Very excellent pupusas!!! I love the fact that they have a pretty good variety of food there not just limited to pupusas (which by the way there are about 6 different choices of pupusas to try) I would love to go to this place more often if it were close by. A little dive-ie on the inside, but overall, great place to eat read more

Loved the restaurant... but with new ownership the food has seriously suffered. Tried them three times won't go back.

The food is excellent, but the service is not so excellent...PUPUSAS are one of my favorite comfort food. Unfortunately, I have no great restaurants around where I live. So, I travel to Kaliente in El Sobrante once in a while for my lunch break! I'd recommend that you order your food ahead of time and ask to eat there. That way you're not waiting a ridiculous amount of time for your food. If you lime shrimp, mango, and papaya, try the Kaliente Tropical Salad, it is to DIE for! I hope the service improves more due to all the bad reviews on the service. Otherwise, GREAT job on your menu!!! I hope to be back soon! read more

I love this little place! I have yet to try something I don't like. The pupusas are amazing, as well as all of their salads (I've had most of them on recommendations from my mom and I'm not usually that girl that orders salads). A friend ordered the Kaliente shrimp plate last time and said it was delicious also. I will say the service unfortunately isn't the best all the time, but it's never terrible and the delicious food makes up for it! read more

I am sorry to have to give only two stars( I would have given one star but I feel sorry for this small family biz) but really, when you go to a sit down restaurant and the food is not nearly as good as your local roach coach/taco truck, something is wrong. Its Amazing how Many people HAVE Opened A Restaurant AND HAVE No Clue About food. And have only two tables on a Saturday night yet ignore all the reviews which, if they listened to them, they would know how to improve and make it in this biz. My husband had the fish tacos and blech- they were overly battered, overly deep fried; he was expecting regular fish. The papusas were good, I guess, but we couldn't tell the difference between the cheese-filled one from the chicken and cheese filled one as they both had too much cheese..at least the pricing is cheap. The service was good but she seemed bored to death. read more

My friends and I just got home from Kaliente and I have never been more disappointed in restaurant service as I am right now. From the moment we walked in it was obvious that we would not be helped at all. While there was only one other family eating in the whole restaurant the energy of the staff was gloomy & sad. We were sat down by our server and after wards she did not come back to our table once. We sat with empty glasses and watched her refill our neighboring table more than once... Our table continued to sip our empty cups in hopes of her or anyone else hearing our cries for more water. We had to finally ask her to grab some water for us and even then we received lukewarm water. Our salsa cup was even empty the entire time. We watched another server snack on more chips and salsa than our entire party of 4. Once we finished our food we stood up and waited for our bill at the front of the restaurant. Minutes passed and not one employee noticed us standing there. The cooks & servers were all in their own world... We could have left and no one would have even noticed!! Over all the food was alright but this is not a place you should go to sit down and eat at. The staff is just not attentive at all. I have no idea how they would ever handle a full restaurant. Carry out would be your best option or just driving going down the block read more

They take wayy too long, workers are extremely slow. Very upsetting how a To-go order takes more than 40mins.

I came one more time to kaliente because it's convenient and I felt like giving them another chance to see if their customer service had improved ... No surprise it continues to be the same, the waitress that helped us tonight acted like we were bothering her by coming in. The food was ok, no big deal but eatable. But may be if their service was better I probably would have a better experience . I will give them 1 star .. I wish they would improved... read more

Food was quite good, but they did fail at customer relations when they charged us for something any reputable professional restaurant would not have done for an unfortunate incident. I spilled a full glass of a "wine margarita" on my lap before it could even be sipped. A replacement was brought, but I was then charged full price for that replacement. No good will there-- just focused on every penny at the expense of building customer loyalty. read more

Went few times to this places thinking is a salvadorian restaurant , but 75% of the food is mexican , The place is kind of nice and clean , but the food is average nothing special , probably taquezal at the corner or rumrill and san pablo ave in san pablo do a better job when it come to cooking salvadorian food , I will not recomend this places to any one , I will say take a trip to san francisco if you want some good flavor , Thanks read more

This place is by far the best I've had in the east bay. I tried the pupusas and they were very good, my sister had the fried fish which was excellent and my husband had the restaurants signature dish called the "platazo" which had chicken, steak and garlic shrimp VERY good. For drinks we had Horchatas, I haven't had this good horchata since my mom made it. I tried the "arrayan" drink not sure what fruit this is but its very refreshing on a hot day and this was also well made. I/we will definately be going back. read more

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I love the family of the establishment. Momma would always be very nice when I came to get some real El Salvadoran food. Kaliente salsa so good. The best in the Richmond/ El Sobrante Area. Also Avid sports bar inside. You feel so at home and makes you feel like you are family. This is a great place to eat. The Quesadillas are so good! Richmond/ El Sobrante you have a winner! read more

I've been a customer for about 2 years, and it's always good. It's small, so it gets crowded. The parking isn't situated very well. The food's delicious and the waitstaff are friendly. It's always clean. Pupusas are awesome. Try a pupusa revuelta when you go! read more

Im new to this little city and have been trying the restaurants around. I dropped my car off for tires at larrys and decided to try this restaurant out of all the ones nearby. Service was poor. Food was okay. Ordered a pupusa first and we didn't end of getting it until our burrito was made which we ordered after. Pupusa was delicious. Burrito was decent. Server brought us chips and salsa after we received our food which kind of defeats the purpose of you ask me. Also watched a gentlemen confront our server before he left about how he didn't get chips and everyone else did. Her response was, as she turned away, "we don't generally serve chips at breakfast". It was noon. Will probably not come back unless I can't find a place that serves pupusas. And if I have to come back for pupusas i will order to go. read more

I like the mix of elsalvadorian and Mexican. And the service is good. I love the papusas, tropical salad, sopa de pollo, mmm. Thursday I had huevos rancheros verde. So good! We came here with a group once and they were very accommodating. I'm excited there's a place line this in El sobrante. read more

Just don't let the End-of-Days surroundings of El Sobrante fool you... I'm not really sure what El Salvadorian food is, but I know a great dish at an awesome price when I get one. I ended up with something from the Mexican end of the menu, actually, which are also on the menu. The service was excellent, the place is a gem in El Sobrante and there is no over-pricing to be found here. The best part? It's just two block from where the boyf and I live, so finally we have discovered a quality restaurant in walking distance! read more

Good food at a good price. Superb papusas. My husband was a big fan of the vegetable soup there too. My foodie friend loves the place. She can get vegetarian papusas there, and, they're mild enough for folks who can't tolerate spicy food. The owners are friendly and seem genuinely kind. The ambience is definitely relaxed and appropriate to families. Something that speaks well to me is the numbers of El Salvadoran 'transplants' there whenever I go there. The service isn't always perfect, but, it's good enough to prevent frustration generally, and it feels kinda like visiting an unpretentious friend's home, relaxed and friendly. Speaking of friends, my Mexican immigrant friend perfected her restaurant's dishes on her gringa friends, including, fortunately, me. Ever after I'm spoiled from having "her" dishes most places, so I don't even try those things at Kaliente. And, why should I, when they have perfect papusas? read more

Excellent, savory Salvadorian food. Friendly service. Nice ambiance - they have a live coral reef fishtank that just mesmerized us as we ate. I had the cheese pupusa, grilled chicken soft taco plate with beans and rice. My heart still belongs to La Bamba Taqueria, but this place is great for a sit-down dinner. Combination plates were around $9, and they have an extensive menu. read more

Breakfast update! Just simple homemade GREATNESS. Scene: 9am Saturday, joint is half full with gray hairs reading the paper, and young families trying to manage their kids. I was solo, killing time while the truck gets detailed. Stuff: Chorizo Scramble, rice, beans, Salvadorian tortillas, coffee, side of salsa (ask). Service: Topped me off 3 times & I got the check quick this time! Score: This breakfast? 4 stars, as good as grandmas, if yours could cook! read more

There's no where decent to eat in El Sobrante. NO WHERE. Well..except here. This place is the sister restaurant of Platano's in Berkeley, and since I'm a huge fan of Platano's, I shall give this one credit, too. They practically have the same menu, but not as fresh tasting. The papusas and cole slaw are flavorful, but don't excite me as much as others. And..the casamiento does not compare to Platano's! It's not crispy! I do like how they give you chips to enjoy before hand (which Platano does not do), and the service is very homey and friendly. Only thing I have not enjoyed here is the horchata -- has a weird burnt taste to it...So, don't get that. Place environment is kinda small and a little plain...but I blame that on being in El Sobrante... read more

I like the pupusas - the service is great and quick. Not a fan of the tamales, but all in all a great salvadorian place. read more

Kaliente Restaurant - Tamales and puspusas - Mexican Near Me - El Sobrante, California

I've only tried the Chicken Tamales so far but YUM!!! I will be back... It was so fresh & tasty!! read more

Kaliente Restaurant - Chicken Tamale!! Yum Yum & only $2 on Thursday... - Mexican Near Me - El Sobrante, California

Absolutely love coming to this place for the papusa's! GREAT FOOD and the prices are not bad at all! Every day has a special, the Tuesday special is my favorite because of their $2 sangrias!! The staff is really nice and friendly as well. I would definitely recommend this place to anybody! read more

First time here Oliver was our waiter! He was knowledgable of the food,menu and drinks! Wondeful experience! Salsa and chips and the chicken quesadillas we great! Rice and beans we creamy and soft! Love the vibe would recommend everyone to try it! Happy Hour Specials too!! read more

Kaliente Restaurant - Toña Nicaragua Beer. - Mexican Near Me - El Sobrante, California

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Finally found a place where their pupusa are the BOMB as well as the rice and beans! A sweet little gem oa was told abt!

The food was good, the server was way overworked. Just him for the whole place. Parking was a little tight, the atmo inside was nice. 23.50 for two before tip. They Charge for Chips and Salsa, which is fine, except they are not special. Not warm, not made there, just the giant bag COSTCO sells served in a bucket. read more

We just had a fundraise for one of my son's schoolmate and everything was wonderful. We had a lot of good comments about the food . Also they were so kind by helping our community !!! read more

Kaliente has become a poor quality restaurant since my family first started patronizing them 3.6 years ago. The fish tacos and pupusas were juicy, fresh and delicious in the beginning but my wife and I ordered food from them yesterday and most likely it will be our last. Ordered a Carne asada super burrito which of course should come with guacamole and sour cream but there wasn't any on the 1st burrito or the 2nd even after we complained about it and went back to try again. The fish tacos were over cooked and they didn't give us any of the cabbage with the pupusas or the red sauce. Unfortunately it feels like they have a new cook or management or both as the food/atmosphere (all the Warriors posters are all gone) is no longer! Sadly Kaliente no longer appeals to us at this point:-( read more