caliente mexican grill new port — Restaurant in Newport

The glowing reviews here are incomprehensible unless you imagine them written by people encountering American Mexican food for the first time. Burrito was cold and soggy, with “steak” that seemed like school cafeteria mystery meat. Fish tacos were barely acceptable (same deal with low-quality fish), took a long time to prepare (3 of them), and were topped with onion even though we’d specifically requested no onions. The salsas (green and red) were tasteless with no hint of heat — still heard people complaining that the salsa was too spicy, which sort of illustrates the palate this place aims for. For all the “best Mexican food I ever had” folks (reviewers from Iowa, I’m imagining), here’s one for people who know what a burrito and tacos that cost $40 are supposed to taste like: this was the absolute worst...

Making DoorDash wait for 30 minutes to the point where I left is so not cool. DoorDash customers pay the same as those annoying college kids you cater too. I’m a fine dining chef who has never tried your restaurant but after my experience tonight, i never will. Great job!

Update. 10/17/2025 Now this restaurant tells the drivers how long food has for a wait. Last time 20 minutes. This time 25 minutes. How many walkins do you tell 20-25 minutes. Guarantee you no one! Still unacceptable! It’s the owners fault for hiring bodies who put aprons on pretending to know what they’re...

Bella and I were craving Mexican food on this rainy and dreary day in beautiful Newport. Every time we walked by Caliente, there were many customers in there, so that’s a good sign. Today we had a burrito and taco with all the good options added in. Service was friendly and efficient, the prices are excellent and OMG the food was perfect and delicious!

It’s on Thames street, next to Wally’s Weiners. Easy to walk to from the main hotels...