Caliente

So this place is "famous" for that Man vs. Food episode filmed here for the stupid wings challenge. Me and my friend came here to get some grub before a movie not because of the crazy spicy wings.

Street parking only which we found easily a block away. A pretty standard restaurant with a pub/bar like vibe and look. The place itself is a little dark and could use some extra lighting but if there was any I think you would see the beer stains everywhere.. Menu has a Caribbean style influence with many dishes that spicy. But they also have some staple items like burgers and sandwiches.

I got the blackened Tilapia with white rice and braised greens. The Tilapia was obviously PF (previously frozen) and cooked immediately b/c it was a little watery and had little to no flavor to it; there was only heat. Our waitress warned me this dish was spicy but didn't indicate how spicy.. I tend to think my tolerance level is a little more than average and can handle a medium at most Thai spots but this dish was so spicy that I actually couldn't consume it all.. The rice was also under seasoned and the greens were sub par. I was able to at least finish the fish as it's the most expensive part of the dish.

My friend enjoyed his cheese burger and fries. Then again, you would have to try pretty hard to mess up a burger. Service was pretty standard and our drinks were filled when need be and we were checked on a couple of times throughout our meal. Price was a little steep for my meal especially for some PF Tilapia. If I want a more Caribbean style food experience I'll be hitting up Carenas next time.

¡Muy caliente!

I've ventured over to Caliente a few times now. The atmosphere is nice, the service is pretty good and the food it great, if you're in the mood for a burger or wings.

My family came here once for the burgers. I wish I remember which one I got, but I do remember liking it. Last time I came my friends were in the mood for wings so I brought them here. We tried the jerk, honey chipotle, BBQ and buffalo. My favorite was he honey chipotle, which was everyone else's least favorite, so that worked out well for me. The jerk was good too, spicy and tasty. The parmesean fries were great if you get wings because they battle those spicy wings. I've tried a few of the sauces now and I like the sriracha aioli. We came on a Saturday though, so we missed out on he half-priced wings, which would've made me like them even more.

There's a pretty good list of beers on draft too!

I will definitely be back, maybe to try out brunch next time!

RNIT (http://www.meetup.com/New-In-Town-Richmond/) went here for the wing challenge. We had two contestants and both were able to finish the challenge and get their shirts before dying a little outside on the sidewalk.

We had a group of about 20 there; this is a pretty large group for the size of the restaurant, we basically took up half of the place. The food we ordered, other than the wings, was very good. When it came out, I would say that it was tasty.

Why I only gave it two stars:

I would like to preference this by saying I did call ahead a few days in advance and tell them that our group was coming in.

First of all, it took about an hour and a half for everyone to have their food. Now, I understand that we are a large group and there were other people, but when a couple who came in 45 minutes after we ordered and about 10 minutes after they ordered gets their food before any of the people in my group get our food, I feel that they need to revamp the way they cook. Also, when our food did start coming out it came out in waves... like, 5 people would get their food and then 15 minutes later, 5 more people would get food. So, not only did we have to wait an hour for our food to start coming out, but many people had to wait another 30 minutes after that.

Once the food started coming out the waitstaff started to get quite snippy with us because we were asking for condiments. I wasn't aware that getting ketchup and mustard was that much of an issue. When I spoke with the manager on the phone, he said that he would be more than happy to make sure each person or couple had their own check. On the actual day we were there, we had to go up to the waitress and state what we ordered. Now, I used to be a waitress and yes, serving a large group is challenging. However, it's not that difficult to split checks when you know before you even start serving the group that everyone is on a separate check.. and, like I said, we had called before hand.

Why I wanted to give it more stars:
The wing challenge was EXCELLENT! We had everyone in the restaurant cheering for the two guys doing the challenge. The food everyone had, once they got it, was very good. They always made sure we all had water and whatever other liquid we wanted.

I think as long as you have a small group, this would be a nice place for you to go. I wouldn't recommend more than 4 people though.

Went to Caliente with one of the restaurant.com coupons. My friend and I thought the food was just average with just ok seasoning and preparation. Friend's potatoes were very flavorful and well cooked and that was probably the highlight of the meal. Had pork chop and one of the steaks.
Maybe we should have stuck with the sandwiches which previous reviewer mentioned.
I wouldn't come back here on my own, only if someone invited me.

I came here and did the stupid wings challenge. Don't be stupid like me and do it. I took two bites of one wing (these wings are huge - chicken on roids) and had THE worst stomach pain in my life that i wanted to rip it off myself. Had cold sweats and started yacking. My buddy tried to be macho and took down two and same thing happened to him.

I don't even know what to rate this place. I'll go w/ the crowd on this.

Just remember, what goes in must come out!

I love hanging out at Caliente, but the food is hit or miss. I went a few months ago and had the jerk chicken. It was perfectly seasoned, spicy and delicious. Then on a more recent visit, the jerk was bland and flavorless. Similarly, I've ordered peel and eat shrimp and sometimes it's very fresh and good; sometimes I feel like the portion is small and the flavor isn't the best. On a recent visit the coconut shrimp were very good. They were obviously handmade and they were crisp and full of flavor. Overall, I probably wouldn't make this place a dinner destination, but I'd go for snacks and beverages.

Even if the food isn't always number one, I love Caliente for the beer and wine selection and the atmosphere. First off, the owner really goes out of his way to add cool beers into the mix. The on-tap selection is ever changing and you'll always find several obscure choices. There's also a great bottle selection. Most of the wine bottles are $20 each, and this even includes some Virginia wines. The restaurant stays open late, but rarely gets packed. I often take friends from out of town here when we want to get a drink, catch up and actually be able to hear each other in a bar atmosphere. Service is friendly and you're perfectly welcome to grab a booth and order only drinks. The patio is also nice. It's shady, covered and a great place to grab a drink or two on a warm afternoon.

Firstly, I just have to say that I can't speak to the quality of the food --- we only had drinks there yesterday.

Some girlfriends and I decided to come here for some drinks after the VMFA. We didn't eat because we had just eaten at Amuse, and we had heard Caliente had a decent selection of local beers. We were somewhat disappointed because there were not that many options. Their prices aren't bad, but their mixed drinks are rather small for what you pay.

The service was really good, there were quite a few waitresses working even though it was the middle of the afternoon on Sunday and we were one of three groups inside. The outdoor patio was much more crowded, but it was a gorgeous day so that is to be expected. The only reason we didn't sit outside is because of the smoking. Even the waitresses were smoking outside on the patio! We sat in a booth a few down from the door and we could still smell the smoke wafting in! It's really unpleasant and unfortunately, would probably deter me from coming back. I especially don't want to smell smoke while I'm eating.

I've seen this place on Man vs. Food for their stupid wings challenge but I didn't see anything about it when we were actually inside the restaurant?

Another thing about this place that was a little disappointing, is that there is literally NO parking. It's street parking but because it's so close to a residential area, it's really hard to find a spot.

FYI: Caliente is closed for renovations. It's under new management and being re-branded...

I came here a couple weeks ago with my friends for their happy hour deals and burger night.
They have pretty average deals on drinks for happy hour including well drinks and domestic beer on tap. The wings special was better than expected, their choices of flavors and seasonings as well as dipping sauces for fries were more than a few. The wings were made well, and the burgers weren't bad at all except for the fact Some of us asked for medium rare and it came out well done. Other than that I had a hard time choosing which burger to order because the options all looked so good!
The service was fine, it was only one waitress taking care of the entire floor; she did her best.
I would definitely return for happy hour for wings and drinks since we all got a little crazy and ordered too much for one seating this visit. Overall this place is pretty good and affordable right next to campus.

Don't care how good you claim your food to be- there are certain things you just don't do, including:

1- Rolling eyes at customers because they ask for mustard
2- Aggressively throwing a pile of receipts at the group and telling them to figure it out themselves
3- Demanding everyone to hand in their checks at the snap of the finger even though we were still finishing up drinks and adding up our bills

These are ways not to get a tip. I don't like depriving people of tips- I've been in the business, it sucks! But if you're straight up disrespectful, don't be surprised you go home with an emptier pocket of change. Customers should not feel like an obligation when they're the reason a joint is in business (especially when we were not warranting any reason for the way we were treated). I had to walk out prematurely, I was so heated about the service. Do not recommend this place.