Ambergris Today | Restaurant Review | Caliente is What’s Hot!

Caliente is What’s Hot!

By Dorian Nunez
Caliente Dictionary Definition: Hot, Popular, Fashionable, Appealing
Caliente Restaurant Definition (Ambergris Today): Hot, Popular, Delicious and Mhm So Good!

The word ‘Caliente” is a perfect description for San Pedro – Hot and Popular. And so is Caliente Restaurant, a true definition of island cuisine in San Pedro. It’s a very popular restaurant that has become a staple on the island; it’s right on the beach where you can enjoy dining on their outdoor deck, at their ‘Aquarium’ verandah or indoors where guests have the option of watching their special sports matches. It’s one of the very few restaurants were you don’t have to worry about missing that favorite sports event; they have a flat screen TV to take care of that.

Lunch is characterized by very popular Mexican influenced dishes like Tacos, Burritos, Enchiladas, Quesadillas, Tostadas, Gringas, Gorditas and their Loaded Potato. I gravitate towards the Loaded Potato which is a baked potato with all the trimmings – melted cheese, mushrooms, bacon, chicken, steak or shrimp and topped with sour cream. You choose your favorite toppings.

And nothing says Caliente Mexican food like Tacos! For lunch you can order Tacos al Carbon which are corn tortillas with your choice of meat served with onions, cilantro and salsa Mexicana. But the tacos have also been moved to Friday’s dinner menu and everybody knows how great Taco Night and Half Price Margaritas on Fridays is!

Bring on the Tacos on Friday night: Campechana, Hawaiian, Al Pastor (pork), Arrachera (steak) and Del Mar. Definitely try the Campechana with steak and chicharon (pork rind) and the Hawaiian with chicken and pineapple; my favorites! The Del Mar tacos offer you conch and lobster (in season) or fish and shrimp. These are served along with a rich guacamole and Caliente’s signature cheese sauce, pico de gallo and jalapeños.

Combine those tacos with Margaritas and you can’t go wrong, especially when the salsa picante or jalapeños have ignited your taste buds. Caliente’s margaritas are hard to beat and whether you ask for them frozen or on the rocks you gotta try the Sangria Margarita and the Tamarind Margarita! Two superb margaritas worthy of an award! But just remember that only the regular margaritas are half priced on Fridays. Either way, enjoy your favorite!

Appetizers to look out for at Caliente include the classic ceviche, nachos, stuffed jalapenos, conch fritters and Caliente’s Famous Wings. And these appetizers are served all day long. You can’t go wrong with a conch, maimula, shrimp or mixed seafood ceviche. The nachos are superb with melted cheese, beans, Mexican salsa and sour cream and who does not love the jalapenos stuffed with a variety of cheeses, deep-fried and served with an authentic and delicious citrus sauce. Their famous wings are famous ‘because’ they are good; one of the best on the island – honey spiced and sweet!

But I’m still not done yet! I gotta tell you that the Caliente staff treated Ambergris Today like royalty and stuffed us until we could go no more. Here are the entrees we had for dinner:
Number one on my list is the *Creole Pork - grilled pork filet tipped with zucchini, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese and anything ‘Coconut’ is good in my book – definitely try the *Coconut chicken- strips of chicken breast grilled in a coconut batter and fried, served with an orange sauce and the *Coconut shrimp - succulent shrimp dipped In a coconut batter, fried and served with a citrus sauce.

To die for is the *Ginger Rum Shrimp - Belizean shrimp wrapped in bacon, grilled and glazed with Caliente's original ginger rum sauce. Also try the *Coconut curry fish (shrimp) - succulent shrimp or snapper in a spicy coconut Caribbean curry sauce and *Jalisco chicken - chunks of boneless chicken breast marinated in tequila and sautéed with chile chipotle, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and cilantro.

Gone fishing for the day and brought back some awesome fish? Caliente will prepare it for you at your liking. Ambergris Today had a sample of some fresh Lionfish during the first tournament; simply delicious. You can also try Caliente’s Fish Royale – whole fresh fish seasoned island style.

Whatever your reason to LOVE Caliente Restaurant it is evident that its one of the most popular on the island. Be it the Mexican food, sizzling appetizers, amazing tacos, Popular Sopa de Lima, the LOADED Potato or the one of a kind margaritas, Caliente definitely delivers the HEAT!

- Caliente is located on Barrier Reef Drive (Front Street) beachfront at the Spindrift Hotel Building.
- Open from 11am to 9:30pm. Closed Mondays
- Phone: 226-2170

Comments

May 18, 2011 - 17:58

While visiting San Pedro in January 2010, we made some American friends who asked us to join them for supper and Caliente Restaurant is where they took us. It was our first night in Belize and what a way to start off. No it's not a fancy hotel dinning room, but the staff was friendly and the food and service was excellent. We had a great time and a great meal.

The one thing we quickly discovered was the number of great restaurants in San Pedro and Caliente, for us, was at the top of that list.

Michael Zinck

Cornwall, PEI, Canada

May 18, 2011 - 01:30

Seeing your article on Caliente's really reminds me how much I miss San Pedro. Caliente's Restaurant is one of my old favorites. Lunch on the balcony is a great treat...both the food and the view. My favorites include the "holy mole" and Tortilla Soup. I count my friendships with the folks at Caliente's as my most valued.