I’ve been to this spot in Mammee Bay twice now – once for drinks after dark and once for dinner. The night someone took me for drinks here I was totally impressed with the evening ambiance, perfect spot for a first date or a romantic evening. When I came for supper on another occasion I was just relieved as hell to find Mexican food so close to home! I’m a Mexican food fiend and I knew there would be some things I desperately miss from home when I live in Jamaica.
Caliente Bar & Grill is super easy to find if you’re anywhere in the vicinity of Ocho Rios. It’s right beside the giant Riu hotel just outside of Ocho Rios. If you’re driving on the main highway the entrance is right beside the Riu main entrance, this one leads into Mammee Bay estate villas. Once through the gate you follow a looooong road all the way to the end where you can only turn left. A short ways down that road you’ll turn right towards the beach. Caliente is right there about 20 feet from the ocean. The location is perfect.
I checked out the menu and the prices are in USD and are pretty much on par with what you’d pay for dinner back home. The portions are big so it makes it more worth your money. They had one page for standard Mexican dishes and I think they were all under $20 USD, and one page where each dish included seafood and the prices were higher for those. I ordered the Chimichanga meal which was really great and satisfied my need for Mexican, and it cost me $14.50 USD.
The drink prices were a lot higher than I like to pay but I’m used to hanging out at local Jamaican bars. I can get a whole flask of rum for the same price as one drink at Caliente but this restaurant definitely caters more towards tourists – after all it is located right beside Riu Resort on the beach side. Regular rum and Pepsi here is about $5.00 USD, I didn’t check the price of the pretty drinks but one of my friends had a very pretty margarita! 😀
We started dining around 5:30pm and as we ate and drank the sun started to go down. I HIGHLY recommend coming to Caliente at this time of the evening so you can watch the sky as the sun fades away. Then after dark the staff lights tiki torches all around the dining area. I have to say that above anything else at this restaurant the ambiance is the BEST thing about it….especially after dark. And all the while they have latin music playing.
The owners are always around, I met them on both occasions and they are very friendly and willing to chat. He did mention to me that on Sundays here they have a live DJ come in and play music from 12 – 8pm. I highly recommend coming for dinner at Caliente if you’re into Mexican food in Jamaica. And if you’re not, then I highly recommend coming here after dark to chill with a few drinks….maybe with your significant other. Above anything else at Caliente I would rate the ambiance as the best.
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Comments
6 responses to “Caliente Bar & Grill – Mammee Bay, Jamaica”
Yeah.. im gonna have to stop here!! this looks really nice.. and even $5 isn’t a lot for a drink. Mexican food is my favorite and I didnt even know you can find places like this in JA… 🙂
That’s awesome Doms….that’s why I write about all this stuff! I didn’t know this existed neither til Raymond brought me here. Let’s go here next time you come back!
calientes is just the coolest spot off the road, but not off the beaten track. i’ve been several times lounging around on the beach all day, and making use of there fantastic showering facilities. the restaurant location is fantastic, so i think even if the food was rubbish – you wouldn’t notice! the have bonfires on the beach too, although i missed out on that. i gave this a big thumbs up on trip advisor.
Hey Lizzy, yah it’s not off the beaten track at all but was a real nice first-time discovery for me. I have options now! LOL.
well caliente closed down in 2011 but now its re opened in ochi where bay watch use to be so if u want mexican u have to go to ochi now
I heard it closed down but didn’t know it reopened. Thanks for the info!