Cinco Niños

Our bartender/server was amazing. The food was great. Would go back.

The server and the service was great! We enjoyed a staycation at Kalarari and wanted to try one of the on-site restaurants during our stay. We had a few vegan family members with us and Cinco Niños had the best compromise for plant-based options at Kalahari ... more details below.

The good:
- Our server was great.
- The place was clean, uncrowded, and we were seated prior to our reservation time.
- Food came out quickly, and follow up service was prompt.
- The food presented well and the dishes looked appetizing.
- The plant-based mushroom & cauliflower tacos were great once some salt was added.

The bad:
- The glasses used (more like a thicker, traditional martini glass) for the dressed margaritas did not work well and salted the drink beyond enjoyment. These were the first things ordered and started the meal out a little rough, but the server's response and solution were greatly appreciated.
- The proportions for some of the appetizers are on the small side considering the price. A table of four or more may need to order two of each appetizer. We are not big eaters, the proportions felt like they were on the smaller size.
- In general ... the food could use more salt. This is better than having the food overly salty or excessively seasoned, but we noticed several of us adding salt to the dishes. This could be due to less-than-quality accompanying ingredients ... although, everything looked good, just lacked flavor. We don't normally salt our food, but found it necessary with several dishes here.
- The street corn was oily and lacked flavor. We could not tell if they just heated up canned corn in some oil or it was the quality of the other accopanying ingredients that were lacking. The dish did not feel or taste like a quality street corn ... the dish lacked seasoning and had little pop to it from the other ingredients.

We ordered two margaritas, one dressed (with salt on the rim), one not. The drinks came in a glass that allowed the majority of the salt to be washed into the drink making it rather unpleasant to enjoy after they placed it on the table. Servicing that drink in a different glass will likely help prevent that issue.

We now know what to expect ... a Tex-Mex restaurant around Austin has some high bars set for food quality and quantity (not as critical). In gereral ... yes, this is a Tex-Mex food restaurant inside Kalahari. It services the main outdoor pool area and will likely work well for most, but we won't likely try this place again the next time we are here. As inconvient as it may be ... traveling a short distance outside the resort will likely better satisfy your Tex-Mex cravings.