First the store from the outside doesn't look the best from the outside. You will see a Red Cadillac parked outside which is the owner's and chief's. You well see funny decorations including car parts. Once you enter you will be greeted by a waitress, ask you how many of you, and you will be seated accordingly. There is bar to right side ones yo enter, I believe you can just walk in. They do serve epic margarita. Once you are seated you will be served water in the gallon gas container and fresh delicious original tortilla chips and sauce. The menu looks small but has variety of choices with funny name. For example the appetizer section is titled "start your engine", and so other names for the main courses, sides and deserts. My friends and I usually order different plates and share, I can tell you all what I tried was excellent in term of portions and quality. The enlivenment is comfortable and lights are soft. It seems to work for parties, causal, intimate, dates and so on. I heard they also have live music in certain days but never been there in these occasions. If your food comes with rice and/or beans then these two are refilled upon request for free. Gratitude is included in the check 20%. Overall experience I give it 4 stars, I would give it five by I am a monster who wants to eat more for what I pay. enjoy the ride.
Review Source:I've been to the Red Cadillac several times, and I've never been disappointed. I finally got around to taking my boyfriend for a date night, and we had a great time. The name of the restaurant obviously gives away the theme and decor, and it is pretty cool. Vintage car parts are used as candle holders and lighting fixtures. The place glows red at night, which is also pretty snazzy.
First of all, I love the margaritas here. I usually am not a huge tequila fan but this place changed that for me. Their house margarita, called the Royal Chrome Margarita, is one of my favorites ever. This simple drink is so smooth, and although you taste the tequila it isn't overpowering and it doesn't taste artificial like a lot of margaritas. I love it. I'm also super excited to try their house-made infused tequilas but have never gotten around to it.
The food is also delicious. The cheese & chorizo dip is great, cheesy goodness with spicy chorizo. I also love, love the Muscle Car Mussels - mussels with a spicy wine tomato sauce. So good. During the summer, my favorite is the grilled Mexican corn. Only offered when corn is in season, it is so sweet and goes perfectly with the spicy sauce they drizzle over it.
Overall, the food and drinks are great. Good for dates or bigger groups, I've always enjoyed myself and would highly recommend it.
Awesome!! Â Great food...DANE just met him, great bartender! I have learned to enjoy the food here and started to make this a regular establishment for me to visit.
The food - Have not had a bad dish yet.
The Bar - Great infused tequila's....try them all!
The Staff - Cannot say anything bad about my experience. The door/bouncers are extremely nice and have to say it is a pleasure seeing them when I enter. Highly recommend Red Cadillac!
When I go to a restaurant, I look at a few things to decide whether or not I should revisit it in the future. Service, atmosphere, price of food versus quality and of course taste. Generally, restaurants will only pass on two of those categories, with a few maybe sneaking in for three. Red Cadillac destroyed my grading criteria. You are welcomed promptly and even offered drinks and chips in the event that you need to wait for a table; the decor is very New Jersey(except that it's clean!:p), it's cool enough to draw the collegiate crowd, yet warm enough to be a great family spot, the auto shop motif that permeates the Red Cadillac also reflects perfectly the personality of the affable  workman owner (not to mention chef!) Joe Montes who, despite being exceptionally busy, still takes time out of the kitchen to roam the dining area and check on his guests. As far as the food goes, well, I've had pretty much everything on the menu and have enjoyed it! From the spectacular mussel appetizer to the delicious pork burrito, you really can't go wrong. However, while the regular menu is great, the specials are greater! Two weeks ago they had a paella that kicked the ass of every other paella I've ever come across, the week before that Joe offered up chicken-fried pork cutlet with jalepeno mashed potatoes, sausage gravy and street corn. I can't explain how awesome it was. As far as price is concerned, it's cheaper than Friday's and, surprisingly, actually gives you really substantial portions, not to mention the free chips and salsa & the endless family-style rice and black beans. If there were a sixth star on yelp I'd give it to Red Cadillac without hesitation, my only complaint is that Joe needs to expand and build both a burger joint and an Italian restaurant so we can give him more cash!
Review Source:Great local spot for some delicious Mexican cuisine. I tried the fish tacos for the first time because they seemed to be a big hit amongst other yelpers- and I can see why! They were amazing!!!!!! I've tried the burrito, enchiladas, and steak tacos but hands down my fav dish is the fish tacos. This place gets really packed so expect to wait but I assure you it's worth it!
Review Source:Delicious Mexican food and the theme of this establishment fits the bill.. but beware! This restaurant tends to get packed in very quickly in the evenings, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. Â I recommend their burritos - they are delicious. Â I actually made up my own burrito last time I was there and asked for a burrito with shrimp and steak - kind of like surf and turf. Â Yum! is all I have to say.
Review Source:I have eaten at the red cadillac a number of times and I thought the food was good.
After several good visits, I was really frustrated by the rude service on my last visit. Â
I know they can get very busy, and the parking situation is a nightmare. Â On one occasion I had to park in the municipal lot near the police station because they had no parking. Â
On my last visit I called ahead(from the car) to secure a table. Â I was told that they wouldn't take a reservation for less then 5 people, but there were plenty of tables, and to come right in. Â I parked and walked in, within 5 mins of placing the call, and as soon as I entered I was told there was a 45 min wait. Â The hostess was incredibly rude to me, and said "things change in a minute" and she couldn't possible have predicted the entire place filling up from when I called. Â I felt misled, as it was obvious that most of the people in the restaurant had been at their tables for some time. Â Things happen and a large number of people could arrive unexpectedly, but there is no reason to be rude to a customer. Â
There is better Mexican food in the area (try Lola's in Chatham), and it doesn't come with rude service.
I have to admit the place is pretty cool inside. They did a good job decorating and I think the red gas cans as water pitchers are a quirky touch.
I came on a Friday night and they had live music. It was one guy and another on guitar but it was entirely too loud. I like music just as much as the next person, but my boyfriend and I couldn't hear anything the other was saying. It was still very much dinnertime and everyone around us were eating as well. The waitress couldn't hear our orders and to be honest the guy wasn't even that good. If the volume was down a few notches to the point that you could make even small conversation, it would have been much better.
Food took a while granted it was busy but still. Got the guac and chips appetizer, pretty small to share.. I got the fish tacos (very good-the slaw on it was very tasty) and my boyfriend got a burrito I believe. Service wasn't the best.
I live about 3 blocks away and haven't been back for dinner. Might come back to get drinks one night (def not a live music night again though). If another mexican place opened up in the area, I think they could give RC a run for it's money.
Valet is annoying.. I ran in once to get takeout and he wanted me to valet? And they are closed two or three nights out of the week and close fairly early on sunday. I don't see the big deal about this place..
FUN!
Love the selection of infused tequila.
Very good drinks.
Very good food.
Nice live music.
Such a long wait on a Friday night. Â Walked in with no reservations and waited more than an hour. Â Do not go here if you are starving and will hate waiting. Â I think it was well worth the wait.
Worst.Service.EVER.
Wow I don't think I've ever hated a place this much. Went here starving, with a party of 6, got seated and it took FORTY MINUTES just for someone to take our order with constant attempts to flag down a waitress. I was so pissed off by this I didn't even order, however everyone else did. We ended up playing the waiting game again for almost TWO HOURS. We were just about to leave when the food arrived, and thank God I didn't order because everyone said that it was mediocre. The waitress, owner, and manager? all had very snarky attitudes when I was trying to express my poor experience. This has to be the WORST experience I've ever had at a restaurant.
Overall, terrible service and long waits for mediocre food. I'd rather get my Mexican food fix at Taco bell.
This place has a great atmosphere and the food was great! I had the fried calimari and fish tacos. Both tasted good. The waitresses seemed a bit slow at times, but they were easy on the eyes and super nice so that made up for it. The decor was great and it was a fun place. I'd definitely go back again!
Review Source:I went to The Red Cadillac for the first time  last night with my boyfriend, his parents and two other people and it was soo fun! The service was awesome the girls were all so friendly and professional. They were attentive to our table regarding refills on drinks and anything we asked basically. We went in a Saturday night so we got to see a live performance which was perfect the singer had a fantastic voice. The crowd was mixed with a few children but when it gets later the crowd matures. The food was tasty and hit the spot but I've had  better more authentic Mexican food. The atmosphere is great! We had guacamole, clams, spicy shrimp for starters and grd beef burrito (nice tortilla), steak, pork chop, enchilada, and grd beef tacos. We also had hibiscus tequila and peanut butter and jelly tequila shots they went down nice and smooth.
Overall go for the drinks and atmosphere the food is delicious but if you want authentic Mexican this is not the place.
My boyfriend and I went tonight for the second time.
After we sat, we were given chips and salsa. Yum.
We ordered guac for an app and it was pretty good. The freshly fried tortilla chips that came with the guac were warm and soft. BF ordered the crab tacos which SOUNDED good, but once they came out it was just uber fried. You couldn't taste the crab because it was super breaded and super fried. I had fish tacos for the 2nd time and it was delish. It was lightly breaded and fried and you could actually taste and see the fish. We also had the sopapillas for dessert which was good. Fried tortilla chips served with ice cream drizzled with honey and powdered sugar. Reminded me of baklava. Yum.
Three reasons that they don't get 5 stars
* No free refills on drinks (I didn't notice anything on the menu saying no free refills, and usually if they don't advertise it on menus, they tell you. while not totally against the rules, it wasn't cool to receive a bill for coke and ice tea for $15 bucks). BF has 3 cokes and I had 2 ice teas. When BF asked the waitress why it was so high, she looked at our bill and said flatly "oh, we charge for refills - sorry bout that" or something to that effect. kinda sucks.
** service was so-so. We started with one server and once the place got busy she didn't even come around to ask if we were ok, and our server got switched with a totally different person and the only time our original server came by was to give the check. Â We were also waiting for the check for about 20 mins.
*** parking is horrible here and there is mandatory valet once you pull in. Both times I went here I parked on the side street behind it. No problem.
They're good. But I guess we'll come earlier and not order refills. Hahaha.
Great drinks! Good food! I came here with fellow yelper, Robert D., on a Thursday evening. It was an unusually hot day in March and it felt fitting to dine here. Their parking lot was full at 5:30pm but the owner was outside and told us to park across the street at TD Bank. It was fine without incident.
I personally found live music by singer Dave Alen pretty pleasant and sometimes, amusing. That evening, he sang a mix of 90s "alternative" songs by REM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, etc. plus some Eagles tunes... especially, "Tequila Sunrise".
Service started off a little slow but soon improved. I ordered a "Mag Wheel Mango Rita". It came in a tall glass (see picture), was very mangoey, and LOADED. I thoroughly enjoyed it. We sampled three appetizers instead of entrees for dinner: "Chicken Quesadilla", "Abuelas Empanadas" (filled with pork), and "Muscle Car Mussels" (green New Zealand mussels in a tomato-based sauce). All were more Tex-Mex than Mexican but very tasty and satisfying. The quesadillas were better here than other places in the area. This food is exactly what you want while you're drinking.
My girlfriend has been wanting to try this place for quite some time, especially since some of our friends and my sister have gone multiple times and really loved it. We finally made it last Wednesday around 6pm. The parking lot looked to be pretty full, but there wasn't a lot of hustle and bustle inside yet.
After being seated, we were brought their chips and salsa to much on as we looked over the menu. Definite nods to the chips and salsa. Our server then explained the menu to us and suggested the Cadillac Chrome Margarita, which is made of Fresh House Citrus, 1800 Chrome Tequila & Gran Gala. It also came with a test tube vial of Gran Gala (an orange liqueur) that was put into your drink so as you drank your margarita, you could add more alcohol if you'd like. Anyways, we had it frozen and it was pretty good. The tequila flavor didn't completely overtake the flavors, which was nice. While this drink didn't taste too strong, I must not have eaten enough prior to dinner, as I was in a definite tequila haze after consuming only half of it. I also had a small stomach ache.
For our food, we shared the Clam Bucket (Littleneck clams steamed in a cilantro broth) which was really, really good. The clams were tender, juicy, flavorful and perfectly steamed. The broth was equally as good and they gave you a nice chunk of bread to dip the broth with. For our entree, we shared the Lobster Fajitas. While these were good, they were rather standard and didn't do much to separate themselves from other fajitas that are served elsewhere. In addition, the five lobster tails that are served as part of this dish are very small. You're also only given three tortillas. For $27, I felt this dish was very overpriced, especially for the quantity of lobster.
All in all, I'm not much of a tequila person but the margarita was a pleasant surprise. The steamed clams were excellent and the Lobster Fajitas were standard, but a bad value. Perhaps I'd be more inclined to give it four stars if I hadn't had the Lobster Fajitas?
To start, the The Cadillac CHROME Â margarita's are the best my husband and I ever had. Â The couple we went with felt the same. Wait staff very attentive. One of the owners sat down to briefly chat with us and make sure everything was ok. Highly recommend the fish tacos. Love this place. (valet staff a little overwhelmed but did the best they could)
Review Source:I like the atmosphere of the place. The tequilla infused shots is the icing on the cake. The reason this place does not 4 or 5 stars is because of the parking and the drinks. I stick with the falovered shots because the drinks are super weak and I had the worst frozen margarita ever! The food is pretty decent, but the cocktails need work.
Review Source:I"m a little behind in writing my review for the Red Cadillac but here it goes! Â I've been to the restaurant twice and both times the place was great! Â The food is fresh and tasty! Â I'm not big on Fried fish but the Fish taco's here are delicious!!! Â Crispy and tender to the bite! Â Had the Sangria and that it was good but a bit strong for me! Â I'm not one to complain about drinks but I wanted to be designated driver that night to make sure I made it home to my li'l guys!! Â =)
The atmosphere on a Saturday was great! Â If you're not in the mood to drive into the city for the crowded night life - I would recommend stopping by the Red Cadillac. Â Live music, great drinks and good service! Â The decor of the restaurant is very fitting for the restaurant but would not know it from the outside. Â As you step in you are greeted with Red Lights, cadillac emblems, leather couches, and the full bar! Â My favorite decor of the restaurant is hanging on in the very back wall of the restaurant! Â I would tell you but fun would that be...go check it out yourself and have a bite while you're there!! Â =)
A great family owned business. Amazing tequilla shots (I recommend the apple pie and the peanut butter and jelly, if they have it) Great menu and specials. Lobster Fajitas, need I say anything more? The decor, music, Joe, and his family make this one of my favorite spots in Union County.
Review Source:Definitely would not list this on my Top 5 Mexican Restaurant list! Â My boyfriend lives in the neighborhood and we decided to stop in with a couple of our friends... we were celebrating a birthday. Â Place was packed...live music was being played. Â We hit the bar for tequila shots. Â Side-bar: we are a group who KNOW OUR LIQUOR - the bartender was a bit pushy that we try some of the blended tequila which we declined for straight shots.... A SQUIRREL wouldn't get a buzz off of the watered down crap that we were served. Â Such a huge disappointment. No way would I give the food a chance. Â If you cheat me on the liquor how can I trust the authenticity of the food? Â NO BUENO!
Review Source:If you like tequila or if you don't like tequila this place is great! I bring up the tequila because they infuse their own flavors. Â They have many different flavors and for the non-tequila drinkers you can't even taste the liquor. Â The food is tasty and the staff is great. Â The one thing that took me by surprise was that the servers fill your water with a "gasoline" container, which definitely fits the atmosphere. Â The owner and the staff seem like they are a close family and that itself is a great thing to see while you are eating and drinking with your friends.
Review Source:This is the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant.
First of all the parking is horrific. They had a very poorly managed valet on a busy Friday night with no other parking options. There were cars all over the lot, and once you pulled in, there was no way out.
We had a short wait which was no problem at all. We were seated in about 10 minutes.
The bartender took our drink order, and we received our drinks pretty quickly. It all went down hill from here.
The waitress did not even approach our table for our food order for at least half an hour after we sat down. One person ordered an appetizer, which didn't arrive for half an hour. After the appetizer, we waited an additional hour and 15 minutes for the food to arrive.
When we questioned what was taking so long, we were told that the NY Jets coach was in the house, and they were too busy with him. Then, a minute later, the hostess came over and said they waited to submit the dinner order until after the appetizer was off of the table. So which one was it?
Once the appetizer was served, we didn't see or hear from our waitress. How would she have known if it were finished? We were offered no drink refills. Also, their water is served luke warm from a plastic red gas can.
Finally, the food arrived. My $14 chicken burrito was awful. It was just spongy chicken drenched with bottled hot sauce. I sent it back, and asked for it to be taken off of the bill. The owner came over TWO TIMES to tell me there was nothing wrong with the burrito, blah blah blah. The owner literally harassed me at the table with my friends! For the record, I did not order something else, and was not seeking a free meal. I didn't eat at all. I just had my drink.
Then, when we didn't tip for this disaster, the waitress chased us out the door yelling!!
This place is the absolute worst. Next time I want a burrito, I'll head to Chipotle, or Moe's.
I am updating my review of this restaurant, a year later, and upgrading it to 5 stars? Why?This place does not have as many vegetarian options as I would like. But I'm going there a lot now because of the live music on Friday and Saturday nights, the excellent service, and the atmosphere. It gets a little expensive on two fronts: one is that the food is a little pricier here, and two, the service is so good so I tip kind of high. I really like going here for live music now, and wish Yelp had a better way of searching for live music venues.
Review Source:My husband brought me here this past Saturday night. We had a great time. Very cute and funky theme restaurant!
The menu is short, but the drink list is long. The sort of place I was in the mood for. The food is terrific, and so was the staff.
Great place to meet a bunch of friends and have a good time.
First of all, Red Cadillac is not a place for authentic Mexican nor does it claim to be. I've been here a few times and always had an awesome time. They have awesome fish tacos and combined with sangrias and margaritas, you have yourself a good night. The ambiance of the restaurant is quite surprising, as the unsuspecting facade transform into a NY-esque atmosphere inside. I haven't tried any dish except for the fish tacos since I'm obsessed with Fish Tacos, but I can definitely say that Red Cadillac is the second best fish tacos in NJ. The restaurant also serves flavor infused tequilas which are quite awesome. If you around the area, it is definitely worth it to check this place out.
Review Source:Really not worth it - much better elsewhere!
Food:
Average at best. The burrito meat was disappointing - I've had much better at Qdoba's for HALF the cost. The basket of chips was tasty - but the salsa was lacking in any real flavor. Didn't want to venture into dessert for fear of additional regret! - 1.5/5
Service:
Service was friendly and attentive, and aside from repeatedly being served warm water through a gas can, we were satisfied with the waitstaff - 4/5
Location:
They fail with this location. I'm sure that this location  has played a big part in the failure of all the restaurants that have occupied this space. One way in/out parking and not nearly enough parking on site. They'd be wise to negotiate with nearby businesses (bank/7/11/CVS etc.) to share a lot (legally) and have someone valet there instead of the nightmare that is their parking lot.  - 0/5
Great local Mexican restaurant. Â
I'm a huge fan of their margaritas here. Â I'm not sure what makes them so good, but they are!
First time I had food from here, it was a to-go order. Â First impression- not too shabby for a place in NJ.
Ate here a few times after, and definitely enjoyed the food. Â Fish tacos are something to try! Â The ambiance is pretty nice as well. Â They have live music on some nights (not too sure when-sorry!).
Don't forget the margarita(s).
Disclaimer: First of all let me start off by saying I am Mexican & I am a California native, therefore I know authentic Mexican food when I taste it.
Q's
1. Is this the taste of authentic Mexican? NO
2. Is it delicious? YES
3. Is it unique? YES
4. Is the ambiance cool? YES
5. Is the service efficient, helpful, respectful, and bright? YES
6. Do they have a liquor license? YES
7. Is there a fully stocked bar? YES
8. Is there music? YES (& there is a Live band on Friday & Saturday)
My Bo brought me here under no false pretense, I asked for good & unique food so we came here! The food selection is more fun than traditional Mexican food, the empanada was tasty! The nachos are like a master piece, and the burritos also have their own special touch. With that said, I do not believe this place is striving to be the most authentic Mexican food restaurant, but the coolest restaurant Union has to offer. This place is very fashion forward, maybe a little too much for this town if you are not open minded. I felt like I was at home, this place reminds me of the local hang outs in Melrose or Silver Lake, CA. Even the decor and style of waiters is like the Rock a Billie Scene that LA caters to. In short this place is COOL, TASTY, & REASONABLE! Embrace the difference and do not shy from what you are not familiar with. Red Cadillac is a cool place to bring your friends or celebrate a birthday, it is an all in one!
The first time I tried The Red Cadillac, I had a less than optimal experience. Â A group of friends (about 6 of us) came here on a VERY busy Saturday night. Â I suppose the kitchen was completely overwhelmed that night due to a fairly large birthday party going on. Â We expected to wait a bit even before we got there, as we knew this place gets busy on Saturday nights-so that wasn't the problem. Â We had reservations, but ended up having to wait about a half hour extra. Â That was a bit off putting, but things happen so..that wasn't too big of a deal. Â We sat and talked, and I enjoyed the live music act and fun atmosphere.
We were finally seated right next to the live music being played, which made it impossible to hear or talk at our table. Â We ordered appetizers, which didn't take too too long to come out. Â Shortly after, we ordered our dinners..and that's where my experience went down hill. Â It took an hour and a half for our food to come out. Â It was absolutely ridiculous. Â We tried to talk and pass the time (over the PA speakers right next to us), but frustration finally set in. Â The owner eventually came over to apologize for the wait and offered us a shot of homemade tequila, but half of the people I was with did not drink, so this was a nice gesture, but not very useful.
Finally the food came out. Â I ordered a salad (which yeah kinda boring for a Mexican restaurant-I know, I was trying to be good! haha). Â The salad was served in a taco shell which was cool, but the salad itself was nothing spectacular (but what do you want, it's a salad haha). Â After dinner we ordered desserts, and I tried one of my friend's churros which were delicious. Â By the time the night ended, I left the restaurant with a general bad taste in my mouth, with no plans to return.
One night a few months later (this past week), a couple of friends of mine wanted to go back and I figured I'd give them another try. Â This time it was a much better experience. Â We did go on a Saturday night, but it was very rainy so the restaurant was not packed. Â We were seated in about 15 minutes and enjoyed a mango margarita while we waited. Â I ordered a chimichanga this time with chicken, and though it wasn't the best I've had, it was ok. Â Again we ordered the churros, which again were just great. Â The service was faster than last time and we had a good experience. Â
Would I go back? Â Only if my friends are dying to go. Â Otherwise, I've had better Mexican-Inspired food elsewhere.
I've been to Red Cadillac a few times, and all 3 times, the food was always OK. I personally thought the burritos and fajitas tasted VERY processed and not authentic at all. I'm used to such places as El Bandido and Picante, so coming to a more commercialized Red Cadillac, I knew the food would be a bit lower.
However, the environment is awesome, the food isn't bad, and the happy hour is pretty good as well.
If you're in the mood for AUTHENTIC Mexican, I'd recommend you to go elsewhere though! Not bad for a quick stop when in need of a burrito though!
This place is so much fun!!
It's got a trendy chic mechanical feel to it. It's a very small menu, but the food is really good. The chicken enchiladas are my fav! What this place is about is Tequila and Tacos. plain and simple.
This is a great place if you want to lounge out with your friends or work pals. The bar is a hoot! If your into tequila they have infused tequilas. Red hots are my favorite. It goes down smooth. Mango tequila with mango sugar is delicious too.
But nothing beats a bohemia beer and a strawberry infused vodka shot!
You gotta check this place out. Don't go in there expecting a 5 star rest. because it's not. Its a place to have a good time, let your hair down, relax and enjoy yourself!
GO FOR THE FUN ATMOSPHERE! THE SANGRIA, THE MARGARITAS.
PS - There closed mondays and tues.
I have been here once before, but am hoping to get back ASAP. The atmosphere  is very hard to describe. Its more or less a combination of a trendy NYC place and a mechanics garage. It is very clever, I must say.
The one time I went there, I was meeting up with my family. We were just about the only people in the entire place. I thought this was tremendous because we had no issues with being served immediately.
I can't really tell you too much about the food we ate unfortunately. But I do remember it being pretty LBD because I definitely want to go back immediately.
LBD scale- 7ish. Next time I go back, the big dog will get a more LBD review.
Had an early dinner there recently with family from the city. The salsa that comes with the chips is really good, you can tell it's not from a jar, and the chips with the guacamole are like crack! My chicken burrito was good. I don't usually get chicken because it's too dry and this one wasn't. We also had the chicken fajitas, I thought they were tasty. The fish tacos were good too, according to the person who ate them. I had a bite, since I never before tasted fish tacos. The batter & tartar sauce was delish:)
The place is really cute inside. Seems like a fun place for an after work drink too. And the flavored tequilas are yum! I had the grape & berry, def recommend it!