I would like to give rave reviews to our waiter Giovani. He was so polite and friendly, but also good humored as my husband kept giving him a hard time ( all in FuN) about an up charge for things we ordered. Food was also very good! We would give Giovani a $3.00 raise read more

Overall, Spotted Donkey Cantina was fairly average. I was not overly impressed by the food. The chips were too heavy for my liking; for me, I prefer light and crispy. The chicken in the chimichanga was good, but the breading was too thick and doughy. Our kids really enjoyed their beef tacos. The low light of the food was the steak my wife added to her salad. I highly recommend not ordering it. The restaurant was clean, the service was very friendly, and it is in an excellent location, walking distance from the beach! The kids tacos came out a good 8-10 minutes before the rest of our meals, so they were finished and bored when we just got started eating. Reviews seem mixed, so obviously plenty of people enjoy the cantina. For us though, we would not visit again. read more

Food was very overpriced for the amount. Our server was not very good to be honest, our drinks were not filled very often and we seemed like an in convenience to her. Honestly I probably will not come back to eat here if we can help it. Husband did like the fajitas so that's a plus. Ps... the salsa was not good with the chips but the giant guacamole was good. read more

Spotted Donkey Cantina - Taquitos - Mexican Near Me - Clearwater Beach, Florida

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Cute spot conveniently located at the bottom of the Hilton on Clearwater Beach. The atmosphere was relaxed and inviting, and the staff was genuinely warm and welcoming. It did take a bit longer than expected to place my order, but once I did, the food made up for it. I started with chips and fresh guacamole, which were excellent and full of flavor, paired perfectly with a cold Corona on draft. For my entree , I ordered the Roja & Verde street style enchiladas with machaca chicken. One enchilada was topped with New Mexico Hatch green chile and the other with black Chimayo red chile sauce. Both sauces were flavorful and distinct, and the dish was served with Mexican rice, borracho beans, guacamole, Mexican crema, and pico de gallo, making for a well rounded and satisfying plate. One thing to note is that parking can be a bit of a challenge. Street parking is metered, and hotel parking runs $20 or more. Overall, a great beachside cantina with tasty food and a welcoming vibe. With a bit quicker service and easier parking, it would be an even better experience. read more

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This is a comfortable, well put together Mexican restaurant. From the friendly, welcoming greeting of the host (right out on the sidewalk in front of the patio) to the donkey/tequila decor it is a delight to eat here. The service was attentive and quick. The food was fresh and delicious. Loved the quesodillas, chips (light and tasty), salsa and guacamole. Patio, bar and indoor dining options available. Great location right near Pier 60! read more

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On a Monday night you can walk the strip of Mandalay Avenue and find a slew of bars/restaurants serving burgers, fish and your basic food filled with red faced tourists who spent all day on the beach...Not what we were looking for... We wanted a freshly made margarita and some tacos...And boom! Renee was the secret weapon here...her home made margs were 'da bomb!' Not to mention her personality! We enjoyed chatting with her while we sat at a high top table by the bar. The interior was very clean, roomy and located at the front of the Hilton next to Starbucks. We were on the fence about food so Renee helped us to decide. We ordered: The Chicken Teriyaki Fajitas ~ 5/5 AMAZING! Very tasty! 1 Shrimp Taco & 1 Mahi-Mahi Taco with black beans & rice ~ 5/5 *Chips & Salsa are not free read more

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Got seated immediately which was great, and server was very friendly and nice. The food was just okay for the amount that you pay. The yellow rice was hard - as if it needed more time to cook. Beans were good, but slightly cold like it was sitting out. The shrimp tacos were really good. And the fried ice cream was delish! read more

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We selected here to eat on a Sunday night. The hostess was friendly/attentive and sat us immediately. The ambiance is great especially on the patio. The waitress was friendly and accommodating. The salsa served with the chips was more like a marinara sauce. Our bill was calculated incorrectly with additional charges, but the waitress corrected the issue after we recognized the issue. Overall a good spot for a quick bite and drinks with great outdoor seating. read more

DO NOT GO HERE!! The food is terrible and the drinks are awful. Hands down the worst Mexican food I have ever had. The 6 dollar salsa tastes like tomato baby food. The beans are disgusting I wouldn't feed them to a stray cat. The rice was tasteless. Do not waste your money or the calories on this place. ***** Response to the owner***** Your generic half assed response is not accepted. If you look at the real reviews on here you will see the same copy pasted responses. Don't waste your breath unless you mean it. If you do in fact mean it then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Stop serving unseasoned over priced food. read more

Great option when you're staying at the beach. On a Friday night this place wasn't that busy. In comparison the Salty Crab had a 20 minute wait. Sometimes it's nice to just be seated immediately. We were doing a restaurant crawl so we only got chips and salsa and skinny senoritas (which is their version of a skinny margarita). The chips and salsa were really good. The chips were very thin and had a good amount of salt. The salsa wasn't chunky at all (which is the way my husband likes it). I actually wasn't a huge fan of the skinny seniorita. It has a weird aftertaste to it. However, I like the menu and that there's an array of different craft margaritas, so I'll definitely give this place another shot for drinking. The restaurant has beautiful décor and a laid back vibe. Our server was very nice. I will definitely come back. read more

Spotted Donkey Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Clearwater Beach, Florida

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We were seated pretty quickly for a busy Friday night. The food was mediocre but the service was not good. Would not eat here again.

Cute place, attached to Hilton and right next to a Starbucks (readily ice cream for dessert across the street). Greeted immediately upon walking up the steps and seated right away. We ordered guac,salsa & chips and then my husband ordered the chicken tacos of corn tortillas. He said his meal was great! Even the refried beans had a great texture to them and were full of flavor. Guac was delicious too. Salsa was a bit unique-could describe as a puréed type of salsa very heavy tomato base almost pasta sauce type flavor mixed with a chipotles in adobo sauce flavor. Probably wouldn't get that again but it was a unique try. Chips thin and nicely salted, crispy and tasted fresh. Overall it was a nice quick early dinner bite. read more

Spotted Donkey Cantina - Chips salsa & guac - Mexican Near Me - Clearwater Beach, Florida

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Food is excellent, service from Sai was exceptional. Signature cocktails offer great choices.

We Chose this Mexican restaurant per friend recommendation and so glad that we listened to them. We went there for lunch on Tuesday and there was no wait time. The server was nice and the service was good. We ordered fiesta bowl with chicken , chicken burrito, chicken nuggets (kids menu). They all tasted good and were served hot. All ingredients were fresh. Nothing was too salty like most restaurants. The portion size was just right to make you full and not to overwhelm you! The location is very convenient and easy to find. Parking is challenging. I Recommend this place to anyone. read more

Spotted Donkey Cantina - Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Clearwater Beach, Florida

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I'm sorry to say the food was mediocre at best. My steak in the Carne Assad was tough and chewy. As a party of six expecting to have a 55th Wedding Anniversary dinner all together; my wife's dinner came after the other 5 had almost finished their dinners. It's the first time I've been charged for nachos at a Mexican restaurant not to mention the salsa was bland. It definitely wasn't what I expected from a place that has stiff competition from so many restaurants on the strip. It was memorable but not for any good reason. The only redeeming factor was that our server was trying her darnedes to make it right. read more

Fun looking, and nothing good or bad about the service. The food was just average or below average. Hard to go wrong w this kind of food, but it did not hit the spot. read more

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We choose to sit outside and it was a great choice for when we visited. We ordered a couple of kids meals and the nachos. The kids gobbled their meals up. The nachos were also delicious and it was a large platter, definitely big enough to share. The best part of our visit was our server. The gentlemen he was awesome! read more

Spotted Donkey Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Clearwater Beach, Florida

We went to the spotted donkey for lunch on a Saturday around 2pm. When we arrived there was only about 3 other patrons inside. It took them about 10 minutes to put some tables together. After we were seated we waited about another 15 minutes to be greeted. The waitress, Kristin, came over to take our drink order where we asked to also order at the same time. We ordered nachos, chicken fajitas, tacos, and a shrimp bowl. Out of all the food we ordered the only food that wasn't terrible were the nachos. Everything else was pretty tasteless and quite frankly inedible. Kristin never checked back on us until it was time for the bill. Honestly it wasn't a great experience and we won't be back. read more

Went on Memorial Day for a nice beach lunch and when we got there the hostess was sweet and when we got seated and asked for our drink order we asked if they had any agua frescas the server who was a white middle aged lady had no idea what I was saying and when we placed our food order I asked for tacos de pescado again no idea what I said until I said fish mind you it says pescado on the menu . If you're going to have a Mexican restaurant atleast know the Spanish names that are ON THE MENU .Anyways after that I left my table with a friend to get service outside and we were rudely shooed away by another middle aged Caucasian lady and told to move because customers could want to sit there and that have to go to the back , I have no problem moving i understand but she was overly rude and never offered the wifi they had there even after she asked us if had already ordered. Absolutely zero hospitality whatsoever. After that this is the worst part I'm walking past the bar and and our waitress says "I don't know why you made it so difficult for yourself " .... Absolutely disgusting , I make my way over to my table and tell my friend who was at the table ( it's 3 of us ) . I explain to her what just happened and she said that when me and my friend left the waiter went up to her and asked her if we got into a fight . She said it in a nosy way and I work in the food service industry I WOULD NEVERRR ask someone an inappropriate question. The food was very much mid the rice was stale , the beans were hard this is not authentic AT ALLLL very much Tex mex honestly not even the birria consume was a weird brown color and the pescado tacos didn't have typical taco ingredients . Was only checked up once and the bathroom was disgusting .Overall a bad experience. read more

Spotted Donkey Cantina - seating area near behind the bar - Mexican Near Me - Clearwater Beach, Florida

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Server named Sai was great and food was delicious and I definitely would recommend this location to others. This ambiance of the location was very moving with music, it even had me singing along. read more

Stopped here to enjoy an afternoon snack and drinks while we were walking the beach areas. Our waitress was also a bartender and super helpful and friendly! We could not decide between the nachos with pork or the fresh guacamole. She recommended we order the nachos and get a side of guac. We also ordered a basket of chips and jalapeño margaritas. Everything was SO good! The margaritas had fresh jalapeños and the nachos and guac were excellent and so flavorful! We had so much food we didn't have room to order the fajitas we wanted for lunch. Excellent food, service and location right off the beach and strip! read more

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If you're looking for authentic Mexican food that you would usually get at a cantina, this is not the place. It looks right, but tastes so wrong. Birria tacos should have consume, not some weird mole sauce. The carne asada had no flavor, as if marination was never done. In the group of 4 I was with, not one of us finished the meal. It's edible, it's presentable, but it's not what you would expect flavor wise. Drinks were alright, minus the Chardonnay... maybe the bottle was just old, but it was quite terrible. Unfortunate, because it is a great location and the service/staff was great. read more

Wanted a light meal since we are traveling. We had the shrimp tacos with Spanish rice, refried beans, guacamole and pico. The shrimp were cooked and seasoned perfectly. I would definitely come back if we were in the area again read more

Spotted Donkey Cantina - Shrimp tacos - Mexican Near Me - Clearwater Beach, Florida

The food is bad. Not authentic and tasted like a school cafeteria made it. You don't want to go here.

Food was great. Service was not good. Had empty glasses for a majority of the meal. The table was sticky and we watched employees clean tables without any spray, just a dirty napkin. read more

Spotted Donkey Cantina - Cantina Burrito - Mexican Near Me - Clearwater Beach, Florida

Food is not the greatest, birria tacos came with a side of hot sauce instead of consume. Fajitas, while presentation looks good, since it came sizzling, lacked any seasoning on it. Should've known when the server provided a salt grinder with our meal. The queso fundido lacked any spice or chorizo. It was pretty much watery queso with verde sauce instead it with a few bits of sausage on the bottom. Would recommend looking somewhere else if you're interested in Mexican food. read more

Kristen at the bar was amazing at serving us and providing great conversation despite being hella busy. The sangria is lacking, but the margaritas were spot on and the beef burrito and chicken fajitas were super yummy. The guacamole, salsa, and chips also top notch. Their unique flavors give this a huge thumbs up for quality and taste. Good atmosphere inside and out, too! read more

Came in mid afternoon just for drinks. The place was empty. Ordered drinks right away then waited over 40 minutes while everyone around us received food and drinks. Super disappointed. read more

Giovani was attentive and so personable! His recommendations were excellent, and the enchiladas were so good. It's a shame we live out of town I'm going to miss those enchiladas! read more

Stopped by around 3pm for a late lunch and it was fairly quiet. Their salmon tostado is a very large plate and very filling. Their guacamole is OKAY. Margarita was a little sweet and hubby ordered the steak and surf burrito which was good. Service was quick and our waiter was very friendly. Kids ordered dirt cups which came with the kids meal and they liked it. read more

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Staff was friendly. Food was mediocre. The fajitas were in a strange bbq/teriyaki flavor sauce. And the tortillas were bland. Not that great. read more

The food itself was good. The hostess was kind and accurate. The bartender was rude and ignored me. She really turned me off the moment we walked in. She snapped at my kids and then never even acted like she was interested in waiting on me. It would've been nice to have been offered a menu or a drink even if she didn't want to fix my kid a Coke while we waited for a table. Our waiter was nice. He knew the menu, but didn't really swing back around after our food arrived. I also don't get it when Mexican restaurants don't offer chips and salsa. Or even if you charge me for the chips and salsa, charging me to refill the chip bowl seems a bit nickel-and-dime. I could understand for an upscale Mexican place, but a beachside dive is more what this place is like. read more

GiovannI was our server and he was great, very attentive and friendly. The food was well made and fresh. Great location by our hotel, clean and cool deco. read more

This is our first time here and what an amazing experience. The food was delicious and tasted as if it wasmade from scratch to include the beans and rice our server Sai was outstanding!!!! very attentive we we're treated as if we were at a 5 star restaurant!! Any additions or slight changes to our meals were done and creating an extra twist to my dessert visit Spotted Donkey and I hope you meet Sai! You will not be disappointed read more

We got seated quickly, the service was nice, and the cocktails were good, but the food was bland. We ordered the queso fundido, which had minimal flavor, and even less chorizo, for $11.50. We also ordered a barbacoa chimichanga, which was not terrible, it just was not very flavorful at all. read more

If you're a picky eater and know that a classic chicken and cheese quesadilla will satisfy you... look no further! Quick and great service. The only thing was that the pina colada was very strong- that could be a positive or a negative depending on who you ask! read more

Spotted Donkey Cantina - Quesadilla - Mexican Near Me - Clearwater Beach, Florida

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Whelp. We came back to Clearwater, first time back since August 2018, and the only place we HAD to go to was Spotted Donkey. We hoped it would be as good as our 2018 trip, and it did NOT disappoint. Our waiter, Angel, was nothing short of spectacular. He was attentive, provided suggestions, and always had a smile on his face. The GM, Rain, came by to see how we were doing. We told him about our experience almost 7 years ago and as a thank you for being valued customers he gave us a delicious shot (later to be followed by dessert). This. Place. Is. Amazing. If you've come to this area and haven't stopped by, you are doing yourself a disservice. Spotted Donkey is by far my favorite restaurant of all time. Can't wait to come back read more

Spotted Donkey Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Clearwater Beach, Florida

We stopped for lunch while out taking a stroll of the area. Even though this is part of Hilton, the food is really special! We sat at the bar and the bartender was a very sweet girl. She chit chatted with us as she worked. We started with chips and salsa and the salsa was like we've never had before! So good! I had the Taquitos and was shocked at how many I got! The presentation was gorgeous too! I Would order them again, a million times over! So so so good! My husband ordered chicken fajitas that came out sizzling good! I recommend! read more

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I have never been very fond of Mexican food in Florida, but this is because I'm spoiled with offerings from the Southwest. That being said, the Spotted Donkey has a nice atmosphere and vibe and is located on the street side of the Hilton Clearwater Beach. The server was very nice and helpful and quick to respond to our requests. We ordered a side of guacamole which actually was quite delicious and then an order of fajitas to split. Not my favorite sauce on the meat, and didn't really taste like skirt steak, carne asada or flank steak. It tasted more like stew beef with a docked up Hispanic bbq sauce. My wife felt the same and we left the leftovers versus bringing them to go. We knew we wouldn't bother re-heating this dish. They have a full bar, so I'd definitely return if for nothing other than drinks and guacamole & chips! read more

Spotted Donkey Cantina - Steak Fajitas de La Cantina - Mexican Near Me - Clearwater Beach, Florida

We came here two years ago because the food was so good, well we came back this year and they did not disappoint, our server Marta was wonderful in helping the night go smoothly. read more