Spotted Donkey Cantina

Poor service. Stopped in for lunch around 1PM. It was not busy and we were seated right away. Several wait staff passed by but not a one said anything, «someone will be right with you», «hi, it’ll be just a minute». We even sat contently with menus on table to signal that we were ready to order. Like I said, it wasn’t busy. Waited over 10 minutes and left. No one even noticed.

Great: Margaritas
Southwest Cobb Salad
Good: Atmosphere — a little older crowd, but a great patio
Chicken Fajitas — good ingredients, not enough chicken
Bad: A little pricey, but very worth it!
Our server Tanner was great!

Spotted Donkey Cantina, or SDC, is a interesting mix of Mexican, Spanish, and maybe even Indian food. Being from Texas I am used to traditional Tex Mex when I have Mexican food, and SDC’s dishes could not be farther from that. That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy it though.
We made reservations on Open Table straight through the Spotted Donkey Cantina’s Unilocal page, which was really convenient — especially since we had a big family group of 11 and decided to find a dinner spot around 6:30pm. We got a reservation for 8 and they seated us at a nice big table off by ourselves.
The décor of the restaurant is a cool combo of rustic and modern, with couches and cool art and a ton of seating.
I ordered the prickly pear frozen margarita first, but it was reeaaally sweet so I ordered a skinny marg next and it was awesome.
My only real complaint is that they charged for chips and salsa, which is something I am definitely not used to in Texas. However, the chips came with three different homemade salsas (red, green, and an amazing and SPICY pineapple habanero salsa) and they kept bringing out more when we ran out, so that was nice.
I had the BYO (build your own) short rib tacos. The meat was AWESOME, but the tortillas were really tiny and there weren’t a lot of «fixins» to put in the tacos. Overall, good order though. My grandfather got the chopped salad, but I think he got a bit sick from it… could have been something else though, who knows!
This restaurant is very expensive for what you are getting. They should lower their prices and people would order more. I wanted to try a bunch of appetizers and stuff on the menu, but my tacos were like 19 bucks, so I figured it would be a ton of food, so I just ordered the entrée.
This restaurant is fine, and I might go back for a skinny margarita and appetizers if I’m back in the Scottsdale area.

My parents insisted on coming here last week, as they had eaten here in December and loved it. Of course, I Unilocaled it before I agreed to go with them (hey, my time back in Scottsdale is precious-​I won’t want to waste a single meal on a potentially bad place). The reviews pretty much summed up our experience:
–Robert McGrath is gone (our server confirmed this for us)
–New menu that’s not as enticing
–Food is awful now
–Absolutely terrible management!
As reviews indicated, the place WAS good, before McGrath left. The menu also USED to be good, and food was good too, but is no longer the case. The three of us struggled with what to order, as nothing really sounded too great. My dad went with a chimichanga, my mom went with a Mexican chopped salad with shrimp, and I decided to have a Caesar with shrimp. My dad actually enjoyed his, until later that night when he became ill.
Both my salad and my mom’s salad were pretty much inedible. The produce was clearly never high quality, as evidenced by the mealy tomatoes and wilty lettuce. But the worst part was definitely the fishy-​tasting shrimp. How does that even happen?! How old were these shrimp that they developed a fishy taste?
The waitress stopped by for about .5 seconds right when the food was delivered, and since we hadn’t really tasted anything yet, we said things were fine. However, a few minutes into our meal we realized we needed to speak to a manager about the poor quality of the food (especially since my parents had such high expectations from their prior visit). The waitress was absolutely nowhere to be found, nor was the manager, or any other employee for that matter. It took easily 10 minutes before we actually saw any employee of the restaurant-​maybe they all took a break at the same time? We were one of only a few tables in the place, so it’s not like our waitress was busy with someone else…
Anyway, we finally asked our waitress to grab the manager for us. ANOTHER 10 minutes went by before the manager showed up. When he arrived, we calmly explained that poor quality of nearly all the ingredients in both of our salads, and I told him about the reviews I’d read and how my parents insisted it was so good that we had to try it and that I’d hoped the reviews weren’t true. I should mention he looked like a deer in headlights when I mentioned online reviews.
We expressed our disappointment (but we weren’t obnoxious about it, I just really felt that it’s only fair to tell the management about the poor food quality before writing a review online about it and told him so), and his response was simply: «You’re the first people to complain all night!» Oh, great. The first ones all night? Do we get a prize? Does that mean you received food complaints yesterday, and the day before that? We’re just the only ones to complain TODAY, which must mean our opinion isn’t valid.
He didn’t apologize. He didn’t validate our feelings about the food as any good manager would. He just seemed confused as to how we could possibly have these opinions. But it gets better! He then says, «Well, the waitress said she checked and you guys said you were enjoying everything.» Seriously? You can see very plainly that we have eaten almost nothing. Talk about feeling uncomfortable-​it was like we were completely unable to have a low opinion of this place.
He said nothing more and walked away. He brought us the bill, with the salads removed, and walked away. Still no apology. We didn’t ask for anything to be removed, we really only wanted him to acknowledge that the food sucked and that he’d do something to ensure future guests don’t encounter fishy-​fish and baggy lettuce. It was nice of him to remove the food from the bill, but there is just no excuse for making customers (a) eat crappy food, and then (b) feel uncomfortable about not enjoying it.

Not a bad place for upscale/​fusion-​y Mexican food. The décor is beautiful and service is great.
The star of the dinner was the appetizers.
The nachos were delicious — nothing like the usual yellow cheese on triangular tortilla chips with canned jalapeño slices. This was unique and delicious with fresh cheese and two types of unique red and green chile sauces.
The chicken wigs were good — not spicy enough but good nonetheless
The taquitos were good
The chile relleno was good and HUGE
The green mac and cheese was NOT good — mushy
The posole soup was DISGUSTING — I took one sip and I returned it back to the kitchen. It tasted like a wet donkey.
The chopped salad that replaced the soup was good
beet salad was good
calamari steak was tender but I felt lack flavor.
Short ribs were huge and delicious

I am usually a person who sticks to Old Town or Arcadia/​Biltmore when it comes to going out to eat due to where all my friends and I live. I had to go north to run some errands, and a friend and I decided to check out the McCormick Ranch plaza. I have to say it’s changed a lot, since I’ve last been here. There’s Butters breakfast spot, busters, Zipps, and I think Jade Palace got replaced by TCBY.
My friend already ate at Busters, so we decided to go to Spotted Donkey. I was amazed by the décor when I first stepped in. It felt like the first time I walked into Modern Steak or J & G Steakhouse. It was different, modern, yet had a nice casual vibe to it. A modern latin décor with hints of burnt orange surrounded the area. We decided to sit at the bar and was greeted by a pleasant bartender.
We had a couple of beers and tried out the ceviche which was fresh and vibrant. We also split the nachos which was not the kind I was expecting. The nachos had a lot of flavor on large tortilla chips. I wish it had a more spicy kick to it, but I usually lean towards spicy than others. The beers were around $ 6, but they were giant size.
We had a great time sitting around and catching up with some other friends who joined later. I really like the service, scenery, and food. I’ll definitely do another followup review when I come back to try out the dinner entrees.

This place is pretty solid and I have no idea why it was so dead when I went. I went with a party of 4 for happy hour ($ 2 off some drinks and food) on a Monday. The place is spacious and very well decorated. The place has a pretty cool upscale vibe to it. We sat in the bar area and the service was very fast and friendly. I tried 2 margaritas; the Skinny and the Silver Coin. Both were excellent but the «skinny» one has nothing to do with the amount of calories rather that it is organic. Go figure. I still can’t figure that one out. The silver coin one was very good and was pretty strong.
The chips are awesome but the guac is just eh. It seems to be fresh but is lacking any real flavor or kick. The queso was excellent especially with the pita bread stuff (pita? really? very odd. but good). The cheese had excellent flavor and a good amount of spice. I would definitely get it again.
I will be back.

My friend and I went to this quaint place along with other «WineBats» for an evening of «little Bites» and glasses of wine. All of it very good!
We ordered Machaca Chicken Mushroom Taquitos… excellent with a little bite. Panko Crusted Fried Calamari… succulent! Imported Cinco Queso with olive oil fried bread and the best tortilla chips I have had in quite some time, and at the end we ordered the Fried Ice Cream Quartet… that was amazing! Service was on point! We are going back to try their regular menu some time.

With a name like Spotted Donkey I was expecting this to be the kind of place where they offer $ 2 Coronas and Taco Tuesdays. So I was surprised when I walked in to discover that this was actually a nice, sit-​down restaurant — like the kind of place you might take a date. (Not that cheap tacos and beer can’t make a great date, but you know I’m sayin’)
Some co-​workers and I were working late in the area so we decided to try it out. I would describe their menu as traditional Mexican food with a twist. To start we ordered a quesadilla with pork to share. It was outstanding! First, it was huge. Second it was loaded with pork — they did not skimp. Third, it was delicious. The pork was nice and tender and drizzled on top there was a garlicky sour cream that really made this entrée great.
For our meals, I ordered the tacos (2 beef, 2 shrimp), co-​worker 1 ordered the burger, co-​worker 2 ordered the chopped salad. The tacos are like street tacos — small corn tortillas. I really liked the shrimp — had a good little kick. The beef were good too but the shrimp was better. My co-​workers gobbled up their choices as well. The one with the salad said it was one of the best salads she has ever had.
Overall, the service was good, the atmosphere was nice and the food was very tasty. I would go back for sure.

This place was pretty good.
It was a weekday so the place was pretty dead. Our server was pretty attentive and extremely knowledgeable of the menu. He recommended stuff to us that ended up ordering and were happy with.
We ordered the Six Shooters (tortilla crusted hand stuffed cheddar, bacon filled jalapeño shots with a cilantro buttermilk sauce) — it was too spicy for me, but the other 3 enjoyed them.
We also ordered the Nachos (Large corn tortilla rounds with drunken black beans, pulled pork, serrano chile, fire roasted tomato and tomatillo salsa, and a blend of cheddar, manchego, monterrey jack cheese and mexican crema cheeses.) Pretty darn amazing.
The hubs ordered the fish tacos which were pretty tasty and filled him up.
I ordered the fajitas, which was nothing special and could be eaten at any other restaurant that served fajitas.
My brother ordered the pan roasted pork tenderloins which were cooked perfectly medium-​rare and was probably the best dish out of all of ours.
My SIL ordered the enchilada — and quite honestly, I don’t remember if she liked it or not.
In the end, we decided to try to cuban corn — which was by far, the best! I could have eaten more if there was any left.
For the 4 of us, it was almost $ 180 (including tip). A bit pricey, but I would go back — even if it was just for the corn on the cob… and the great service.

Um yea… this is almost a little too over the top. The décor/​style is the finest of any Mexican restaurant I have ever seen. The food is so far from your typical Mexican fare that it is actually hard to describe. This is great for people who love Mexican food and can handle a little heat. Get the Jalapeño shooters to get started!!!

Decorated for the rich old Scottsdale folk, food is designed for $ 30k millionaires who don’t know any better.
Ceasar salad: a pile of leaves that I had to saw through myself using a butter knife. I quickly realized that this setup is designed specifically for the escorts who come in to order this — their right forearms won’t have any problem with the strain.
«Street» tacos: Came in hard shells. NO option to get soft shells? Then they’re not STREET tacos, dumbshits. Plus, these hard shells were thick enough to crack a tooth. Since I don’t have veneers like the rest of your customers, it was difficult for me to gnash through them.
Service is fine and the place is clean and beautiful. And the chips and salsa are excellent — there is a pineapple salsa with a kick of habanero that will sneak up on you, fast! I like it.

While in Scottsdale with some family, we all decided that the trip would be for naught if we didn’t try some local Mexican food. While I was thrilled at the prospect of some Mexican in a region known for it’s amazing authentic options, I was a bit dissapointed with the Spotted Donkey Cantina.
First off, the Spotted Donkey Cantina is a nice place, with a calming atmosphere and servers that are both well-​dressed and well-​versed. Additionally, the options are unique (although not what I would call «authentic») and I would be surprised if anyone found they were unable to find a dish they were excited to order.
However, when my food finally arrived (chili as an appetizer and enchiladas for the main course), I was a bit disappointed to find that my dishes were a bit underwhelming. Both the pork chili and the enchiladas were almost entirely devoid of meat, instead containing mostly fillers like chopped tomatoes, cheese and beans. As I’d paid nearly $ 20 in total for both, this was extremely disappointing.
Head over to the Spotted Donkey Cantina if you’re looking for a good atmosphere for a business dinner or a date, but keep away if you’re looking for either authentic Mexican cuisine or a bang for your buck.

I was almost ready to give Spotted Donkey the coveted 5 stars, but it occurred to me that I was most likely wanting to give that 5^th star because I had not eaten anything resembling Mexican food in over a month! So reason won and I’m going with a very strong 4.
Not your typical menu of tacos and enchiladas smothered with a cup of melted cheese and swimming in grease. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Nothing beats good Sonoran fare in my book. At Spotted Donkey you will find chimis and enchiladas on the menu, but also cornmeal crusted mahi mahi and pan roasted pork tenderloin.
We started with the chips and salsa. I have to say I was not all that impressed with the chips. They reminded me more of a bigger version of Fritos than a thin and crispy chip I prefer. Served with a trio of salsas, my favorite was the charred tomato followed closely by the green tomatillo. The pineapple habanero may have been tasty, but one bite and my tongue was so swollen I lost all sense of taste for the next 15 minutes. My husband managed to eat a fair amount of it, however. I attribute that to his southern roots and exposure to moonshine at the age of 6.
His entrée was the chipotle honey-​glazed grilled salmon tostada. With a black bean mango salsa and avocado vinaigrette, it was quite good. The only thing negative… it was seriously undercooked in the middle. Had it been mine, I would have sent it back. I know there seems to be a trend of rare fish being served, but if this was intentional, the server should ask how you would like it prepared. I smartly chose the mesquite roasted port antojito… like mini tostadas but served on a thicker corn «cake» that is fried. The pork was perfectly lean, perfectly seasoned, and quickly devoured.
For dessert we shared the ancho chile brownie sundae which was served with both hot caramel and hot fudge sauces on the side. Expecting to prefer the chocolate sauce, I actually did not. Although it had good flavor, the consistency was off and there was a little separation. I am not usually a fan of caramel, but this sauce was ridiculously good, with a strong hint of salt coming through. Had it been served with nothing but a spoon, the dessert still would have worked for me. The ancho chile brownie was fantastic, although I maybe would have preferred just a touch more of chile in the background. I would be hard pressed to go back and have any dessert other than this one.
I loved the atmosphere at Spotted Donkey, loved the food, and had fantastic service. The underdone fish was the only reason it didn’t make the 5^th star this time around, but I would definitely return.

Was looking for a Mexican joint on Unilocal and stumbled across this place. Since I was dining solo, I saddled up to the bar to grab some dinner. I’m so glad I did… here’s why:
+ The Cheese Enchiladas rock! Priced at $ 14, they’re not cheap, but they’re damn good! They have 2 sauces on them… Green and Red… they each have a distinct taste that make the dish explode with flavor in your mouth. Awesome!
The sides of Beans & Pickled Carrot Salad is unique and flavorful!
These were easily the best Enchiladas I’ve ever had.
+ Décor & Atmosphere. From what the bartender told me, it’s only been open 6 months or so. The décor is unique… I have no idea how to describe it, otherwise I would… it feels upscale and modern, let’s just say that.
+ Friendly employees. Everyone was really nice and offered suggestions on the menu.
+ The Chocolate Lava Cake, $ 8. Ok, I wasn’t going to eat dessert, but the bartender talked me into it… I’m glad he did. It was freakin’ awesome! However, I will warn you… it’ a big portion, can easily feed 2 people.
Served hot and moist, the Chocolate Cake melts in your mouth… when you slice your spoon through the Cake, the hot Chocolate Lava center oozes out… together with the Vanilla Ice Cream on top, it makes for an awesome combo!
Overall, it was a great experience. I was told they have 2 happy hours, but forgot the times… it’s an early and late schedule for them… so it can cover both early birds and night owls.
Return Factor — 100%

Imagine this, a swanky new Scottsdale restaurant that has down to earth prices, fantastic food and attentive top-​notch service? Sometimes it’s hard to believe that this kind of place even exists, but its no mirage, the Spotted Donkey Cantina is everything that I had hoped and more.
Starting with the service, there are details that just go to show how the owners and management are in tune with training of the staff. Everyone we encountered was pleasant, seemingly happy and genuine.
I have to tell you though, when it comes to eating at SDC, you’ll be in good hands, Chef Patrick Bolls hands to be exact. His background includes years working with local chef-​lebrity Robert McGrath, which has paid off in chiles. The southwestern influenced menu is well balanced with just a little bit of something for everyone. I mean who doesn’t love the addictive crunch of La Canasta Corn Chips ($ 6)? Along side are 3 different salsas including a smoky charred tomato, a deeply flavored red chile orange and finally a tomatillo green chile salsa. All were surprisingly mild though these seemed more about flavor rather than scorching your face, that’ll come later.
The «Shooters» ($ 8) seemed harmless enough. A chubby jalapeño pepper stuffed with cheddar cheese and bacon then encrusted with a coating of tortillas and deep fried. At fist bite your mouth is filled with a creamy spurt of hot cheese followed by the pork-​tastic flavor of bacon. Then it hits you, the burn from the jalapeño is scorching but a quick dip into cilantro buttermilk sauce helped cool the flame.
If you’re still trying to cool the flavor induced fire one of SDC many salad choices will do the trick. The Spotted Donkey «Chop» Salad ($ 12) is prepared table side with you controlling the amounts of roasted corn, cucumber, queso fresco, cilantro, warm smoked bacon, and avocado. Then tossed in a luscious jalapeño buttermilk dressing and served with crispy flour tortilla chips on the side, it cools and satisfies. Composed into tidy rows of tortilla crusted chicken breast, avocado, bacon, chopped egg and manchego cheese and dressed in chipotle vinaigrette, the dinner sized Southwest Chicken Cobb Salad ($ 12.50) was almost big enough to share.
The center of my universe, at least for a minute, was the char grilled Big Ol’ Jack Ass Angus Burger ($ 11.50). This is a seriously tasty burger, topped with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, avocado, jalapenos and horseradish mustard, fries on the side. Continuing with the meat parade, a sizzling iron skillet filled with Fajitas ($ 16) was placed in front of me. While you have your choice of chicken or shrimp, the idea of beef tenderloin mixed with sausage, sweet onions and tomatoes seemed like the hearty choice. Along side are the usual accompaniments like guacamole, salsa, crema and warm flour tortillas, what was unusual were how quickly I scarfed these down, delicious.
While the space feels decidedly modern and upscale there wasn’t one moment where I felt uncomfortable or out of place, even with burger juices running down my face.

This review has been percolating for a week now and I finally have the courage to write it.
Spotted Donkey Cantina looked so promising: from the excellent reviews to the stunning and modern restaurant. Even the food looked great. But alas, this was the first time Unilocal steered me wrong during my vacation.
After quickly being seated on the patio, Lisa H and I decided a margarita was in order. Lis tried a strawberry marg and I opted for the prickly pear marg. Tasty margs, although a wee bit too expensive. But Spotted Donkey clearly isn’t a cheap place, so no surprise there.
Based on the awesome venue and the delicious margs, I was hoping for some awesome eats, but sadly, it was not to be. Many a review recommended the nachos, so we ordered those as an app. Unfortunately, the nachos were the best part of the meal and even they were subpar. The chicken tasted so dry I swear it was actually turkey. I honestly couldn’t taste chicken in that meat. Big strike number one.
After the nachos, our main dishes arrived: Lis got the enchiladas and I decided on the mac and cheese with some chicken (uh oh). Lis wasn’t impressed and neither was I. I wish I had known about the turkey flavored chicken before I choose to add that to my mac and cheese. I attempted another bite of it, but it still was so dry I had to push all of it to the side and focused only on the pasta. Honestly, the mac and cheese was quite tasty, but I was so turned off by the chicken that I couldn’t eat much of it. Strike number two.
Many a server came by, I bet at least five different faces. The host to seat us, our server proper, one to delivery our apps, one to clear the apps away, our server again to deliver our main courses, another to fill our waters, another to take our remaining dishes away, and finally our server proper to deliver our bill. No jokes. How many different people can you possible need for this process? It seemed a little over the top for me. Strike number three.
Spotted Donkey, you appeared to have so much promise. I have to say with regret, that I was sorely disappointed to have eaten here. Thankfully, I had just won a few bucks at the casino, so I wasn’t too upset about paying for the meal.

Met some friends here for happy hour the other day. This is the old El Paso BBQ and they did a knockout job with the remodel. Great feel and warm colors to the place now.
I had a couple of Coronas and some chips and guacamole. The regular menu looks better than the happy hour menu and think I’ll try them the next time for lunch or dinner.

Upon walking into the Spotted Donkey one is welcomed by the warm, upscale décor. The hostess asked it we would prefer the dining room or lounge, and since we didn’t have a preference we were seated in the lounge. The chairs were large and pillowy; perfect for a cozy feast of Mexican fare.
Chips and salsa did not grace the meal, but they were on the appetizer menu for around $ 6, as was guac for $ 9.50. I think the waiter would have been more attentive had we ordered drinks; the service was provided on circumstance (I say this because there were older couples and a table of women in their 20s who were showered with attention – I felt neglected before our food even came out).
The food: OUTSTANDING. I had the chicken fajitas – the sauce (oh my!) was uniquely delicious and addicting; I found myself scraping the cast iron skillet with every scrap of tortilla I had left. Fajitas were accompanied by fresh guacamole, salsa, sour cream and warm flour tortillas. My friend had the steak tacos. They were the perfect size, had just the right amount of cabbage for crunch and the beef had a nice smoky taste. The salsa and guac really pushed the flavors to perfection.
All around a pleasant dining experience. I’m coming back for their late night happy hour menu!

After driving up to Scottsdale to see the Roald Amundsen Railroad car used in FDR’s funeral, I got out my trusty Droid and Unilocaled the area for restaurants. The Spotted Donkey’s reviews caught my attention.
How could I not like a place that has photos of donkeys and burros all over?
The shrimp tacos for $ 13 were delicious and attractively presented on a long white plate. It looked beautiful. (photo included).
HOWEVER, my partner said if she had to choose between this dish and La Salsa’s Baja Shrimp Tacos, a lot less costly and just as tasty, she’d stick with La Salsa.
The cheese enchiladas and salad with salsa/​guacamole were outstanding. I was very full by the time I had polished THAT off.
Only a couple observations: They charge you an extra $ 5 for salsa and chips. Wish they would include it with the meal.
I was seated at a table that had a halogen spotlight that was boring down on me… all the while the AC was blowing cold air down on the table. I changed seats and all was well.
Our servers were polite and attentive and overall, it was a very pleasant dining experience… just real different from what we love in South Tucson.