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Spotted Donkey Cantina, el Pedregal

34505 North Scottsdale, Scottsdale, AZ 85262
480-488-3358
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Ranked #32 of 816 restaurants in Scottsdale
Price range: $15 - $30
Cuisines: Mexican
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Restaurant details
Good for: Romance, Bar scene, Doing business, Local cuisine, Entertaining clients
Dining options: Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, Reservations, Late Night
Dining style: Casual Elegant
Cross street: Carefree Hwy
Description: Fresh, lively and energetic, the Spotted Donkey Cantina at el Pedregal is a Scottsdale original. Offering the best drinks, unique food and a festive atmosphere are quickly earning Spotted Donkey Cantina at el Pedregal a reputation as the place to dine in North Scottsdale. The restaurant's North Scottsdale location provides a fabulous backdrop of 12-million-year-old rock formations and you can catch the Arizona sky creating a stunning atmosphere on our large outdoor patio. Best Happy Hour 2012 | AZ Centrals Readers Choice Awards Best Mexican Food 2013 | Arizona Foothills Magazine
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215 reviews from our community

83% Recommend
    121
    58
    25
    9
    2
Rating summary
    Food
    Service
    Value
    Atmosphere
Date Rating
1 review
5 of 5 stars Reviewed June 15, 2013 NEW via mobile

My wife and I ate here tonight. We were blown away. The food was amazing, large portions for the value. The margaritas are delicious. Will be coming back for sure!

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Scottsdale, Arizona
1 review
3 of 5 stars Reviewed June 12, 2013

This place came highly recommended to me buy a co worker and I was really excited to dine here, the food was amazing. My wife and I both had enchiladas and margaritas, and were extremely satisfied. However, our server josh made us feel rushed and uncomfortable throughout our dining experience. We will return again however we will definitely be dining... More

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Senior Contributor
23 reviews 23 reviews
17 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 19 cities Reviews in 19 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed June 7, 2013 via mobile

Excellent Mexican food along with excellent service. Top choices of our group was the meatloaf, stuffed peppers and nacho appetizer. The chirizo gravy on the meatloaf was unique yet very tasty. The stuffed peppers were very good. The nachos had a lot of meat and cheese and could easily be a meal if so desired. We also had sopapillas and... More

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Scottsdale, Arizona
Top Contributor
78 reviews 78 reviews
30 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 33 cities Reviews in 33 cities
44 helpful votes 44 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 30, 2013

In Scottsdale it is hard to distinguish between all the Mexican style restaurants. Spotted Donkey is not the only place the serves a Mexican menu but so far it is the best Baja fish taco I ever had. Better than fish tacos that I ate in Mexico. They make me dream of Cabo and sunshine and cold margaritas...

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See 10 more reviews by thirion for Scottsdale
London, United Kingdom
Contributor
14 reviews 14 reviews
14 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 27, 2013

I loved this place. Informal, low key, middle price range, Mexican cantina around 30 min drive North of Phoenix. Certainly worth the drive. The drive itself gives fantastic views of the surrounding rugged mountainous landscape. It's easy to miss, and is set in a fairly non-descript mall. Entering the restaurant though, there is a busy, buzzing atmosphere. Many Mexican cantina's... More

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See 2 more reviews by BarryMacca for Scottsdale
phoenix
Contributor
19 reviews 19 reviews
3 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 16 cities Reviews in 16 cities
33 helpful votes 33 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 26, 2013

We had dinner last night here, and just loved it! Everything we ordered from the appetizers to the drinks was really "Amazing" you won't go wrong here! Just a heads up......Try the Jalapeno poppers in shot glasses and or the Shrimp tempura....You will be the hit at the table for these 2 orders:)

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Phoenix
1 review
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 25, 2013

We can't say enough about the service at the Spotted Donkey. We are staying at the Boulders celebrating our 10th Anniversary. We happen to have been married here and have been back plenty as we live in Phoenix. So we've seen the history of this location. To say we were blown away by the service, atmosphere and food last night... More

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Scottsdale, Arizona
Contributor
18 reviews 18 reviews
3 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
10 helpful votes 10 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 18, 2013

The food is excellent here, as is the service. I especially enjoy lunch on their outdoor patio. They also have an excellent Happy Hour Menu.

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gorgeous hudson valley
Top Contributor
115 reviews 115 reviews
26 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 73 cities Reviews in 73 cities
95 helpful votes 95 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 17, 2013

we got there late afternoon, just after 3pm. Sat outside and ordered from the menu. If you sat inside, you could have taken advantage of some great $5 specials and $$ off of drinks. Birds like to fly around and make a snack on any leftover foods, so if that bothers you, sit inside.

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Sedona, Arizona
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
4 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 17, 2013

Warm yellow and blue corn tortilla chips were brought to our table on the patio along with three salsas. They were out of their signature brand of tequila, but I ordered a house margarita on the rocks w/ salt which was good. We had the tacos and mexican shrimp cocktail, both of which were good, and an order of guacamole.... More

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