Mojave Cantina - Clawson — Restaurant in Clawson

I wanted to give Mojave Cantina 3 stars, but I could not justify that rating.

I'll start with the customer service. I expect a good mexican restaurant to feel welcoming, like going home to family I haven't seen in a few years. Instead, I walked between a crowd of hosts and/or servers without a simple hello. Which was fine as I was heading to the bar. The bar where I sat for about 5 minutes while every passing employee looked at me without saying a word before the bartender finally emerged to let me know he would be a few minutes. I am typically patient, but when he proceeded to make the mixed drinks orders that had begun to pile up, his inexperience in tending bar was evident. He had a dry and somewhat timid personality and didn't so much as ask how my day was going. I'll say he was professionally polite, but that was the extent of what he offered as far as service. He did know how to pour a beer.

I was there for the food anyway, best in Michigan 4yrs straight! I'm not sure how that happened. I ordered a steak burrito with the cilantro lime rice and beans. The beans and rice met expectations and would get an easy 4 stars. The burrito was approximately 60% rice, which I already had on my plate. The potatoes had a pleasant crisp, but the meat lacked any mexican flavor. I couldn't begin to even detect the guacamole or pico de gallo. I got about halfway through when I discovered a long hair in the burrito. Honestly, I didn't want to deal with sending it back and pulled it right out. I would just expect hairnets in the kitchen to prevent this. They may use them, or they may not. All I know is what I got. It was impressively almost the full length of the burrito. I opened it up and picked around the now soggy bottom of the burrito with my fork. The tortilla wasn't quite authentic and itself lacked the flavor of a nice warm authentic homemade tortilla. All in all, it was just okay, and I'd rather find the closest Chipotle (2.5/5 stars, 3 depending on locaton) than eat here again. Just my personal opinion having spent most of my life in AZ not far from the Mexico border for about 20 years.

The atmosphere was okay, I didn't care too much about it, but the music was too quiet to enjoy. For the amount of business observed during my visit, the over-staffed restaurant just didn't feel comfortable. Bored servers were huddled to the side, just waiting for a table. Decor is good, but not on my list of what I'm looking for.

If you like the bland side of Tex-Mex you might be okay with this location, but I wouldn't call it authentic mexican. If you are accustomed to the southwest mexican cuisine, I would not come here. I think I saw a Del Taco down the road. Now, I'd give Del Taco a rating of 1/5 stars, but at least they meet expectations.

Quick note, once I finished my only beer, it took 6 minutes to be offered another. I got my check quickly, but it did take him an additional 5 minutes to take and swipe my card. If you give the place a try, maybe consider ordering...

This was a horrible experience all around. When we first walked we were seated quickly! Then things went downhill from there fast. It was super hot and it was only like 60 degrees outside. The waitress took about 5 minutes to even greet our table which is fine but it wasn’t even that busy. I use greeting lightly because she didn’t even say hi or hello just walked up and said “anything over here” she seemed super fluster and in a rush. We order drinks and she didn’t even know what they were I had to point them out on the menu which is super unprofessional. Maybe she was new but if that’s the case you need to mention it!! She brings the chips out and they are stale and like the end of chip bag because they are literally dust. It seriously felt like we were eating a week old bag of sat on chips. We mentioned this to her and she brings out a second but it doesn’t look much better. We also asked for waters and she only brings 2 but there is 4 people (we have to flag her down for refills but it’s basically impossible). We seriously almost walk out because it takes 15-20 minutes for us to get our food order in and we were ready to order in about 5. As she’s taking the order tho she needs to read off the menu again because she doesn’t know what anything is and I need to point it out to her!! It takes us an hour for us to receive our food mind you it’s not even that busy and there seems to be enough staff and servers floating around. TWO other tables who walked in after us have gotten their food and our halfway through it already. I have a feeling she forgot about our food because I had also ordered a soup and never received it. Once we get the food its ALL lukewarm, beans crusted over and the rice is hard and cold. We can’t find our server so we need to go up and get manager. Kate handles the situation horrible we tell her the food is cold and that two other tables got their food before us and she offers us a gift card?? Barely an apology and we have to verbally tell her we want all the food taken off but we’ll pay for drinks. You would think after this they would rush us out, felt embarrassed and would be super apologetic but nope. There produced to be two times the server and manger don’t communicate and they both come back to ask us the same question over and over again if we want the whole meal taken off the bill. Mind you we didn’t eat it!! We all took two bites and was done. We seriously just want to leave. It takes them 15 minutes to get us the bill!! And even then we have to run it over to the manager because it’s just taking so long. All I can say is this experience was horrible and I NEVER EVER write reviews. This whole situation could have been made better if the staff just communicated to us and acted...

As a Clawson resident, it thrills me to see more and more quality food & beverage establishments hit our little town!

I've been to Mojave three times now. I have to agree with some of the comments that this seems more "Tex-Mex" than authentic Mexican. On my first visit when they first opened, I ordered steak Fajitas. They were very good but not great. Steak was cooked perfectly but the entire meal lacked...something...either more spice or salt. Nevertheless, the service was above average and portions more than adequate. I sat inside and it was was bustling, well lit and comfortable.

I sat outside in their patio for my second visit. This time, I ordered the chicken street tacos and...OMG. They are fantastic! Two soft tortilla shells fried to a slight crisp and served open face with traditional toppings, including queso fresco. Standard sides of rice and refried beans. The tacos were flavorful and outstanding. The sides were..meh...okay...again, lacked flavor...but those tacos! The service was outstanding on this day in the patio.

My third visit was late Sunday evening and the place was moderately busy. I again went to my street tacos and again had the same experience as my 2nd visit....great tacos, average sides. This time, I had their classic Margarita and it was very good, if not a wee bit on a sweet side. My girlfriend ordered the tostadas and they seemed average to me...nothing special. She enjoyed them though. Our neighbors ordered what looked like Mexican pizza and it looked huge and yummy...may try that next time. We sat at a high top a few feet away from the bar this time. The bartender was our server and very efficient and knowledgeable. The only slight negative was a drunk patron at the bar who seemed to be a regular and was a bit loud and obnoxious, but they kept serving and engaging with him when he needed to be sent home.

Overall, my experiences at MC in Clawson have been above average. The place is worth checking out, if for nothing else, for the street tacos. I would give the restaurant 3.5 stars but the street tacos...