Fiesta Grande Mexican Grill is a cozy Mexican restaurant nestled into the edge of the downtown Mount Dora area, offering Mexican inspired dishes and plenty of boozy selections.

Value — The overall portion size versus price is pretty on par and what I would expect from a restaurant charging around $16 to $20 per plate. You get a lot of food. Happy hour’s 2-in-1 deal is really nice and runs long enough that you can still get in for happy hour at dinner time.

Service — Staff is very nice and accommodating, trying to seat people at the bar until their tables are ready. Very attentive at the table.

Quality — I was impressed with the quality of the food. I ordered the steak and chicken fajitas. It was good but I was confused by the rice. Having been to Mexican restaurants from California to Texas and here in Florida, I can’t say I’ve ever had rice with (regular not pigeon) peas, green beans, diced carrots and diced corn. It felt like the rice was bulked up with veggies and it did not quite remind me of traditional Mexican rice so I didn’t understand why it was there. The taste of the rice was good but the mixed-in vegetables did take away from the dish. The refried beans, again, had great taste but were a bit on the loose end. I’d have liked to see a thick mat of beans I’m used to. The margaritas tasted good but I felt the creation could’ve been better executed if there was real fruit used rather than just a juice mixture added depending on the flavor ordered. They were good, but not special to us. The fajitas were very well cooked and very well flavored. The vegetables on the sizzling pan were seasoned through and through, and it added a lot to every bite. The attention to flavor detail here is very good.

Atmosphere - A beautifully decorated restaurant with many colors and call backs to Mexico hanging on the walls. If I’m being a bit picky, the low pile carpeted floors really do take away from the atmosphere of this restaurant. I think if the day came that the owners decided to redo the flooring, a traditional Mexican tile flooring or clay-style cut flooring would just take this place over the top for looks, I have to tell you! Otherwise, great job making use of this space. It is a wonderful atmosphere for a date night.

Overall — Fiesta Grande Mexican Grill has the potential to be the best Mexican restaurant in town, but I feel they have some room for improvement, minimally. However, these minimal adjustments (removing the random veggies from the rice, thickening up the beans, updating the out of place carpet, using real fruit in their drinks and not juice, make your own chips in house and don’t pour them from a bag) would make for a maximum outcome.

I place Fiesta Grande Mexican Grille at 3.8 stars. I will definitely be returning to try other dishes and savor other drinks with friends. This place is by far one of the good ones.