Clancy's Cantina — Restaurant in New Smyrna Beach

Super disappointing.

I read through some of the reviews here after eating there, and am so confused at what people find so great about it (for NSB/ Flaglar Ave.), as there are so many better places to eat in NSB!

Our order(s) took less than 5 mins. and one of our two orders was wrong. When asked about the wrong order the waiter came back with the right one in under 5 mins.

(Ordered at 9:10pm 9:15 our food came. 9:21 waiter came back/took the chicken burrito* back to the kitchen for the original beef that was ordered By 9:26 the burrito order* was brought out. *Ordered and asked for no sour cream, but both plates had sour cream… a small thing, but something that wasn't noticed or corrected.)

Ordered:

Cantina Burrito "w/ seasoned ground beef & topped with CCQ" (which came out as the black bean & chicken burrito… both were the size of the plate which is massive especially compared to the size of the Taco order)

Tacos Al Carbon (Single, "A Clancy's favorite! Grilled skirt steak" - The steak was an extremely salty flavour, and barely any steak, with a small tortilla. It came with refried beans & rice which weren't good and left barely touched; they both looked unappetizing & tasted cold or as if they had been plated a half hour ago…

Chili Con Queso (CCQ) Small - was rather tasteless… and also went untouched.

The 'famous' Cantina Margarita (Peach) - was super sweet… almost as if it was just a cup full of concentrated / syrup mix (Barcardi's frozen concentrate would be better!); Didn't even finish half of it, between 2 people.

Unfortunately I have never experienced a meal where I left 2/3's on the plate, and ate the other 3rd, slowly, out of guilt. Not a fan of wasting food, and usually take home what we can't eat, but this wasn't worth saving, nevermind eating. :/

Service wasn't great… Our waiter didn't seem too happy or… welcoming.

The place felt big & empty; We arrived about 9 (they close at 10pm). A bit awkward, as if we were in the middle of nowhere, unlike the lively main street that I know Flagler Ave. to be. Maybe we came on their off night? Or maybe this just isn't a popular place.

Really disappointing to see as it is such a large establishment and there are so many great places in NSB that could make better use of the space. Also disappointing to say because we had read the history of the place and their 'famous' recipes, but I don't know how they're still in business.

Would not recommend. Nothing close to good Mexican food (if you can even call it that). Really disappointed with the food. Will not be back.

Ps. - After reading some of the other reviews I'm just glad we didn't have raw food, or a really bad interaction from the staff/manager, but again my own experience doesn't warrant coming back… not worth any money for the food I ate, even if...

I've been here twice this week and I think that the servers do well with how busy they are. They have a patio outside that I imagine they are split between as well. With my first visit, I had the Mexican Salad with grilled chicken and Catina Poppers and both were delicious, especially the sauces (don't remember the name that goes with the poppers but it was a sweet almost barbeque flavor and the poblano ranch is delicious). The server that night was pleasant but seemed fairly busy, I didn't see her often but she likely had more customers on the patio and I was able to ask for napkins and she was available for drinks refills and when I needed to go boxes at the end. On my second visit I ordered the bean dip (not pictured) and I wasn't super impressed but I personally am not a huge bean person but I imagine someone that likes refried beans would have enjoyed it. I also ordered the southwest chicken wrap with zucchini and squash. The wrap was delicious and the zucchini and squash were okay, they ended up burnt grilled on one side but still edible with a fair flavor. The brownie sundae is amazing, there's a huge moist brownie on the bottom with two scoops of vanilla ice cream on top with chocolate drizzle and whipped cream. I saw more of my server this time, she was very upbeat and a happy personality and was able to check in with me often.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experiences here and would...

As a local who grew up in NSB and have really enjoyed Clancy’s since a child (4 decades), I revisited them this Friday evening. It has been about 10 years since I was last there and I was so sad and disappointed at how the quality and quantity have changed. Please allow me to explain what I experienced. Their queso dip was always an appetizer favorite. The tomatoes, onions and jalapeños always sat on top of the cheese because it was so creamy and thick like it should be. Tonight the toppings sank to the bottom. The queso itself was thin, nothing like it used to be and tasted pasty like flour had been added after cooking to try and thicken it. Another favorite was the wet burrito. Just the half portion used to be HUGE and stuffed with meat, but not anymore. Burrito was much smaller and filled with mostly rice. Chili topping was very dry. It was topped with two thin pieces of shredded lettuce, two small diced pieces of tomato and about a 1/4 tsp. of sour cream. It’s disheartening that Clancy’s has fallen out of offering good quality food served in big portions. I guess this is how they are able to use the unsuspecting tourists to fund their souvenir shop. But the locals who remember know better. I’m giving up on Clancy’s. They’ve forgotten what the locals loved about them and how they have helped Clancy’s to get to where...