Manuel's Mexican Restaurant & Cantina | Scottsdale — Restaurant in Scottsdale

5/5 Stars

We absolutely love Manuel’s, and this was our first time visiting the Scottsdale location (we usually frequent the one off Shea). Let me just say, it did not disappoint!

From the moment we arrived, we were greeted warmly by the hostesses and seated right away, no wait at all, even on a Sunday afternoon. The patio seating looks like it would be amazing during patio season, spacious and welcoming.

Our incredible server, Kelli, made our visit even more enjoyable. She greeted us immediately with the sweetest energy, took our drink orders, and provided service that was above and beyond the entire time. She’s truly a standout in the world of servers, attentive, professional, and genuinely kind.

We were quickly brought their complimentary chips and salsa, which in our opinion, are phenomenal, fresh, flavorful, and addicting. The vibe of the restaurant gives true cantina energy, fun, clean, and full of happy staff who all seemed to love what they do.

We were excited to learn that this location features live music on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, we’ll definitely be back to enjoy that. Great food, drinks, and live music? Yes, please!

As for the food, just as amazing as the Shea location. The consistency in flavor and preparation across locations is seriously impressive. Our family hasn’t had a single menu item we didn’t like. Personal favorites: • Sour cream enchiladas • Crunchy shredded beef tacos • Skirt steak platter • Chile verde • Rolled taquitos • Fresh guacamole

If you’re thinking that’s a long list, it is. We can’t help ourselves, we love the food that much!

Thank you again to Kelli for such a memorable experience. We’ll see you this Wednesday for the live...

I live very close to this restaurant but had never eaten there, assuming it was typical of the many so so Mexican restaurants in the Valley. Boy was I wrong! I went in earlier this week to celebrate Cinco de Mayo after finding that there was a 2 hour wait at my go to neighborhood Mexican place. I walked in the find that there was a live band playing and a friendly vibe. I was seated within a few minutes.

I sat down expecting a long wait for service and food, given that Cinco de Mayo is probably one of their busiest days of the year. But a server showed up within a couple of minutes to take orders for drinks and appetizer. I ordered their classic margarita (they have an extensive list of margarita offerings) as it was $2 off margarita Monday, as well as guacamole and chips. The drink and appetizer showed up in less than 5 minutes; both of generous size. The guac was excellent, even though obviously pre-prepared given how quickly it was served. We then ordered entrees, myself carnitas tacos and my friend a skirt steak, chicken enchilada combo. Again, the dishes showed up within less than 5 minutes. Both were excellent, the skirt steak in particular. Portions were generous, accompanied with rice and beans. While we were eating, we ordered a couple of beef tacos to take home to my friend’s daughter. We ordered them a la carte; not as a meal or combo. They were delivered in a box, already in a bag, so we didn’t open to inspect. But when we delivered it to my friend’s daughter, we were pleasantly surprised to find that they had included some chips, guac, and three different kinds of sauces. All in all, excellent food and service at a very reasonable price. I’ll...

It's our go to place most of the time. Since I wrote this, I've read a large number of other comments. First, our favorite waitress is Mayra. I believe others have tried to say the same thing, but can't spell her name correctly. I saw Myra, Mira, Miah and maybe a couple others in the comments. One of the problems with being in demand is that you can't be everywhere at once. I always ask for her table and don't mind waiting a while if needed. Just thought I'd add a little bit to the previous comment. Today is Aug 4, 2020 and we popped in because I was working in the area and I sent a message to a friend suggesting we eat here. Mayra is still here and in demand. I hated having to wait for the ridiculous lockdown to be lifted. Masks are everywhere on the faces of service personnel and customers. I am putting on mine, even though the virus is barely impeded by going through such motions. Well, Maps put this up again for an update, so I'll mention that we went again a few days ago and Mayra is still there and sweet as ever. A few months ago, I contracted a digestive ailment that developed into dysentery and it was bad enough that I worried that I wasn't going to survive it. Fortunately, I'm still holding it together. However, I've been off balance since the incident and I am eating quite a bit less than my usual. This time, no cheese crisp and I chose a smaller combination of a taco and an enchilada. We did eat quite a few chips, hot and delicious with both salsa and hot sauce on the side. You tend to take the chips for granted, but a recent trip to a different place in Mesa reminded me to appreciate Manuel's because of how terrible the chips were in the...