Canela Mexican Grill

This is my favorite Mexican restaurant thus far in Clarksville. When I first moved here I saw their grand opening sign and it looked so lovely that I just had to eat here. I’m a huge Mexican foodie. I’ve dined here about 5 or 6 times. I can honestly say only once has their food been lacking due to slow service and carelessly prepared. Yet even after one bad visit I still went back having known I have had better service. Their salsa is absolutely delicious, made in house so they say. The horchata is wonderful and their carne asada tacos are perfect. Keep up the good work!

Service was prompt and attentive.
Food was pretty bland. Ordered their platter (parillada) in an attempt to sample a little bit of everything. It was a pretty huge plate with all of the proteins being over cooked (dry) and with no seasoning.
House salsa tasted like tomato soup and their «guacamole» was nothing more than avocado with no hints of onions, tomatoes, or jalapenos.

It was OK. Met a friend for lunch at 12:30 on a weekday and we were the only ones in the restaurant (that worried me to start). Food wasn’t terrible, but not impressive either. Service wasn’t great. As I mentioned, we were the only ones in the restaurant, and my drink still went empty, as we weren’t checked on after the waiter brought our food to us. I probably won’t be back.

WOW! Delicious, FRESH, authentic and affordable Mexican food right in the heart of Clarksville! I moved here from Southern California in 2006, so I know a GREAT Mexican food restaurant when I meet one, and CANELA is the REAL DEAL! They have only been open for 18 months and they are an undiscovered GEM! From the amazing homemade guacamole, to the mouth watering meat marinades to the absolutely delicious homemade flour tortillas — I was in heaven! I wanted to kiss the chef, but settled on shaking his hand and telling him to keep up the great work! I can’t imagine why anyone in the area would go anywhere else for great Mexican food, friendly and casual family friendly environment, and amazingly affordable prices! Do yourself a favor and give Canela a try for lunch and/​or dinner sometime soon! You will NOT be disappointed. and you WILL be BACK! Lucky Clarksville people — Canela is here to stay!

We tried this place out because we had a Groupon and I’m so glad we did! The food was amazing! Authentic tacos, great salsa, even the Rica was so moist and perfect, the refried beans were creamy and amazing. At 6 on Saturday there was a young man playing live piano music that was upbeat and modern. All around great place!

The salsa was great, and so was our server, but that is about it. The queso dip was okay. The chips, although freshly fried, were ice cold. The ground beef had a very funny taste and almost no seasoning. The enchilladas were filled with the queso dip which broke when it got too hot and turned into a runny mess on the plate. I would not return.

This is our favorite Mexican restaurant in Clarksville, TN. It is conveniently located on Wilma Rudolph Blvd. next to a hotel with several other hotels and restaurants nearby. Although a small place, there are plenty of booths and tables. Immaculately clean. Delicious hot food. My husband and I usually order the Arroz con Pollo $ 8.99. It is grilled chicken on a bed of rice and topped with cheese dip. It is a huge serving so we get «to go» boxes and have another meal the following day. The chips are served hot and the salsa is deliciously home-​made. I usually order a side order of cheese dip for $ 2.99. There is a kid’s menu, Create your combo, pick 2 for $ 7.25, a la carte items, drinks and desserts. They also deliver after 5 pm. Great for the nearby businesses.
We were saddened to read some of the recent reviews and cannot understand why we have had such great experiences every time we went to this restaurant. However, we noticed that on our last visit, they had a turnover of servers which may account for some of the reviews. Our server was a bit unexperienced and another server helped out. I encourage everyone to give them a try and be patient if they are struggling with staff. Clarksville seems to have difficulty keeping good help and it may be due to the college kids and/​or Army base with constant transfers.
Give them a try and do order the Arroz con Pollo.

This is my second favorite mex food in town. But this last visit was exceptional. Every bite seemly exploding with flavor. Fresh, made on site, chips and a banging salsa. The chicken chimi was seasoned to perfection. Don’t judge a book by its cover. In this book fresh is chapter one and the last is satisfied customers belly’s! Great place, super fresh and fast!

Ok food, poor service, would not return.
After a long all day drive (traveling 2 days from Nebraska to Florida with a stop for the night of the first day), we were in the mood for Mexican and this place was close to our motel and well rated from previous reviewers.
Oddly enough, it was completely empty on a Saturday night, as we were the only folks there and were quickly seated and our drink order taken. However, 5 minutes later a different server asked for our drink order — which we relayed had already been taken. I had ordered the jumbo house Margarita on the rocks, which had to be verified again after 5 minutes. Once the drinks arrived we were abandon for 15 or so minutes. Of course this gave us ample time to study the menu, but we already had enough time to pick out what we wanted while waiting on the drinks. Being that the place was empty, I was baffled at the lack of attention, which seemed to pull a 180 once the food was ordered as our server checked in multiple times while waiting on the food which did show up fairly timely.
During our various waits, pleasant music played, only to be interrupted by Pandora ads every so often.
Now, to discuss the food, our grouped had mixed reviews. The margarita was eh… Tasted straight from a grocery store mix. Chips were fresh, but the the salsa was so –so, low on flavor. I order an enchilada trio, which included an excellent shredded beef and pork enchiladas along with an OK chicken enchilada. The plates arrived extremely hot, without warning from the server, and my wife nearly burned her fingers. The food on the other hand, was nearly room temperature, including rice that seemed hours old. My wife had enchiladas as well, but unfortunately all were the mediocre chicken.
The kids selection was wide, but for $ 6/​each they didn’t get our monies worth. Both included refried beans and the old rice, which neither touched.
Ultimately, while I did enjoy some of the food, we were disappointed as a whole.

This is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in town. They are a little more authentic than most Mexican restaurants. They have Jamica and Horchata! Service has always be good and the food consistently above average and priced fairly. Having worked in Mexico for years it’s not fair to compare the «Tacos al Pastor» or tamales from a Mexican street vendor to any restaurant in the USA! I’m a regular at Canela’s.

Like some other reviewers, we stopped by this place on our way home to St. Louis back from Nashville. Very close to the highway, and we were enticed by the positive reviews and the chance to try another small, non-​chain place. Very pleased! We walked and ordered for carry-​out, and the manager on duty was very polite. He even directed us to a table, and have us chips and (fresh!) salsa while we waited. We had the flautas, two beef two chicken, and the chicken chimichanga. Can’t really go wrong with fried spiced goodness, and we were very happy with our entrees. Each came with guac, pico, sour cream and shredded lettuce, and not just typical iceberg, either. We were surprised to find beef was not «burger», but shredded and seasoned nicely. Place was clean, too. Chipotle and Taco Bell are just down the street, but so glad we gambled on this place!

I was very impressed. I’m from Houston and also lived 2 years in Mexico so my Mexican food palette is very ‘seasoned’. I wasn’t expecting much out of a Mexican food restaurant in Clarksville, TN. I had the Tacos al Pastor, very tender, and very traditional. I also noticed they had many traditional Mexican items on the menu such as Menudo, Carne Asada, Mexican Hotdog (it’s a thing in Sonora), and Arroz con Leche. I would recommend eating here to anyone.
Plus, if a resultant has Valentina on the table you know they are legit Mexicans!

Was really, really good!!!
We were staying at the hotel accross the street on a road trip and wanted something good and quick. It was perfect.
They bring you a nice size bowl of home made salsa with a basket of the nicest, lightest tortilla chips I have have ever eaten. The tortilla chips are so light, thin and delicious my husband and I commented and returned to eating them through out our meal.
I had the Fajita salad it was great, rich and filling, with guacamole and sour cream on top!
Hubby had a ground beef burrito and ate every bite.
Service was quick. Waiter was nice. Would go there again.

I have a «no Mexican food outside of Texas» rule, but after seeing the reviews decided to throw caution to the wind. I’m really glad I did! The steak fajita portion was very large (my fiancée and I shared it) and tastee. Granted it was no Pappasitos, but still good. The cheese was good and the salsa and chips were excellent! Splurge for the homemade flour tortillas, they are great.

Visiting from out of town so this was the closest Mexican restaurant from our hotel. I must say this place is quite delicious. First off the chips and salsa are great, you can tell they were both made fresh. I ordered the fajitas and my wife ordered enchiladas. For the price, you get a ton of fajita. Of course I eat it all! My wife’s food looked very good also, and she was quite pleased with her meal. Staff very friendly and the place was clean. Would recommend for anyone looking for good Mexican at a fair price.

Atmosphere average, food average, service was a little above average. It was late and we didn’t get the full effect with the band being present. I liked the salsa and chips they served, the chips were fresh, thin and crispy, salsa was fresh, guacamole was a little bland tasting but fresh.

I purchased a $ 5.00 gift certificate from
and away my boyfriend and I went for lunch on 9÷25÷15.
They give you chips and salsa. Their salsas are good– the hot will kick you in the mouth in a nice creeper heat kinda way. My salmon con mango came w/​roasted corn, peppers, mango and a tasty mustard like sauce. The blk beans didn’t have any flavor but I added some of the hot salsa and was all set. The Mexican salad, guacamole, and corn tortillas were good. I can’t wait to come back.
My boyfriend liked his pollo caliente but said that he would try something different next time.
The bathroom was nice and clean.
The service was friendly and the food came out pipping hot :)

Good ol Mexican food. Mom and pop kinda place. Not fancy but tastes home
Made. Friendly staff. Minimal tequila choices but again I’ve never had a bad meal there!

I just walked in, eager to get some food. I read the reviews and they all praised the place. Maybe I’ll check back another time. It wasn’t very large and appeared to be connected to the same edifice as America’s Best Inn.
The place was not remotely clean. There wasn’t a single table that didn’t have dirty dishes on it. The restaurant smelled good but it looked horrible. There wasn’t a waitress in sight (ironically, posted on the front door were signs for drivers and waiters) and the floor had remnants of food scattered every where. I don’t know what was going on. My party and I left without ordering anything. I should’ve taken a picture as these words aren’t doing it justice.
I’m willing to give it a second shot within the next few weeks. Hopefully they’ll have some workers.

YUM. Best Mexican food I’ve had since we went to Mexico! This place is great. We were greeted by friendly staff upon arrival, taken great care of by our server, and best of all, our food was fantastic. Everything was fresh. I had the burrito especial. The lettuce on my burrito was actually green, NOT that cheap white iceberg nonsense. The beef was so good. No grease. Lots of flavor. I LOVE their salsa, which I was informed is house made fresh every day. I believe it. I also really enjoyed the live piano music. Very tasteful and nice! It’s not the most chic or fancy looking place, but who cares when the food is SO good.