Aqui Cupertino

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

I would like to preface this review by saying that this is about my run-in with the service and how they treat patrons, not about the quality of their food. A few buddies and I have been talking about eating at Aqui Cal-Mex Grill for weeks because we have seen signs for the grand opening as well as perused their online menu. We are all from the Cupertino area and were stoked that a new restaurant had finally opened on De Anza Blvd. The dishes looked great online and their focus on organic and healthy food was enticing. So come Saturday morning, my two buddies and I go out for a bike ride in the Saratoga/Stevens Creek foothills. After 2 hours and 30 some miles, we were all famished and wanted to stop by Aquis for lunch. As we were pulling up to the restaurant, we were talking this place up and in the process, making ourselves salivate at the fact that we finally would be able to grab a healthy lunch after a hard mornings ride. We parked our road bikes in the patio area and proceed to enter the restaurant. Immediately after, a lady who I assumed was a waitress, came out and told us that we were not allowed to park our bikes on the patio. The patio was completely empty due to the cloudy/windy weather. When pressed for a reason, she said sternly that the owner just does not permit bikes in the patio area. She mentioned that there are bike racks on the other side of the building where we could lock up our bikes if we wanted to. Now let me just say that locking up your average bike on the other side of the building without a clear visual is fine for most people. If that was the situation, I would hardly argue. But when you ride road bikes that are worth $1000-$2000, I do not feel comfortable leaving them outside unattended, unlocked, and out of sight. (We did not have locks or chains with us when we went). All we wanted was to be able to keep our eyes on our bikes while we ate lunch. The lady went back inside and we were all left dumbfounded. I decided that this was completely ridiculous and went inside looking to speak to the owner. We were greeted by the same lady who we encountered in the patio and I told her that I wish to speak to the owner. She informed me that she was the owner/manager/representative of the owner, so I explained to her about how we just wanted to keep an eye out on our expensive bikes while we ate lunch. She snapped back, "You do not know why some rules are the way they are until you own a restaurant!" At this point I had enough and walked out disgusted. They just lost the business of 3 cyclists as well as the one friend who was going to meet up with us. Not only that, I know a lot of cyclists in the Cupertino area and she just lost their business too by the rude and unprofessional way she handled this whole situation. On a side note, a lot of restaurant patrons who exited the restaurant chatted with me briefly saying that the rule about bikes in the patio just was not customer friendly and made no sense. A nice lady who we bumped into in the front door, who was also an avid cyclist, said she spoke with the owner/manager and let her know that there are many cyclists who would all be turned off by this rule Aqui apparently has implemented. Without a satisfactory explanation of their actions, I will not be visiting this establishment in the near future!

RA

Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy

I love Aqui’s food so much. So it was little wonder when I made the trip for lunch, yet again on a warm Friday afternoon. It is a 10 minute walk from where I work and is a very popular place for our lunch crowd. In a deviation from my previous review and future reviews where I would talk about the specific lunch dish I enjoyed (or hated) this one will talk about their entire vegetarian menu. The main reason being that I have sampled their entire vegetarian menu (which is sizable) twice over. My love affair with Aqui started about 9 months ago when we were hunting for good Mexican food in the Bay Area. Yelp! reviews led us to a Cal-Mex restaurant in Willow Glen called Aqui. A trip with a bunch of friends and their toddler kids was a big success although the toddlers made it very hard to truly enjoy the full menu. When I saw them advertising a new branch in Cupertino, I was determined to give it a fair try. And that turned out to be the best decision ever. Ambiance: The Cupertino Aqui is a large restaurant with a desert theme and very spacious seating. I would think it could seat over 150 people in one go. There is also some outdoor seating space. Service: I love the service here. I have been seeing the same faces at the counter since the Cupertino branch opened up and they have all been kind, polite and wonderful. And yes, they make great recommendations. The Food: Ah, the food. Every vegetarian dish is unique. The tofu preparations are a very unique Cal-Mex approach to tofu.The California Enchilada comes with a sauce that makes it otherworldly. The veggie burrito is the best bang for the buck for a hungry stomach. The Thai peanut veggie bowl satisfies the smaller appetite looking for a unique flavor. The potato and cheese enchilada is extremely filling and very tasty. For Indian folks looking for a spicy lunch, the salsa bar carries a couple of fairly spicy salsas that will give a nice heat kick to any dish or nachos. And to top it all are their agua frescas. The fresh juice of the day ranges from watermelon lime (today) to mango peach to orange mango to pineapple and they are all to die for. I could visit them daily just for the agua frescas.

A

A Private User

This was my first visit and oh boy I enjoyed the food so much...My daughter suggested this place for lunch. As I often do, when I visit for the first time I asked the person who was taking the orders to suggest a few items. She suggested a soup and also provided me with a tasting sample and I fell in love with the soup that I ordered it. I tried the "fork and knife" salmon burrito and it was delicious. My daughter ordered the taquitos and I could tell that she enjoyed the dish. She ordered the cheese cake as well and had nice things to say about it. I was so pleased with the way they suggest dishes depending on your taste and I would definitely recommend this place for the excellent selections. I dont know about you but I am definitely going to go there again real soon! There is something else that the waitress said that really surprised me. She said try the dish out and if you dont really like it bring it back and we will give you some other dish of your choice. Boy that was "lunch back guaranty". What are you waiting for go and try it!.

CH

Christy Baker

Aqui Cal-Mex is a great, locally-owned, small chain with a modern take on Mexican fusion food. Great cocktails, wine, beer available and features frozen "swirl" special drinks (strong!). Friends and I meet up here at least once a week or bi-weekly as it is an order at the counter, gather around a table as you arrive sort of casual place where toddlers and adults alike can be comfortable and the vegetarians and carnivores, the really hungry and just want a light snack folks can all be happily accommodated on any given night. Rotating weekly specials are often a good way to go in addition to the regular menu. There is also a very good brunch that I just experienced for the first time a week ago with both the sweet and savory. Noise levels can go up and down here and while it can get loud at times, conversation is still possible. A covered side patio is nice for sitting and larger groups tend to push tables together in the room near the back parking lot area.