Blue Agave Restaurant

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

I went to Blue Agave last night with my trusty Groupon looking for some fun. Let me first say that, I am in love with Groupons. I am able to try some really great restaurants that I would have never tried. If a place is good, I will go back again and again. So I went in at 9:15 pm and decided to sit at the bar. Blue Agave specializes in tequilas. According to the bartender, they have over 140 varieties of tequilas. So of course, I had to try a margarita. I started out with the Granadarita - a pomegranate margarita. It was good, but not the best that I have had. The lime juice kind of overpowered the pomegranate and tequila. I thought maybe it was just me so I tried a regular house margarita. They were good, but not the best, but truthfully, who cant make an ok margarita? When I sat down at the bar, there was one bartender working. It took about 10 minutes before he came over, said hello, and give me a menu. He went away for another 10 minutes then came back and asked for my order. (Because I had looked at the menu at home, I knew what I wanted to order from the moment I sat down.) I ordered my margarita and carnitas and sat back and waited. The bartender made my drink and walked away again. During this time, I noticed that he did not go to the computer to put in my order. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and waited. The people behind me got their food. The group of men who came in 20 minutes after me got their food. Even the bartender got his food. The bartender started looking nervous and said the kitchen was slow. He said that he would comp my second drink because of my wait. Hmmm, why do that if the kitchen is slow? He knew he had screwed up. I was frustrated and I was hungry. He had even forgotten to give me my complimentary chips and salsa. I finally got them along with my carnitas, 40 minutes after I had ordered. So after a long wait, I get my carnitas. This is where I became even more disappointed. The plate was a mess. Pork was just slopped on the plate with a ramekin of refried beans and coarsely chopped tomatoes. They definitely lost points on presentation. I started to make my taco with the ingredients and found the pork to mostly be fat. When I tasted the tacos, the pork had little flavor. I have had carnitas that make your toes curl. This was not one of them. After eating one taco and picking through the rest, I left an almost full plate of food on the table and asked for the check. Because the tab was less than the Groupon, I told the bartender to keep the rest as his tip and left. Would I go back to Blue Agave? Maybe for the margaritas and tequila tasting. Would I go back for the food? Definitely not.

A

A Private User

In short, AVOID. Its terrible, not to mention highway robbery ($80 for a meal? At a neighborhood place? Are you kidding me?). If you want REAL MEXICAN FOOD in Baltimore, go to El Torito on W. Mulberry St. THATs BY FAR the best Mexican food in this city! Trust me...born and raised in Texas. If you want to read "the rest of the story," read on.... I had the distinct displeasure of eating at Blue Agave two weeks ago. My wife and I are originally from Texas but moved to Federal Hill recently, and we were craving Mexican food. We went to Blue Agave on the advice of a friend (shes from New Jersey originally...should have been a huge warning sign!) and were excited because this friend assured us that it would be the best Mexican food wed ever had in Maryland. Wrong, on every level. The tequileria thing is the only thing about this place thats not a gimmick. They honestly do have some "exotic" tequilas, but thats where the charm ends. Both my wifes and my food was bland, served far below piping hot, and the textures were all wrong. I dont know from what region of Mexico this place is trying to style its dishes, but Id never encountered it before. I cannot stress how bad the food was. It was so bad, in fact, that after forking over $80 for the meal (one appetizer, one flight of four 0.5oz tequila tastes, one ice tea, one Diet Coke, two entrees, and tip), which was total highway robbery, we were SO dissatisfied that we walked to Muggsys (a GREAT local hangout!) and ordered burgers and tater tots. That took care of the gaping cavernous hungry that we both had received in exchange for our hard-earned $80! AVOID this place if you want to eat. Go there for the tequila only, and drink it at the bar. Then, hop in a cab and go up to W. Mulberry St. in Mount Vernon to El Torito. Now THATs Mexican food!!!!! I dont work there or anything, we just went there this past week and had a GREAT experience! Get the chicken enchiladas with either Verde or Mole sauce. Fresh homemade chips and salsas, ice cold Mexican beer, incredible dishes, warm service, and we got out of there stuffed full, wanting tastes satiated for ~$30 (including tip). The only difference between that bill and our one from Blue Agave was that I didnt get the tequila flights, but we did both get dessert. $30 for a full Mexican meal is how it SHOULD be! The $5 cab ride from Blue Agaves front door to El Torito is TOTALLY worth it!

DA

Damian Grant

Went in on Sunday after the Fleet Week air show. There were five of us, three adults and two children (8 and 2). Ordered Jalepeños Relleno, Grilled Carne Asada tacos, and a couple of other things, plus some small things for the kids. The Jalepeños were good, very spicy and filled with lots of good stuff. Tacos were a little soggy when they came out, but tasted ok. The reason for my rating was the service and the billing. For the price, the food just isnt remarkable. I think it could definitely be better based on what theyre charging. The restaurant layout is cramped. The space is a fairly good size as compared to some other Light street restaurants, but its like they tried to jam every table and chair they could into the place. A couple was seated behind us about halfway through our meal, and every time they wanted to move or we did, everyone on that side of the table had to stand and move to accommodate the other table. It was challenging, to say the least. The worst part about it, was the restaurant wasnt even that full. Based on the number of patrons in the area due to the air show, I think they could remove some of the furniture and have fewer tables provided a better dining experience. Our waitress was not very attentive, and they really didnt seem that busy, so I had a hard time understanding why. My water glass and beverage were empty most of the meal, and she really didnt have any sense of urgency. My principal complaint, though, was the fact that we had a party of five, with two small children, and they charged us for gratuity. I have never seen that done, and on top of that, the forced gratuity was 19%. Maybe thats why there really wasnt a focus on service. Disappointing experience overall. I will not return.