Agaves Kitchen and Tequila

1^st time here and I love it already! Great selection of tequilas. Please try the «De la cassa Margarita «. It’s sooooo good!

first time last night, great food, ambience. Our server James was awesome! definitly coming back. Thanks James!

Food is not that great and the service is worse. Décor is nice.
They serve cevchie on a flat plate for «presentation» but this makes its pretty difficult to enjoy as it slides right onto table lol.
Over an hour wait for the food, which was brought out in 5 – 10 min increments apart (2 adults 2 kids) and the place was almost empty!
They also offer a Groupon but was reluctant to accept it even though I purchased over and above the discounted amount.
I will not recommend this place to friends.

Horrible place the I would not recommend if you come here for drinks. The Bartender is a thief. As I paid for a couple drinks for my friends and I the total came out to $ 40 I gave him $ 40 but he slipped a $ 20 in his pocket and told me I was «missing a $ 20» he probably thought I was some sort of idiot to fall for that. DON’T TRUST THIS PLACE.

Dump of a place. They stole money from me at the bar and I didn’t even had a drink on me. They acted so messed up specially when I asked to speak to the manager. They kicked us out of the place immediately and didn’t give us a refund. This is the worst place I’ve ever been to. Definitely not going back. Don’t go here they will steal your money. The worse part is that it was the manager of the bar who did it.

Stopped in on a Sunday, when it was cold and rainy. Therefore I was not in the mood to be impressed. Boy was I wrong.
The food was Fantastic. We ordered the Turf Tablitas. I can’t say enough about all of the wonderful flavors the beef, chicken and pork had. The beans and rice, yum. And did I mention I hate cauliflower. But since everything else was so good, I tried the cauliflower, yummy as well.
The service was great, and the place was nice, music not too loud, and TV, football.
We will be back.

I am only commenting on the club and bar portion. I have NOT eaten here. Although I’d be willing to try. I’ve read good things about their food.
I came here with a group because they wanted to dance. They have a fun club portion and the decoration looks really cool.
The vibe is very «dia de los muertos» style to give you an idea. There are sugar skulls everywhere. They were playing a mix of 90s hip hop and more modern, but the crowd was a little older. Between 25 and 35 years old.
Now here was the downside. People in the group ordered AMF’s. I’m a beer guy. I tried a straw taste from some of their drinks. Blue sugar water. I didn’t taste any alcohol. Not saying that there wasn’t any in there, but all I tasted was melted blue otter pop– are those still around? You feel insulted when the bartender does that to you, especially when it comes slow. It really does feel like she said «NOT WELCOME!» Then there was a dispute on pricing because she charged our group for more drinks than purchased. Not a great way to start the night.
$ 14 for 8oz. That’s your «last call is coming up soon, so give them the smaller cups» at the game size. But that’s why if I don’t know the place, I order a beer or I order it neat because you never know the bar. Needless to say that left a really bad taste in their mouths. Jajaja get it? Nobody likes to pay $ 14 for a little fruit punch. Needless to say they felt cheated and were losing their desire to dance.
So taking the houses hint to leave, we went across the street to the other mexican spot, Taco Beach, same drink (AMF), in a pint glass (16 oz which is your typical size serving glass at a restaurant), $ 10 each. Needless to say we tipped the bartenders well. Also we weren’t the only group with the same idea to come to Taco Beach. The faces we saw at Agave came to Taco Beach a short time later.
I get that they are trying to make a classy establishment. You raise the prices to keep people out, and create a more lounge feel. Which it was. There weren’t dudes passed out drunk on tables at agave throwing up on the floor. Which is a HUGE plus for me.
It also had people sitting lounge style with their larger parties as well. It also didn’t have the same «where you from?» Vibe.
My only problem with this place is that when you order a drink, and when you give someone money for a drink, you expect a drink. Not melted popsicle in a small cup.

Great and fun bartenders! Good food also.

An excellent tequila bar with phenomenal tequila, great food, and friendly service. Came her with my girl for our anniversary and Jordi helped us at the bar. He made excellent recommendations which enhanced our overall all experience. Chickens tequitos, empanadas, and nachos were delicious– plus all on happy hour. If you go back, ask for Jordi!!!

This review is for the club portion (you know, get your dance on at night shindig) of the venue and not relating to the kitchen.
So past 11PM on a Saturday night, there’s a cover charge of $ 5. My friends, money can’t buy you happiness and this was one of those cases where that held true. I’m cheap AF, (not on women though, just sayin), so the cover charge was the first RED FLAG I had since my friends got in free before 11PM. I tried my best to talk the cute girl out of it, but the look on her face was just too much for me to save (she had the FML look).
Anyway, to the dance floor! Plenty of room for the dance floor but, and it’s a big BUTT (see what I did there?), it was way too hot! I’m the type to go medium-​hard on the dance floor so yeah I’mma have a dirty dancing sweat from time-​to-​time. So I start as I wean off the accelerator pedal, I’m thinking they must have a fog machine/​cooler majiggy thing around cuz it’s pretty foggy in here.
So the «fog» machine goes off. I’m thinking it’s gonna cool me down but no ladies & gents, it’s a damn smoke machine! So literally they pump smoke onto the dance floor preventing you from breathing which prevents you from dancing. WTF? Who the hell thought that one up? This isn’t a scary Halloween maze. I’m sweating and you put smoke in the air to cool me down? Or was it to prevent me from dancing?
Whomever thought that one up deserves a round of applause. NOT.

Stopped in on a Sunday night and was very satisfied with the food and service. It is also Happy Hour all day Sunday… so beer and margaritas!!!
First things first, don’t forget to check in on Unilocal for a complimentary appetizer. They serve up some of their chicken taquitos that are pretty good. If you want to add a small kick to them, I recommend pouring some of the salsa they provide with chips while waiting. The salsa is delicious, I regret not asking for more.
For the selections, I ordered the Mexican mariscos fondue and the steak fajitas. I was really impressed with the fondue. Very similar to their queso fondido but with shrimp, scallops and white fish. I generally don’t go for dish’s with white fish but I had to give this a shot and it was delicious. I was also happy that the cheese didn’t become overly thick when cooling off. Queso fondido tends to do that and though its called fondue… I consider it queso fondido.
The steak for the fajitas were perfect. Juicy, tender and flavorful… that makes these fajitas a winner in my book. I’ve always been a fan of grilled peppers and onions so it goes without saying that I enjoyed those as well. After finishing up a beer, I left stuffed and happy.
Just an FYI, if you’re planning to use a Groupon deal, it cant be combined with the Happy Hour beer prices. It has to be either or and I’m sure this would apply for the Unilocal deal that’s listed as well. I found this out in the end but that was my fault as I waited until the end to present the deal. Otherwise I would have been told sooner. Either way, it doesn’t take away from the experience at all and even without Happy Hour prices, the drinks were a decent price.
I’ll be making my way back to Agave again. The food and service is great.
Dinner 1÷17÷2016

I feel bad reviewing this place so low because the food was actually good! But explanations to follow.
So Bo-​Beau was full and we went to Agave’s because we heard good things about it. We were impatiently hungry and they had plenty of open tables, so we gave it a whirl. Side note– I love the high ceilings of all these restaurants on pine– they scream class.
Service was fast, but I’ll get more into that later.
First off, their chips and salsa– they don’t refill it for you, which I thought was kind of cheap, but my real problem was that the salsa was so dang spicy! I think I went through 4 cups of water. I wouldn’t want more chips anyway!
We ordered taquitos, Brussels sprouts and the chicken tortilla soup. First off, whoever picked the plating is a genius. The plating was gorgeous, from head to toe– even the funky plates for the soup– really impressive. Brussels sprouts and cashews are a brilliant combination. It was crunchy, flavorful and tasty– highly recommend! Taquitos were beautifully plated and had a great crunch-​soft balance, but it was a little dry for me. I would have added some of the salsa but I didn’t want to risk burning myself. Chicken soup was hearty, despite being a small bowl, and the most beautiful plate of the night.
My last issue was that, yes, they are more of a Modern Tex Mex, but they didn’t have the more classic Cali-​Mex dishes that I was looking for. Honestly, the Taquitos were the most Cali-​Mex thing we could find on the menu. I think a lot of people would be disappointed coming here for the lack of the typical things on the menu. It would be better if they had these more unique dishes along with the familiar ones.
On a positive note, everything was beautifully presented.
The reason why I docked another star was because I felt so rushed while we were there. They gave us the check and were clearing our table settings and centerpieces because they were turning Agave’s into the «club» night portion. I didn’t like that. I’m fine with restaurants turning into more nightlife-​y places, but don’t rush us out. I almost felt like we weren’t wanted here anymore though we weren’t disturbing anyone!

Came here on a Saturday night. Before a certain hour theres 2 for 1 drinks. Decent spot whether you want to chill or get your dance on! The dance floor didn’t get overly packed. And security guards were very helpful. Getting a drink was not mission impossible.

Came here on a Saturday night with a few friends bar hopping. The drinks were good, the music was cool, we had a good time. I’ll be back. Cool place to hang out, fun environment.
Only negative thing is I checked in on Unilocal but they did not honor my free appetizer they said kitchen was backed up. Don’t think I would have gotten that reply if I was buying the appetizer.

We love this place, Diego is the best bartender. Food was great! Try the Spicy Mango Margarita best drink ever! Thanks for the great service you give us.

Not a fan of the Sunday brunch. Overpriced!
Not the freshest nor even fair amount of food for the price. I got the Classic enchilada off their brunch menu with no meat just cheese. It was tiny, they were super stingy with the cheese and it didn’t taste fresh.
Felt like the whole time we were a bother to the servers. They were either miserable they had to be there or miserable we were there. The most helpful and friendliest staff was the hostess girl and the busboy wish the whole tip would’ve went to them.

This place gets packed at night especially during happy hour. The promoters are often outside handing out coupons for two for one drinks. Meanwhile most of the people inside are still eating dinner and finishing up their food. With the coupons the drinks are worth it. At normal price, a wells drink for $ 11 doesn’t cut it.
The bartenders here are a hit or miss. Some get their job done quick while others take forever to make a drink. This place is small so there’s definitely not enough sitting area. The tables are reserved for people who will order food.

This is a nice bar in downtown Long Beach. I came here the other night with some friends, and I liked the atmosphere. The parking was not too bad, considering it was a weekday night. I parked along 3^rd street, at one of the metered spots. There were people hanging out, but it was not as congested as it is during the weekend.
I just walked up, showed my ID, and I was in. No cover charge, so that’s awesome. I ordered a red bull and vodka as I waited for my crew to arrive, and it hit the spot well. The lighting added a nice intimate touch to the place. Although there weren’t as many people there as usual, my friends and I still had a good time.
This place is a restaurant during the day. Mexican food is one of my favorite types, so stay tuned for an update.

I went here for a midweek Jim Beam Cocktail Club event and was treated with three rounds of DELICIOUS cocktail margaritas in a casual, intimate atmosphere.
The vibe is great here. It’s semi-​loungey semi-​bar and kitchen. The Day of the Dead-​like décor gives it a nice edge. Their tostadas and chicken empanadas they had given us as appetizers with our drinks were lovely to munch on (though not the best). But, I loved my educational cocktail rounds!
The first we had was a Mercadito (Cucumber Jalapeño Cilantro Margarita), which was my favorite of the night! It was light and refreshing, light alcohol tequila in the mix. Fresh cucumber and spicy salt around the rim were delish.
The second we had was the Spicy Mango, which was a tad stronger than the first but the fresh mangoes were AWESOME. A little thicker in taste but still sweet and delicious tequila.
The last was a deadly Old Fashioned tequila with a fresh orange peel. (We should’ve started with this first.) By this time, this drink done did it for me! It was strong and robust but had a slight sweetness from the orange peel. But, still strong.
Very cool spot in Long Beach overall. I’m not too familiar with the area and hardly ever find myself around here, but this was a lovely treat with some DELISH Jim Beam, highly organic, fresh, quality tequilas!

TL;DR: 3.5 out of 5. It is pricey. I would rather go next door to Gaucho, where the ambiance is nicer. Food is average.
Location: Located on Pine Ave, the food street of downtown Long Beach! As always, parking is difficult on the weekend. They do not validate at the Landmark, so if you park here, you will pay full price. I usually go down Broadway, turn left on Long Beach Blvd, and there is usually parking there. If not, there is a $ 5 lot there, which is pretty cheap.
More foodie fun @
Ambiance: There is outside and inside seating. Outside patio has heat lamps for when it gets chilly. The interior has a more a Mexican festive theme. I do not like it since the colors are so bold and misplaced. The noise level is very low since there is only music playing in the background. The other diners are not loud. The tables are well spaced so you do not have to bump elbows with your neighbors.
Price: $ 30 per person
What to get or not:
Chef’s Special Empanadas ($ 7): See the picture above. like in my other post, empanadas are like little meat pies with a crispy flour shell and a meat filling. Mine came with a beef filling. This is served with a side salad, which compliments the «meat pies» very well. It comes with a guacamole dipping sauce for the empanadas. For $ 7, you only get 2 empanads. While they taste pretty good, this is pretty pricey. You can probably skip this dish and get it elsewhere.
Chicken Mole Poblano ($ 17): grilled chicken breast with mole poblano. Mole poblano is a sauce that contains about 20 ingredients, including chili peppers and chocolate, which works to counteract the heat of the chili peppers. The mole sauce has a thick and dark consistency. The mole sauce originated from Mexico. The different regions in Mexico have different variations on this mole sauce. The dish comes with Mexican rice, beans, and plantains chips. I really like the plantain chips since it does not taste fried, but instead baked. It has a sweet taste to it, and definitely a healthier side dish compared to fries or chips. Mexican rice was tasty and had an orange color. It did not have much flavor, but that did not matter since the mole sauce was suppose to supply the flavor. This is a very good dish here, and I will probably come back for this dish only.
Skirt steak carne asada ($ 22): Abobo marinated grilled skirt steak. Adobo is is the immersion of raw meat in a sauce composed of paprika, oregano, salt, garlic, and vinegar to preserve and enhance its flavor. So instead of placing the sauce on the cooked meat subsequently, the sauce is soaked into the raw meat and then cooked. This gives the meat a more well rounded flavor, since you will enjoy the sauce to the last bite. The dish comes with black beans, Nopailitos salad, green green onion, and vegetables. I thought the sauce was a little salty and overwhelming.