New Mexican Restaurant Improves Upon Its Predecessor

Options for Mexican food in Redmond have improved with the arrival of in the Bear Creek complex on Redmond Way. The restaurant opened last week in the space formerly occupied by Las Margaritas and joins the location in the Issaquah Highlands as the second Agave in the area.

The restaurant represents a serious upgrade from the Las Margaritas brand of Mexican food. A staple around the Western Washington area for many years, Las Margaritas restaurants have epitomized a kind of cuisine that’s always caused my out-of-state friends — particularly those from places like Texas and New Mexico — to dismiss Northwest Mexican restaurants as hopelessly inferior.

I can’t say that I blame them. The flavors often don’t seem to shine this far from the border. Agave’s menu likely isn’t astounding enough to completely defy that regional reputation, but the dishes are easily more distinctive than those of its pervasively bland predecessor.

The Ramos family, who owned the Redmond Las Margaritas before Agave, has done an admirable job transforming the location into a casually trendy space, suitable for family dining or a night out. Dark wood and wrought iron furnishings along with a roaring fireplace make for a much more contemporary feel than what Las Margaritas provided, and the menu follows suit, with options like butternut squash enchiladas and corn-crusted chicken breast.

If the Las Margaritas menu was more your style, fear not — Redmond’s Agave features an additional “old favorites” menu, with dishes similar to the ones the previous restaurant offered.

A Saturday night visit to Agave around 8 found the place reasonably busy on its second day of business, although there were soon only several tables occupied. Nevertheless, the service seemed to be reacting to a full house, with long wait times between the appetizer and main course orders and water refills. I'll chalk it up to a new restaurant still finding its footing.

The customary chips and salsa found their way to the table quickly however, which was half of a good thing. The tortilla chips are thickly cut and arrived pleasantly warm, but both the red and slightly spicier green salsas possessed the flavor and watery consistency of a canned product.

Among a host of less traditional appetizer options like masa-crusted calamari ($9) and shredded pork sliders ($8) were the excellent Agave skewers ($9), which feature grilled chicken, steak, prawns, bell pepper and pineapple on two skewers. Each of the meats was tender enough to almost fall off on its own accord and paired nicely with the crispness of the fruit and vegetable.

The menu offers soup and salad options alongside more substantial fare like tacos, burritos and fajitas. Most of the dishes come with a choice of two out of 10 sides, including sweet potato fries, grilled asparagus and beer-braised black beans.

The chimichanga ($12.50) was loaded with flavor, from the jalapeño cheese to the generously apportioned cream sauce it was drenched in. And if that’s not enough — it also comes with a side of sour cream and guacamole. The flour tortilla was only slightly crisped and the amount of grilled chicken inside seemed a little paltry, but it was undeniably satisfying alongside Spanish rice and black beans.

A pair of grilled halibut tacos ($13.50) was similarly saucy, with the flavors of chimichurri and lemon-scallion aioli muscling aside the more delicate taste of the halibut. The butternut squash burrito ($12.50) proved itself more than capable of impressing vegetarian and non-vegetarian palates alike.

A selection of churros ($5) from the small dessert menu surprised with a salt-and-cinnamon coating over their cream-filled, deep-fried shell. Was this a result of opening week mishaps in the kitchen or bold new culinary strategy? It’s hard to say, but the salty-sweet pairing actually worked so well, the restaurant should consider making it a permanent fixture if it was, in fact, a mistake.

Drink options include wine, beer and cocktails, but it’s Agave’s ridiculously extensive selection of tequilas that has the potential to set the restaurant apart. The menu boasts hundreds of tequila options, with most priced around $10. For those intimidated by the choices (and really, who wouldn’t be?), Agave offers tasting flights of three different tequilas, with prices ranging from $22 to $115.

Agave is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.