Blue Agave Restaurante y Tequileria

04/20/2008 Posted by TBelloise

I returned to Blue Agave after living in Fla for several years hoping to find the "old" Blue Agave still there. To my surprise, the Blue Agave has undergone a spectacular emergence under the new owner. What may have been good before has improved to excellent. The new offerings-habenaro pork, crab cakes, scallops, braised short ribs, lamb chops, etc.-are without equal. New appetizers round out the menu. Our group really could not find anything to complain about. The calamari appetizer is the best any of us ever had. The guacamole was likewise perfect. (Not sure about the negative comment on the guacamole-that review sounded more like a pitch to follow the old owner) The atmosphere has been upgraded as well but still keeps the mexican cantina flavor. Service was excellent. It was easy to tell that the new owner has a hands on approach to the business. My favorite tequila was still there along with the other 100 plus tequilas including several new ones not available at other places in Baltimore. But then Blue Agave was always Baltimore's only real tequileria. If I could, I would move Blue Agave to where I live now but I will have to be satisfied with more frequent visits now that business brings me back to Baltimore more often. My hats off the the new owner and her staff for one of the best nights out ever.

Pros: Value, selection, taste, service, ambience

Cons: parking slightly

06/30/2007 Posted by joseplumber

We went to Blue Agave two weeks ago; the food and drinks were awesome! I highly recommend this place. One of our guests was a vegetarian and there was a good variety of choices; her selection was very tasty. The food was very flavorful and rich in spices. Be warned that there could be a wait even if you made a eservation. This place fills up on weekends. Elizabeth, the owner, gave me a run through of several of their tequila picks (they have over 100) and much to my surprise, tequila is every bit as fine as a good bourbon or scotch. The margarita’s are also dangerously addictive! Guacamole is not padded with the wrong ingredients and boasts fresh avocado and lime flavors--the chips are made in-house every day with the guacamole. The Calamari is the best we ever had. Our main courses were excellent with rich flavor from the moles coming through with every bite. We understand that the owner and Chef Martin have completely redone the menu to bring more choices to the customers-we salute you for a job well done. The service was second to none. This will be come a repeat location for us throughout the year.

Pros: Service, ambience, selection

Cons: parking

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

04/26/2007 Posted by ovation12n6

I don't know where Hipicky is from or exactly how they "know" traditional Mexican food. I find it funny how they say the food is aweful and then later it's okay. Hipicky probably thinks Mexican food is best served in a taco shell. Anyway, I thought the food was very good. The atmosphere is great... uber casual and the tequilla selections are phenominal. You don't often see the phrase "Two drink MAXIMUM" after a selection on the menu. 'nough said!

Pros: Good food great tequila

02/05/2007 Posted by hipicky

The food here is absolutely terrible! I have no idea why anyone even thinks this is remotely authentic. The flavors are completely off. I know mexican food, and well, this is not it. Also, they are soooo not accomodating to vegetarians. The drinks are tasty, and that's pretty much it. The food is just ok, and there are more authentic places in the area that taste a lot better.

Pros: Drinks

Cons: Food - yuck!

12/04/2006 Posted by mgandhi

The waiter was extremely rude to us as soon as we walked into the place. He didn't bring us drinks when we ordered them and didn't bother to bring us the guacamole that we ordered. While we were deciding on dinner, we requested chips and salsa, the waiter told us that he was not allowed to bring us food while the menus were still on the table because we may get food on their "nice" menus. Granted, their menus were really nice (heavy wooden menus), but we were 4 adults (over the age of 30) not 3-year olds. A little while later, the table next to us was brought chips and salsa with menus still at hand! Speaking of chips and salsa, just beware that only one order is complimentary and the next ones will cost you. After dinner, we asked the waiter for a recommendation for a nice dessert tequila. He said that he didn't know of any and left the table. No offer was made to check with the bartender, or to refer us to the drink menu...nothing! This place is supposed to be a tequileria....right? As rude as the waiter was (and as much as I wanted to hate the place), the food was really good. It definitely is not your ordinary Mexican food....very distinctive. I ordered the burritos and they were full of meat. Overall, the service was horrible but the food was good. I would not return to this place because for the price I expect good service and class - both which were missing here.

Pros: Food; Good portions; Parking

Cons: Horrible service, only first order of chips and salsa are free - need to pay for the rest

08/23/2006 Posted by s1rude

Blue Agave is still probably the best _authentic_ Mexican restaraunt in Maryland, but the founder/owner/head chef did recently sell it and is no longer affiliated. This has brought a slight decrease in quality, some dissatisfaction among the excellent (especially bar) staff and a rise in prices. The excellent Tequila menu is still worth it at the new price levels, some of the food is no longer, sadly. The addition of tacky promotions like Wet T-Shirt contests (which can easily be found at dozens of other places around the corner in Federal Hill, if that's your thing) doesn't help either. I don't mean to sound overly negative, because if you like Mexican food or, especially, Tequila, Blue Agave is still a good bet. It's just unfortunate to see a once great place take two steps backwards.

07/27/2006 Posted by belmarbeachchic

Being out from out of state and frequest visitors to Baltimore we have visited Blue Agave numerous times and have always been pleased! So pleased during our last visit we gathered family from all over the country for a celebration at this wonderful restaurant. The owner, Elizabeth, couldn't do enough to be sure we were happy. Our service was very good despite the fact that we were a very, very large group which could be a real challange to a wait person. The food was wonderful, the drinks were out of this world and we look forward to our next visit! This restaurant is not to be missed.

Pros: Margueritas, service and delicious food.

Cons: Parking is a bit of a challenge

07/20/2006 Posted by bfelder

We took our entire family there and had a delightful time; great food and good consistent service and great marguerita's made for a wonderful meal. We will definitely be back!

07/20/2006 Posted by softshoe48

Been to the Blue Agave many times, either by myself or with company. Enjoyed the interesting selection on the menue, certainly not boring. Super selection in food and drinks. Service has always been top notch. Met the new owners (believe they have had the restaurant for over a year) and they are great. You can tell they put a lot of work in the Blue Agave to keep it at a high stardard that is expected of this type of restaurant. If you like true, authentic Mexican food and drinks, this is the place to go in Baltimore.

Cons: Parking can be time consuming sometimes.

07/12/2006 Posted by nater

Seriously, over the last 3 years of living in baltimore, I've been here at least 25 times, and tonight was the last. 2 and 3 years ago the owner was there all the time, coming by tables, and everything was great. since then, we've seen the food go downhill, but we kept going for a few favorite dishes, the margaritas, and that roasted salsa. finally tonight we stopped by for a drink, sat at the bar, and the meat head bartender wouldn't serve us. just walked by two or three times, never asked what we wanted or anything. we've avoided him before after rude experiences, but the other barman (that guy with dreads, who is excellent) wasn't around so why not give baldy another chance? Shunned by baldy, we walked out after being snubbed. we won't be back unless he's gone and the owner shows up again to get things in line again.

Pros: drinks, salsa

Cons: bar service from the burly bald guy