Agaves Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Great Barrington

Gave this the quasi Jonathan Gold (famous LA food critic) treatment, going 2x to form a solid opinion before even thinking of a review. Sadly the Berkshires is poor on the Mexican food front - and this restaurant shows why. The menu is overly complicated, allowing a diner options for ‘steak’ and ‘chicken’ with slight cost differentials based merely on the protein - not the flavor profile, difficulty in cooking or other meaningful criteria. Worse, the interesting meats (or vegetable offerings) like carnitas, carne asada and any other offering even a mediocre California mexican restaurant might have are virtual unknowns. In Tucson AZ - a chimichanga is a UNESCO world heritage food. In Lee MA it is heavy, leaden, nearly 70% refried beans and smothered in a rojia sauce that is like the blandest marinara. The staff are friendly and over eager to clear plates - wanting to clear the salsa and chip plate for instance 3x during our meal … when there was plenty of food left. Who doesn’t want to pay for food only to have it taken away to be thrown out in the trash? It is unfortunate that this corner of the Berkshires can be populated by people coming off the turnpike exit for a quick meal never to return and they either won’t pass by again or the weak food offerings will just fade in the background when the weekenders are gone. Lee itself had a failed Oxacan restaurant in the historic train station that closed post pandemic. It also has another Mexican place Avocado Cafe which - while itself far from perfect, does at least have mild, medium and quite good green and red salsas (you have to ask and politely turn down the sugary bland Berkshire variety) and actually quite good mole enchiladas - harder to find off the municipal parking lot but 2-3 times better. Lastly, the wordy phrases on the walls and bathrooms mirrors reminds one of some kind of instagram purgatory - their pointless meaning forever connected with some kind of mid tier business school business plan. I know this review seems a little harsh - but with inflation and dullness everywhere these days - perhaps one could and should avoid this establishment in favor of other offerings. I mean if you’re going to serve food this non ethnic - you would be better getting off in Chicopee or going to Northampton / Florence whose two Mexican leaning places (Bueno Y Sana and Masa Mexicano) offer far more value and intrigue. It could get better at Agaves but I doubt it will improve enough to entice locals and hilltown regulars to make the trip. The Posole is the best...

I never leave a review but I come here pretty frequently, and usually love it! The food is always wonderful, and we love to sit outside. However, I've gone two times in the past month, and not only has the service been horrible, but somebody, who I can only assume is a manger, was downright nasty to us. In terms of the service, our waiter came to our table maybe 4 times in the whole night. when we needed something, he was nowhere to be found. This has happened the last two times I've been. At first I assume because it's busy. But then it gets to a point where there's nobody inside, and maybe 3 other tables outside besides us. In terms of the manager(?) (possible she wasn't, but she had managerial vibes... she could have been the bartender, just not one that I had seen before) just the other night, I ordered a skinny margarita. I'm a bartender, and prefer a simple marg with some fresh lime juice, and I always add more lime than less when I make my own (meaning, I'm not that picky with lime..). I also always get one when I go to Agaves, it's nothing new. The margarita they sent out was a glass of lime juice. Thinking I was going to get heartburn, I sent it back (with a different person than our waiter bc ours was MIA) and asked if they could fix it by actually putting tequila in there. Well the manager came out and was an incredibly nasty human being. She basically told me that this is what I ordered, so it's my fault for ordering it, then actually proceeded to tell me what was in the drink. Took it back with a huff after I said "I'm aware, I get it here all of the time, I think that it just needs more tequila in it". Then she came back and all but slammed it down in front of me.

Like I said, we come here frequently and we usually love the place. We're local, and never had a problem with the food, or drinks before. But frankly, after our last two experiences, I wouldn't recommend this place (like I usually do) for a bit until they figure our...

Overall, I thought Agaves was just ok. The service was good, the vibe was ok and the food not my favorite.

Vibe: I sat at the bar which was nice. The restaurant has a nice outdoors, the inside is a bit bright and lacks a little personality and warmth in my opinion.

Service: Was good and attentive. The only "negative" and I get it, was that they were near the end of the night, so everything was being cleaned at the bar as I sat there. Not the best for creating a good vibe.

Food: I was disappointed with the food. First, the Chile Relleno Burrito - chile poblano, queso fresco, chihuahua cheese, beans, rice, pico de gallo, tomatillo sauce, sour cream. Everything was inside the burrito, and it could have benefited from a sauce over the top of the burrito. It was a bit dry and the tortilla was a bit "gummy". The burrito lacked any real flavor and honestly felt like a pile of wet mush. Pricing was a bit high, but pretty standard these days at $14. The Taco Salad was beautifully, but still very 80's in its presentation. The taco meat was standard, nothing special or unique. The dressing was a bit disappointing as it was very oily, even after mixing it up. And I know costs are high these days, but $20 for a Taco Salad? Not sure if I saw value there.

Not sure if or when I'll be back in Great Barrington, but I will probably look for other...