Agave and Rye Indianapolis — Restaurant in Indianapolis

Promptly seated inside as requested. A large party left at the same time and there were 2 maybe 3 other couples in our big section. Server came quickly and the initial ordering was quick and the drinks came then the appetizers. We did see a variety of other servers serving tables on the other side and cleaning the party table in the center.

Drinks: larger than some other spots and good looking. I ordered Kissed by Mezcal and could not taste any smoky Mezcal. Did finish and it had some form of alcohol in it. $15 was a premium for Mezcal instead of generic tequila. Would not recommend a fancy drink here. Husband pretty much said the same thing about his punch.

Appetizer: Queso and chips and Mac n Cheese Beignets. The first chip I bit into was totally chewy a little like leather. It must have missed the fryer. *Hubby liked the queso. The Mac n Cheese Beignets are a touch of genius. Delicious. However, the dipping sauce was not spicy at all. Entrees: (Devour Menu) Hubby had chicken tacos and enjoyed the strong cheese but thought they were very plain and was not expecting the greasy flour tortillas. I ordered the Shitake and corn and asked both for it by ingredient and by the name, Verduras, on the menu. When tried mine I found was either beef or pork. What if I had been either a true vegetarian or had allergies to some other ingredient? Tried to get someone's attention and realized there was zero wait staff anywhere at this point. I ate one of the meat tacos which I also considered pretty plain. Regarding the plating, very plain for the entrees. Two flat tacos, a cardboard dish of unidentified sauce (did read the menu so I knew it was a broth) and one of seasoned rice. Not pleasant to look at or to pick up and eat. Messy and more napkins should be provided by server, who was not evident and NEVER checked on us. Note: it is either eat by hand or use only a fork since no knife was given. Husband finished his meal and still no one took notice. We piled our plates and still no one. I finally set my alarm for 15 minutes and literally 2 minutes before the alarm we were asked how our meal was by the manager. I just wanted the desserts that came with the meal and was very unhappy with the service. Our initial server came with the desserts and the bill. Manager came fast and grabbed the bill because it was the original amount. He changed it. Desserts: Taco apple something. Consisted of a hard shell with cinnamon on it filled with chunks of apple (fresh), strawberry pieces (called a tequila berry compote on the menu?), hard unidentified bits (which were cinnamon crumble per the menu but just tasted hard and unidentifiable when received), and chopped raw mint. The taco could not be held and eaten as it cracked and fell apart. I tried to get a bite and got some of the raw mint. The cook should just have put a leaf or two of the mint on top since, I hope, it was intended for decoration. Better yet, find some way to put the filling in a rolled taquito shape both for eating and for looks. PS: When the waiter realized he had taken my fork with the dirty dishes, he brought me a set of plastic take out implements to eat my dessert. Not a good look for a sit down restaurant serving an $8 dessert. Tres Leches Cake. I took a bit of the large strings of caramel sauce on top since it was in large ugly strings on the cake. Not sweet, not salty, but bland and little bitter. Then I tasted the white "frosting" and it was so artificial it had no flavor at all. The cake was a white type cake soaked in the various "milk" items? but it also had no flavor. I tasted and took one bite and left the rest. The manager was very calm and listened to this very irate customer and her suggestions for improvement. Devour Indy is a chance for a restaurant to show new customers just how good they are and to spread the word. You got a chance and failed miserably. We were prepared to pay over $80 for a weekday lunch and will not try again. Expensive, poor food and better...

I just dined at Agave and Rye for the first time tonight. Before I get into the primary reasons for my low rating, I do want to say I received excellent service and enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the restaurant. It's a very exuberant place. However, I came to this establishment to enjoy a solo birthday dinner, and I was so disappointed in choosing this establishment.

The chips and queso were interesting. Mainly, the chips are HUGE. Most of the chips were the size and shape of half a tortilla, which clearly indicates how they're made. Whilst I did like the flavor of the chips, they were quite cumbersome to eat. The point of a chip is that it's bite-sized. These were the size of my hand. They were also a bit too thick. I had the plain queso, and it was as basic as can be but not unappetizing.

Once my order of loaded tots were put in front of me, I soon discovered they had much the same problem as the chips--they are wayy too big. There was nothing totty about the tots. They were more like potato logs. I think the size would have been fine if the texture wasn't also off. Regular-sized tots are tender and crispy, but these were incredibly firm with none of the flaky crisp of traditional tots. I ate about two of them before I settled to just eat the loaded topping like a salad, leaving the "tots" behind. The topping was decent, but I have to say this restaurant's menu works hard to uphold the "Agave," part of its name. It seems like everything had some kind of sweetened element in it.

Finally, I decided to try two of their speciality Epic tacos. I plan to update this review with specific names and pics once I take a look at my receipt, but for now I'll share that I had one of the steak tacos and the fried chicken one. So, these tacos...do you know that feeling of eating a dish with several flavors that don't meld together so the end result is actually a total lack of flavor? That was my experience with these tacos. They tasted like trying too hard. It was so...meh. While I could taste the individual components like the macaroni and cheese and pickled relish, when it all came together, the flavors didn't fit or do anything for each other. I understand that these aren't meant to be traditional tacos, but they just completely lacked a flavor balance. It felt like a chore to eat them.

I believe I may be open to trying this restaurant again, but next time, I will only order from their seemingly simpler taco menu where the flavors will hopefully deliver. Otherwise, I hear the drinks are very good. I had one cocktail, and...

My husband and I went here for dinner on a Sunday night before an event at Gainbridge. The atmosphere was very cool, but everything else was a letdown overall.

As for appetizers, the carne asada egg rolls were the best part of the meal. The shrimp rangoon bites were greasy, served atop underdone rice and, in my opinion, this dish was overpriced because you can’t even tell there’s shrimp inside.

The drinks were good, but certainly not worth $14-15 each. My husband’s old fashioned came out without cherries, so he asked the waitress about that and she said they were out. If you’re going to charge that much for a drink, you should give every element, offer a slight discount or at least warn someone as they’re ordering.

The birria taco (The Gangsta) was awesome, but the other 4 types we tried were lacking overall. The flavor was great, but they overdid it with the topping (i.e., crispy carrots) to hide that there was barely anything else on the taco. The crispy chicken meat was small, grisly and the breading looked grey.

I think what bugged me the most was that this restaurant advertises spending $75 and getting $25 off right when you click on their website if you use the inKind app. So, we spent $80 to use the coupon (we wouldn’t have spent as much otherwise) and they had “technical difficulties” so we couldn’t use it. They also didn’t offer to take $25 off or anything. And from reading other reviews, seems like this is a common issue and makes me wonder if it’s just to get people to come in and spend more than they would typically. The manager told me to open a support ticket with the app, but that resolution wasn’t comparable to what A&R should’ve done. We were still out $25 that we expected to be taken off the bill. Also, A&R does charge you a merchant fee on your bill too in addition to taxes, which I don’t see many restaurants do unless you’re ordering takeout.

Anyways, all of this to say, we will be hesitant to come...