Agave & Rye Lexington Fayette — Restaurant in Lexington

I'm honestly so saddened by my visit to Agave and Rye yesterday. It was my first time and I was so excited cause I had read great reviews and my mom said she had been here and loved it so me and my boyfriend took her here before the concert we went to across the street. Keep in mind, they were not busy at all during this visit. It was kinda on the slow side. Especially with it being mothers day. I don't drink. I'm 2 years sober and pregnant, I figured a place like this would have good mocktails and a good selection, there was 2 options...But I was so excited I was practically dancing in my seat. The "Not So Rummy" mocktail is absolutely disgusting. There's no other words for it. It looked so so gorgeous, coconut flake rim and a big pineapple chunk garnish, but when I say it literally tastes like something has turned sour or gone bad with the ingredients or like garbage juice that leaks out of bags sometimes, I truly mean that. I almost vomited, I even had my mom and boyfriend try it in case it was just pregnancy taste buds, and no, they recoiled. I work at a bar and that mocktail tastes how leaky bar trash smells. My bf said his $12 LIT was just okay, same for my mom who got the $15 little red corvette drink. We had also ordered mango pico, chips, and queso when we ordered drinks. The food came out before the drinks and upon hearing things going on in the restaurant, all drinks were getting to them slow. Those chips could break a tooth almost like they were stale and the mango pico cup was half juice. It was tasty though and so was the queso, but those chips were not good at all. Strange taste and hard texture. The waitress had finally come back to see how we were doing after about 10 minutes and the second I mentioned my drink tasting as if something was expired and soured and just bad in general, she said "Yeahh...no one likes that drink.." I honestly think you all need to just remove that from the menu cause apparently I'm not alone, its bad. Remove that and put more, better tastier options for people like me who want a different/fun experience instead of just getting a soda...she offered to bring a non-alcoholic margarita but I didn't wanna fool with it or the wait, I needed something to wash that taste out so I just got a Dr.Pepper which took just under 10 minutes for her to get which confused me cause its just a fountain drink and there was hardly anyone there so I don't understand why it took so long since its just soda. While waiting for her to come back and order our meals, my boyfriend stepped out to smoke, she came over a few minutes after, me and my mom ordered the shrimp rangoon bites and Mac n cheese donuts to share and she walked away before I could tell her what my boyfriend wanted. Oh well, figured he could just order when he came back. He comes back in after a few minutes. We sat there for probably 25 minutes and she came back and asked how we were doing and I let her know he needed to order so she took his order and walked away. His food came in like 15 minutes but we still didn't get our other food and we had ordered that first. Oh well. We wait. She came back after about 10 minutes and asked if we needed anything and I told her we still hadn't gotten our other food and she was confused asking "Oh you ordered something else?" I was shocked. We tell her what we had already told her. We wait 15 more minutes for our food and it gets there. The Mac n cheese donuts were great, sweet and savory, loved it, same for the shrimp rangoon bites, but overpriced tbh. My bf had ordered the Nashville hot sauce chicken quesadilla and there was absolutely no hot sauce on it. He also ordered a side of Mac n cheese and it was so bland, no flavor. We ate and got outta there as soon as we could cause I honestly was aggravated by our experience and needed air. $96....$96!!!! The waitress was nice all in all but just not attentive and literally forgot to put our food order in and didn't seem phased. I hate to say it, but I won't recommend this place to anyone and I won't be back. Not for that price..I'm...

Amazing Food; from fresh and uniquely delicious dips to tacos, with fresh ingredients ranging from the classics setups to more exotic flavors. Agave & Rye has it all. The portions large and filling, and are inexpensive, per serving, at the same time. However, not just the food (more detail coming on the food; but for now I'll just say J could eat the Rojo and Guacamole dips with their 'Swipe Right' Tacos forever - and never be dissatisfied.. but even the meal I had for lunch offered so much more than just that) is awe-inspiring and deliciously amazing, but the modern, authentic atmosphere is both exciting and calming at once, open with large tables (perfect for this social distancing with a friend or to squeeze in your entire group of close friends and family, and as inviting as a restaurant's atmosphere can be. The bar offers everything anyone could dream of, and while I didn't sit there - I can see it being the perfect place to unwind and have a drink or two after work.

On top of the amazing food and restaurant itself, which all absolutely necessary for a great restaurant; Agave and Rye has AMAZING service.. and that isn't just lip service. It is obvious that everyone from the host/hostesses at the front door, to the bartender and Servers, and even the manager(s) obvioualy have been selected from the higher process through (seemingly extensive training) to further the experience that Agave & Rye wants it'scustomers to have; since I find it highly improbable and impressive that everyone that works there just happens to all have that exact same warm, friendly, demeanor with customer without the same care and planning or thought going into their employees and service as does the mouth-watering food. They are friendly, yet not overly obtrusive, and serve you properly without being noticed unless you want to engage them - which they are happy to do with a smile.

I'll use this platform to say, at the lunch I had, just as I named foods that absolutely left an impression; everyone I encountered from the front door to the door heading to the kitchen left the same happy and eager to please impression on me. Paige was our server, and words can't quickly describe what an amazing job she did. She was both there before you needed her, to efficiently and warmly serve you, yet also not when you were just taking your time - without ever making you feel rushed or that your were imposing on her time like we all have had happen with lesser restaurants and staff. In addition, the host at the door was super friendly from the entry to exit: always with a smile, and even the manager (I presume) Justin was an absolute pleasure to talk to, as he came through to check on all tables to ensure the level of service I have described and did it just quickly enough so it felt comfortable and not forced.

I will have to come back to this review to flesh it out some still - that is just how impressive Agave & Rye was, and I probably will have to go back several times to accomplish that (😉) but I definitely wanted to share this much of the experience as quickly as I could.

Without a doubt, this is by far my favorite dine in restaurant that I've review currently, in Lexington, for all the reasons mentioned.. and many more. It is EASILY, 5 ☆'s in every category. Please do yourself a favor, and go check Agave & Rye (in front of the Fayette mall) as soon as you can! You will absolutely, not be disappointed! You may even find yourself so impressed (as I was) that you leave a little too-long of a review describing all the joys.. just like I did. 😉

#BestMexinLex and 5/5 ☆'s -- Swipe Right (like their famous taco) into an amazing experience at Agave & Rye as soon as...

The decor of the place is fun and interesting, kind of a glam steampunk situation. The food didn't quite live up to the promise of the atmosphere today. I'll say that the birria tacos were very good. The "crispy" Brussels sprouts were soggy, dripping in the aioli they had likely sat in for hours. We've recommended these sprouts so many times because they're usually deliciously fatty, a crunchy, and crispy. This time they tasted okay. I could have done far better myself, so they were not worth $9, nor were they worth the substantial calorie consumption. My taco was less than good. It was not epic, though it was pretty big. I can't recall the name, but I got the taco with sticky rice, I believe pork, and a lackluster pineapple "habanero" salsa (which was neither spicy nor tasty). It was basically a rice taco with a tiny bit of meat and some pineapple chunks with cilantro.

The server must have been relatively new because she seemed confused and overwhelmed the whole time even though they didn't seem that busy. She kept popping by even when we had our sign posted to basically leave us be. Why have the sign if the servers are going to ignore it? Anyway, she asked how it was, and I told her I had hardly any meat and it wasn't that good, and she made a kind of face and did this super weird sideways walk away from us. Like she couldn't deal and needed to get out of there. I left more than half the taco and made it clear that it wasn't tasty. I could have asked to speak to the manager, I guess, but I honestly didn't think that poor girl could handle it. We had to get someone else to bring us our check because she disappeared after we asked for it.

Listen, the food here is inconsistent. You're taking a risk, but when it is good, it's pretty good. I will not be in a hurry to go back, though, considering it was Saturday so you'd think they'd be on their game, even at lunch. Maybe sometime? There are too many amazing places to eat in Lexington, though. And yes, I tipped the poor girl decently. I'll add that everyone else seemed competent, and the beautiful man with the startling eyes and gorgeous nail polish was truly delightful.

UPDATE: They did reach out to me to address the issues and basically encourage me to come back, which I do appreciate. This group does care about customer service. If I do go back, I will ensure I write an...