Ancho and Agave — Restaurant in Middleton

Authentic place to enjoy really yummy mexican food. Elaborate menu, fantastic ambience, location, space for min 100 covers, food, portion size, prices per diah and on the top the service. Service staff is just fantastic and will go overboard to ensure happy customers with food and service

However, I would like to raise two major areas of serious concerns which I personally think need to be addressed on an urgent basis if restaurant owner really wants to be in the list of top 10 in Madison or within its own chain of franchises. 1. The reception desk needs to be friendly, warm, welcoming with a smile and MUST not treat the guests as if prisoners who are checking in. I did not like a lady (Managar roaming and supervising with a bunch of keys) the way she was talking to the guests. A smile doesn't cost anything Ms Lady but feels good, welcoming and memorable. It's the guests who make you run your business and not you in case you want me to gently remind you. Thanks 2. Now this is very very serious. I saw kitchen staff eating with hands (literally putting his right hand in the mouth) while preparing dishes which is unacceptable. I was shocked and had to re confirm what I saw with my naked eyes. I had to stare at this person who did neither get ashamed, felt caught or stopped doing what he was. You are welcome to visit this place near deer creek on Madison If you are ok with these two serious things unfolding in front of you. Now I know, management will revert saying they have taken necessary steps and try salvaging the reputation. I don't want any compensation or free food vouchers. For me, the customers' (we) interest, VFM, safety, comfort and customer delight is more important than anything else. My only point is how can Restaurant management on behalf of customers, fail to ensure strict compliance to both staff behaviour and food safety which should have been the highest standards with no ifs, buts, excuses and short cuts. Food inspectors may please take note of this. I have done my duty and it's upto management of this restaurant and the customers to...

My husband and I were looking for a “new” restaurant to try out for the first time, I googled “ Mexican restaurants in Madison” decided to try this one out of all others that were listed . And all I gotta say is just 2 things, Waitress service was excellent top 10 can’t complain about her service very friendly kind female, but the FOOD! Augh Jesus grace it was awful !! I don’t want to seem exaggerated but I am Latina with all Hispanic background and any Mexican person would agree with me when I say , we know what and how Mexican food tastes like! The restaurant has a unique name ,especially the design inside the place its beautiful but the food please , it’s very like wanna be Imitation of mexican food. I ordered a enchilada combination of 3 sauces ,rice ? Tasted nothing like rice , beans mmmm very uncooked and sauces, mmm very not home made more like Canned from my local store . Husband got shrimp and steak fajitas, he got probably like 4 shrimps in the mix and all the steak was stuck burned on the skillet , my toddler got the macaroni and fries , she didn’t even touch the plate ,macaroni was sea shell pasta with I don’t know what kind of dry white cream substance with no flavor to it , all this most definitely not something even close to Mexican food , I took a taste of all 3 enchiladas and literally turned my plate away, so did husband and so did Baby. Only good thing was the Horchata! It was really disappointing and dissatisfying because we ended up paying the whole bill for food we first, did not enjoy any bit of it, and second, food we did not eat either, waitress asked if we wanted boxes to go immediately said no at the same time she probably thought “ok wierdos they saw menu, ordered food, but literally left everything on plates and leaving 5 minutes after bringing out food to table” 😂, We ended up buying food somewhere else . Honestly never going back to that place again. You want something close to what Mexican food is go to “Compadres”...

One of my favorite spots in the Madison metro area. The vibes are pretty ideal (I mean, how do you pull off feeling both cozy and open??). The staff is quite friendly and efficient. The drinks are delicious, especially the prickly pear margarita. And the food...

Well, I've been here a few times recently, and other than one side dish (the esquites, which is fantastic, highly recommend getting one to share), I've only had the tacos. Yes, that means I've just completely failed to take advantage of the fact that they'll let you order any burrito as a chimichanga (seemingly simple, but I don't recall ever going anywhere else that did that). But when there are 14 incredible taco options...it's hard to order much else. I've had 12 of them so far, and only 2 were just "good." The other 10 ranged from "delicious" to "best dang food in the area." Lots of variety in ingredients and flavors, including tasty vegetarian options if you so desire (I'm not even vegetarian, but the sweet potato taco might be my favorite thing on the menu).

Pricing can vary quite a bit. If you're very very responsible, you could be comfortably full at about $12 before tax and tip (three tacos, water, and complementary chips and salsa). I'm not that responsible, however, and my bill is generally around $20-$25 (extra taco and a drink). But considering that most fast food places will get you for at least $8 these days... Well, at least for me, the cost/benefit analysis lands squarely on the side of Ancho and Agave.

If I had one thing I wish I could change, just wish it stayed open later. I'm a bit of a late diner, and the 8 pm closing time is a bit early for me. But I realize that's plenty late for most folks, and I've found it worth my while to up my dinner schedule a bit whenever I treat myself to this...