Agave Azul Kirkman — Restaurant in Orlando

This was hands down one of the most disappointing dining experiences my family and I have ever had.

From the moment we walked in, things felt off. The restaurant was barely busy, yet we waited about 10 minutes just to be seated. Once we sat down, it took nearly 10 more minutes for our server, Jameel G., to even acknowledge us. In that time, we’d already picked out our appetizers and entrées—still no water, no check-in, nothing. We had to flag down other staff members just to ask if someone was assigned to our table.

When the server finally appeared, he dropped off chips, poured water, took the appetizer order, and disappeared again. He returned after our appetizer arrived, only to quickly pass by with a “how’s everything?” and vanish once more. It felt like we were on our own the entire time.

Then, things got worse. My daughter found a piece of hair in her drink. We tried to bring it to a manager’s attention—but couldn’t even locate one. After a few minutes, we asked a staff member to notify the manager, who was apparently standing up front. It still took another 5 minutes before he came over.

When he finally arrived, he apologized and said he’d “take care of us.” But it felt more like a scripted performance than real hospitality. Suddenly, the whole staff came alive—busboys cleaning, the server reappearing—because the manager was watching. But once he left, it was back to neglect.

Even at the end, our server refused to refill our water. No apology. No real effort to make things right. Just pulled out his handheld payment device, processed our bill, and walked away. I think the expectation was because he was standing there, I'd be pressured into tipping him the suggested 20-25%. There was a 15% discount applied to our $68.35 check, totaling $11.32—but that small comp did not begin to make up for the lack of care and the unsanitary experience.

Date of visit: May 24, 2025 Check #275 | Table 17 |...

I had no doubt that the food would be wonderful…it always is. But Diego H. (the event manager) & Dani Dias (the Brazilian server) on Kirkman made OUR experience PERFECT! Diego was so helpful, kind, and patient with me each time I reached out to coordinate our school’s Hispanic Heritage Month end of celebration Social Hour! He made wonderful suggestions to accommodate our group of 20 teachers and staff, that in turn made it smooth for his Agave team as well. Everything went just as planned. Even down to the day and time of the week that he recommended. Diego, on behalf of my school, my coworkers that attended, and even my administration who had meetings, so they could not get there, I want to say THANK YOU! We were all so pleased and happy! Dani, teachers have rough days. To be able to get to a restaurant at varying times, get a good drink, and your food in a short time and get your payment processed so quickly is what turns our day around. And you did just that! Your patience and flexibility with everyone was admirable. Your intuitive decision to get names to make the ordering and payment process smooth was perfect. And your friendly, calm demeanor while doing it was most impressive. You understood the assignment and did it so well. A++ Then of course there is the food! If I could only eat a Cali Rice Bowl each day for the rest of my life…I’d be perfectly satisfied with that consequence. At least half of our teachers in attendance have just arrived to Florida from different countries. Yesterday was their 1st experience with Mexican food. They literally just pointed at the menu to make their selections. And when they took their first bites, unanimously decided they “loved it”. So thank you to the cooks, the food runners, house staff, and bartenders too. Because of you all Agave has at least 15 new...

Stumbled across this place while visiting another store in this area. We were hungry and had to wait on something else, so we had an hour or two available and didn't feel like leaving temporarily just to come back later. The restaurant is conviniently located about 10 minutes away from Universal's properties in the Kirkman Shoppes "mall" area.

After checking out what was available in the mall, food wise, we choose this place because it seemed more popular than the other restaurants, it also seemed clean and well maintained from the outside, looking in. This was the case, in fact it was renovated a year or so ago according to the staff.

The restaurant is divided in a bar area and a dining area, the decor is modern Mexican (I guess, hey I'm a tourist) and looks great and is kept clean.

This place is further outside of the tourist lane, so most (if not all) the people you meet here are locals.

One thing that struck us is how many staff members this place has. The whole place runs like a well oiled machine. Tables are constantly cleaned, service is quick, staff is great (our waitress Dulce was super helpful and kind).

I won't write anything about the food other than that it was great and delivered as warm and fresh as you can imagine. There's a lot of options to choose from and you won't be disappointed. I can simply say that my party of tourists enjoyed the food we got. My only complaint is the water that you get with the complimentary nachos, which taste more like Florida tapwater than filtered water.

One more thing (or two); you get complimentary nachos and salsa the minute you sit down, and it's high quality. There's also free refills for your soda. Also they make a killer margherita here that's well worth the money (it's huge) compared to what you get at universal properties. It's...