Agua Verde Cafe — Restaurant in Seattle

I’m not one to write a review of a place and today this place changed my mind on the matter. This little spot is very appealing because it is near the waterfront and close to UW. I have been wanting to treat myself to lunch here for months and finally did it today. The young staff is not at all friendly or trained to work in hospitality (please and thank you are not going to hurt you, if you use them- promise!). Never having been here, I read signage to help me navigate where to wait for my to go order. After waiting about 15 minutes, I finally went back inside to confirm I should be waiting near the outside window that read “pick up only” and was greeted with an eye roll and a “yeah”. When my number was called, my food was dropped on the counter, my number was yelled through the window, and that was the end of my customer service experience. I picked up my brown paper bag of food (i ordered carnitas tacos with rice and beans) and walked to a little picnic table by the water. Sadly, when I opened the compostable container I was met with cold food sitting on aluminum foil. The flavors were good and honestly, closest thing to true Mexican food (aside from the rice) that I’ve found in Seattle, but the food was cold and the “fresh” tortillas were tough on the ends. The rice was very al dente and lacked flavor and the Diablito salsa had a pleasant flavor, but it was more of a tomato sauce than the advertised spicy red salsa I was anticipating. This is a place that has obviously decided that because of their location, they don’t need to try very hard. I’m here to remind you that you should always try hard and that not everyone will keep their mediocre experience to themselves. My unsolicited advise - offer your staff some customer service training and serve hot food to...

Under new ownership for the last 2 years. Original owners made the greatest fish tacos I had ever had. I had the new fish taco. It was good and fresh tasting, but my palette was still craving the old fish taco recipe. I was also sad to see the real fruit margaritas Agua Verde used to serve are no more. I only had a beer this time so can't attest to new margarita menu. It might be quite good. I gave honest feedback to the manager about the fish tacos, and mentioned canceled fresh fruit margaritas. She replied that she thought the current fish taco was great and that their margaritas were great too. She explained fresh fruit was too expensive and remarked that they get alot of business. Does that mean for the new owners, the balance sheet is the most important measurement of success? Manager mentioned two dishes that are specialties developed by the new owners. I think I'll go back and try them at some point and perhaps a margarita. The old Agua Verde had an atmosphere where you almost felt like family. It has more of a trendy feel now. It is still a great location with the view of Lake Union and the staff is friendly and helpful. But I would say with a new menu and new atmosphere, a new name seems right. --- I saw the response to my review. I was never the manager of Agua Verde. Only worked there while I was attending UW. There was a line out the door every day I...

Who doesn’t love Agua Verde? It’s a lovely place and I come pretty often. HOWEVER, this time I do have a comment that I really hope the owners/managers will see. If you are into nutrition and or are vegetarian this also interests you! A couple of months ago I went and had the vegetarian enchiladas. They were so yummy, had a variety of veggies as filling and I felt like the flavors really complemented each other. About a month ago though, this enchilada option changed. Now it’s like “esquites enchiladas” and it’s honestly a sad rendition of the previous version. By substituting the veggies in the old version with basically only corn, the new version: 1)no longer provides a good amount of fiber 2)is no longer a good source of vitamins and minerals 3)is very heavy on carbs (tortillas, rice, beans and then on top of that the corn filling) 4)has a flatter flavor profile.

I URGE you Agua Verde to return to the old version! It was my favorite! I didn’t feel simultaneously drowsy and empty when I ate it (which is how I felt with the new version)! I also felt like it was a great option for those trying to get a more nutrient-dense meal! A good chunk of your other menu items contain almost negligible amounts of vegetables so this really was my go-to option. I promise to come more often and always order it.

Sincerely, A UW...