Agava — Restaurant in Town of Ithaca

After seeing Agava as a Farm Sanctuary recommended restaurant, I was very excited to try some vegan southwestern-style food during my visit to Ithaca. I left a bit disappointed.

While I made a reservation in advance, when my girlfriend and I arrived, we were 'seated' (pointed to) a small table hidden behind a staircase. Fortunately, our request to be re-seated outside was granted. The back porch was mostly shaded and felt festive and lively throughout the warm summer evening. More than enough space was given between tables that we didn't feel cramped, and still close enough to feel some of the energy in the space. Strangely, the outdoor table and chair setup doesn't allow you to pull the chair in far enough to eat without leaning over.

Despite this, I was won over by our very friendly waiter, who had the unfortunate job of informing myself and at least a few other guests of the menu items that the kitchen had run out of. He was helpful when it came to helping us identify vegan options on the menu, and quite attentive to us throughout the evening - definitely the restaurant's bright spot.

Our food, the Hongos tacos (local mushrooms, spinach, and cashew crema) and the Rita flatbread were delicious and came out of the kitchen fairly quickly. However, they were fairly meager for the $14 and $12 they ran us. The three tacos I received were quite small, and my girlfriend's flatbread seemed to be not much more than, well, flatbread covered in sauce.

Overall, I thought Agava had excellent service, they just need to step up the food to make it worth...

I live in Rochester but go to Ithaca sometimes for concerts and what not. I found Agava just trying to browse instagram and find the best food in Ithaca. We went last night before a concert and I can't even express how amazing the whole experience was. Both myself and my mom are extremely picky when it comes to food and service. We have both worked in the industry for over 15 years (my mom probably around 30 years or more). I also own a small bakery myself. There's nothing more I love in life than good food. We ordered an appetizer special, a few small plates, a flat bread and tacos. The food tasted so good, flavorful and fresh. The crab cake taco was one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. We also had great cocktails. I got the Smokey Rose, and a Strawberry basil margarita, my mom got a Mojito. The whole place was packed, but it didn't feel too crowded or uncomfortable and I loved the decorations and the way they had it set up. We called about an hour before we came and they only had room to reserve seats for us at the Wood fired oven community area which ended up being awesome because you can watch the chefs and see into the kitchen which was really cool. The waitstaff were all very positive, quick and helpful the whole time. I can't...

I'm in disbelief as why this place has so many descent reviews?? If you scroll down, you will rarely see a bad review by me and especially that long. But I just have to leave this one. Hopefully, the management will notice and take action in improving the quality of their food. You just can't expect the customer paying a descent $$ amount for such mediocre food. We were left HUNGRY on our drive home! I was there for a tennis tournament at Cornel with my son and decided to order takeout bc the restaurant was nearby and bc we had to drive back home and didn't have much time. I ordered salmon, flatbread dish, and vegetarian burger. We both were severely disappointed. Even my son who can eat generally everything told that the flatbread was barely edible. It was burned, tough as a rock, and that mozzarella/ basil/ and tomatoes that were supposed to be on top of it were barely there and certainly looked anything but fresh. Overcooked. Salmon was slightly better but still desired to be cooked better. It was greezy and smelled a bit weird. The vegetable burger usually can't be made wrong, right? This was saulty dry and just was not appetizing. 70% of what you 'prepared' was thrown away. I should have supplemented this...