Blue Agave Street Tacos and Margaritas — Restaurant in West Des Moines

3.5* (out of 5) Food: 5* Atmosphere: 2* Value: 3* Service: 4* 3/10/2023

Stopped here again with our son and daughter-in-law and this time sat on the West side of the restaurant near the garage doors that open to the outside when it is warm. The food was once again very good, but the music was WAY too loud - we felt like we were shouting just to try and converse at the table - so dropped the Atmosphere rating to a 2. Also, due primarily to how busy they were, the service wasn't nearly as good / prompt as in previous visits, so dropped to a 4.

For dinner, I ordered the Spicy Tortilla Soup (see picture) and thought it tasted very good, with a nice kick. My wife ordered the Fajitas Shrimp (see picture) and also liked it a lot - be aware that it is a very large portion, with almost enough food for 2 people on this plate. While the food was still very good, I hesitate to return given the uncomfortable volume of the music in the dining area.

4.5* (out of 5) Food: 5* Atmosphere: 5* Value: 3* Service: 5* 01/07/2023

My wife and I stopped here for dinner last night after I enjoyed a Mezcal Paloma with a friend during an earlier visit. As was my experience during the earlier stop, everything about this place is great and it now is a contender for our favorite Mexican restaurant in the area. My only concern is the value, as they carry downtown pricing, especially on the drinks (my Mezcal Paloma was $15).

Drinks: I ordered a Mezcal Paloma (see picture) and my wife ordered a Pineapple Habanero Margarita (see picture). Both of them were absolutely delicious and were large enough that we each only needed 1.

Food: The chips and salsa (see picture) were also delicious (we always overeat on chips and this was definitely no exception...). She asked if I would like Guacamole (see picture), so I ordered and it was great...but was charged $6, so be forewarned that it isn't complementary. I ordered the Tinga Tacos (street tacos - see picture) and my wife ordered a Chicken Bowl (see picture). Both of them were delicious and I would recommend both - the shredded chicken in the Tinga Tacos was a little dry / tough, but I almost expect that with shredded chicken.

Overall, this place has probably the best Atmosphere of any Mexican Restaurant in the Des Moines area and the food is very good, so I don't hesitate to recommend it for anyone to try. My only concern as I mentioned earlier is that the pricing is a little steep, especially on their cocktails. If you are ok with high priced cocktails or are coming only for the food...this is a 5* in my opinion.

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In short - Rotten food, staff who get a kick out of serving you rotten food and not apologize once for it. We attempted to give Blue Agave a shot for a birthday dinner. When we sat down all of our dishes still had old food on them from previous diners, the staff showing their annoyance replaced our glasses. After that we struggled to get started with the celebration after having to wait for 30 min for drinks and 45 min for chips and salsa. Half of our group remained without silverware, menus or plates after us asking for them repeatedly. Next we ordered drinks and appetizers. The drinks came out okay, but when our appetizer came out, elote corn, which is corn on the cob with Mayo and spices , we bit into what could clearly be seen as rotten corn. Wiping back the toppings, we saw what looked like a piece of corn someone literally pulled out of the trash can after a week. It was something one can’t miss when preparing food, and then to cover it with toppings like we wouldn’t know it was bad. We asked for a manager over and over and over and the wait staff could not produce one. They never apologized and said “that’s not us, that’s the kitchens fault” ….? Like we had any interest in who’s fault it was at that point, it’s the entire establishments fault honestly. Either way, as we attempt to cancel the food order we just placed, a very rude young woman waiter from the back storms angrily to our table and proceeded to yell and tell us we can’t cancel our order as they put it in the system. We said we would happily pay for our drinks but cannot eat the food they serve after that corn. Please note, we are STILL asking for a manager, who never shows up. The young women waiter then tells us TO LEAVE. We ask her, “well do you want to to pay for the drinks?”, she replies “just leave!” So we do and go to El Guapo taco down the street only to me met there by 4 WDM police officers who were called by Blue Agave saying that we dined and dashed not paying our bill!!! The officers were calm and reasonable and also grossed out by our experience telling us they themselves will NEVER dine there and that they will, as WE WILL tell everyone we know NOT TO EAT THERE! If you want your birthday, anniversary or just a dinner out to land you in the hospital or jail please do dine at Blue Agave in West Des Moines. If not we highly recommend El Guapo Taco just down the road, wonderful food, excellent drinks and well trained and...

I was really excited to try this place out. The prices are quite a bit higher than I am used to paying for Mexican food, so we waited for a special occasion - because it looks super cool inside and I thought it would be a "whole experience" and the reviews when it first opened up raved about "great service" and the photos of the food looked good too!

Sadly - on my first and only experience there (on my birthday of all days) - we ended up walking out before ordering. No joke.

We went before the dinner rush. I asked for a table that could fit six people. Preferably a large booth - Keep in mind, it was our first time there, and I have zero clue what sort of seating they have. It wasn’t even busy yet, still the hostess looked around the place and (from my perspective) appearing annoyed said she had a booth for four that she could offer. I asked if it could seat six comfortably - and she responded “that would be for you to decide”. I get that comfortability is subjective - but it was her tone. It didn't land well. So, I opted not to cram 6 people in a small booth and we we shown their alternative. A table for 4 ! lol.

I reminded them we have six people and they began placing settings at the short ends of the table. I told them there’s no way six of us and all our food and drinks are fitting on this tiny table. I asked for a small table next to us to be joined to make a seating for six. Again, the staff appeared hesitant and annoyed at my request yet reluctantly joined the tables.

We began looking over the menu - which looked great. They had a very nice drink menu too. I was excited to try a margarita.

It was the dead of August - they had the floor to ceiling doors pushed wide open and it was suuuuuuper hot and sticky inside. Not very comfortable at all.

Here is where it gets more bizarre - We were served warm water - no ice - and to boot - there were particles of what I can only presume was food from the dishwasher floating in the warm water (not tiny ones either). That was the straw that broke the camel's back. I told my family I didn’t want to waste my birthday dinner there. We made up an unrelated excuse because I didn’t want to make a scene or be rude and quietly left. 😞 we won’t be back.

I am sorry Blue Agave - I really wanted to love the experience. It was just a big...