Cava Azul Cocina & Cantina — Restaurant in Woodinville

Seattle Restaurant Week is here and we wanted to try something new. Cava Azul is apparently the best new eastside restaurant in 2023 so we wanted to check it out.

Food - 5 - I wanted to give it a 4.5 but you can't, so let's say it's a qualified 5. First the great - my son said that the Benedictos - eggs benedict with pork carnitas was, in his words, 'the best eggs benedict he's ever had'. And he's had a lot! :)

Add to this the homemade chips and salsa (particularly the spicy salsa) and the guac, and it's a match made in Heaven! I typically am put off by mid- to high-end restaurants that make you pay for chips and salsa, but I understand about costs. At $3.50, it was worth it. Just please, next time, don't give us the small, crushed chips!

Carne Asada and eggs - good but not great. The beef was good, and you can't really mess up eggs (?), but the potatoes were meh - I expected some sort of Mexican seasoning...but they were still okay. My wife ordered the same thing but had beans instead of potatoes, and she said that the beans were canned. This was a little disappointing. I looked at the beans and it looked like they really came straight out of the can. She also had scrambled eggs and she could not eat them because they were too salty for her taste. More on the eggs later.

The two desserts were also okay - the cheesecake and the churros. The cheesecake tasted like flan, which was nice, but it wasn't that dense cheesecake that I prefer. It was still good however. The churros are listed as 'bavarian cream filled'. They were, but you could hardly taste the cream. I think the churros' channel for the cream was too narrow. Maybe a bit thicker churro to allow for more cream to be put in? Again, as churros, they were still good.

Service - 3 - Our waitress was actually very nice and took our orders and provided her opinions on the dishes that we were looking at. Thing is, she got my son's and wife's orders mixed up and also got my wife's eggs wrong. My wife's plate had the potatoes my son ordered, and my son's dish did not have the beans (which she later brought). However, she brought the beans and just left - she did not offer to transfer the potatoes from my wife's plate to my son's, which I would have expected. So, we called another person, asked for an extra plate, and transferred the potatoes to that plate. Not a big ask really, but the fact that she just left and did not offer to rectify her error was a bit lacking. She came back with the eggs as my wife ordered and we feel that they were too salty perhaps because the cook had to rush them. Who knows?

Atmosphere - 4 - I would say a 3.5, but let's do a qualified 4. I like the place, and the décor is nice. We are lucky to have snagged one of the two booths, as I would not have liked to sit in one of the tables in the middle of the floor. The thing that drags this score down is that, at the rear of the restaurant are two high tables, which I like. Thing is, they are right next to the restrooms, and anyone sitting there would be able to see anyone going into, or coming out of, them. Not the nicest thing. Just don't sit there if you do go and eat.

There. I've said my piece. I've always believed in providing factual information to back up my opinions. I realize that not everyone will agree with the importance that I attach to certain things, and I'm fine with that.

Would I go back? Yes. I would go back, take one of the booths or sit at the bar and get the chips and salsa, guac and try the nieve...

TL;DR: get the Chile dusted fries, your diet means nothing! Love the vibe here and the tacos are bomb!

Been open for about 7 months now (writing this review Feb. 2023).

Parking: small lot, mostly compact spaces, dark at night.

Atmosphere: Mexican diner feel with upbeat music playing in the background that isn’t too overpowering so normal conversation is possible. Plenty of bar space and seating for large groups.

Menu: no photos for the visually stimulated, haha. Descriptions are brief but concise. Kid menu has pictures to color and comes with crayons.

Service: wait to be seated, you will be watered, order at the table, bill brought to you.

Fish Tacos: choice of crispy or grilled and comes with two sides of your choice. Comes with two tacos. I got the crispy and it was great! I loved every bite! The fish was ever so slightly on the dry side but the sauce makes up for it. Love that hunky fresh avocado slice in there too! I recommend that Cilantro Jicama side salad to go with it (even if it already is in the taco, you want more, trust me). I just wish there was more than two tacos! I would prefer 3-4 tacos over 2 sides, heehee. I think it would be an ideal meal if they did at least 3 tacos and one side.

Chile Dusted Fries: oh my goodness! The fries were wonderfully fluffy and soft on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside. Shoestring fry perfection! They taste soooooo fresh! The Chile dust just adds a tad of flavoring and isn’t spicy at all, which my spice sensitive tastebuds appreciate. I could just sit and eat these all day by themselves.

Green Fried Plantain: to be honest I was expecting more plantain flavor (sweet / tangy)and for it to be more moist like a freshly fried banana slice. Instead, it was pretty bland and on the dry powdery side. There was a generous amount but I couldn’t help but feel like it needed more moisture in order to consume comfortably. Maybe it’s just a one off batch but I wasn’t too impressed.

Kid’s Enchilada: choice of cheese, shredded chicken, or shredded beef. Comes with fries or rice and beans. We got the shredded beef and it was more like a brisket wrapped in enchilada — wasn’t shredded but it was shreddable; a bit hard to cut with the butter knife. The beef was slightly on the dry chewy side but the flavor was there. Probably not a good choice for kids around the age of two because it can be a bit chewy. Didn’t have enchilada sauce, which surprised me — I think it would have helped counter the beef’s dryness. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bone dry, just dry enough where I wanted some sort of sauce.

Overall, I’ll definitely visit again to try more menu items! Definitely not just so I can have more of the...

We recently had the most disappointing experience at what we can only describe as the worst Mexican restaurant we've ever been to. From the moment we walked in, we could tell something was off. The ambiance was lackluster, and the staff seemed disinterested.

But the real disappointment came when we looked at the menu and decided to order plates of food that included 2 sides. They had a few enticing other options but we decided to order one of those options instead however, but what they failed to show on the menu was that they charge extra for those sides which are basic ingredients in the Mexican cuisine. It felt like a deceptive bait-and-switch tactic, and it left a real bad taste in our dining experience. Our server got pissie with us after we questioned the extra charge since it stated it was included as side dishes and said she’d discuss with her manager(No one came to inquire about our questions) & after making excuses that it was due to supply chain issues(really it was beans and corn).

Then…. we noticed after drinking the water the bottle it came in had dirty food at the bottom floating low.

We ordered the fish tacos, hoping they might redeem themselves and shrimp enchiladas However, the tacos were so bland with absolutely no flavor and the enchiladas had a sauce that tasted like it was mostly out of a can. It was as if they had no idea what Mexican cuisine should taste like. I’m a white American and my mexicana food is way far better.

My drink could have been better since it was a strawberry & basil margarita however it was like drinking syrup, yes I could kind of taste the tequila but the sugar took away any resemblance of any good flavored tequila I should’ve stayed with a beer out of a bottle😵🥺

Then to make matters worse, the portion sizes were incredibly small for the price they charged and extra charged us. We left the restaurant feeling unsatisfied and cheated, as if we had paid a premium for subpar American food.

In conclusion, this Mexican restaurant not only failed to deliver on its promises but also engaged in deceptive pricing practices. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, and I suggest seeking out a more authentic and honest Mexican dining experience elsewhere where they do not offer you two sides and then turn around and say oh sorry sue to supply chains issues your sides are an extra charge(FALSE ADVERTISEMENT...