Red Agave

Permanently closed.

This place used to be terrific, but changes in the kitchen and in the wait staff have left it a shell of its former greatness. The menu is uninspired and the service is aggressively indifferent.
My most recent visit was for a quick happy hour cocktail and dinner. My ladyfriend and I ordered margaritas (I got the spicy one, she ordered a plain one), an order of pupusas, and a chicken enchilada. The waiter’s entire demeanor towards us can be summed up as one big shrug. Every interaction we had with him felt like he would rather be somewhere else. When my lady’s drink arrived, looking and tasting suspiciously the wrong color/​flavor, she asked why her drink was brown. «It’s because we sweeten the margaritas with agave,» was the response. (My margarita was the appropriate pale green color.) The real reason her drink was brown was that the waiter brought her the wrong margarita, flavored with tamarind. Whatever, she drank it, it was fine, but the interaction with the waiter set a weird tone.
Our food took forever to arrive, and when it finally came it was bizarrely bland and tasteless. My enchilada was served with both red and green mole, but the only difference was in the color– the flavors were indistinguishable. I couldn’t believe how flavorless everything was. My second bite included a chicken bone that I almost choked on, at which point I just decided to throw in the towel and eat the complimentary basket of chips and focus on my margarita. My ladyfriend’s pupusas were nothing special, but at least they were edible.
The indifferent waiter finally stopped by a while later to inquire about our meals. I told him that I wasn’t happy with my enchilada, and showed him the bone I found. He said, «Oh, sorry,» and took my plate away– he didn’t ask me if I wanted to order something else, or otherwise express any kind of dismay or anything.
The kicker was when the check came. The enchilada was still on the bill! I took it to the host and mentioned that I was surprised that I was being charged for something I had sent back. To his credit, he handled it graciously and removed it from the tab, but it was all a little awkward and weird. It’s a bummer, because Red Agave used to be my go-​to place in Eugene, but I think it’s time to move on.

We called ahead for a reservation asking for a table outside, if possible. We were so pleased when they remembered and saved a table for us. It was a hot day so we each had a pint of the Oakshire Line Dry Rye. We started with the Boar Ribs… WOW, fall of the bone, great flavor in the sauce, finger licking type of YUMMY! Next we got the Ceviche. Again WOW. It was amazing, flavorful spicy, citrus flavors came out, avocado and Yam, served Peruvian Style. VERY GOOD. From there we quarried our waitress and the bus person, about the dinner courses. Would it be the Duck or the Pork Tenderloin. The Duck won, with the Duck Chorizo sausage, greens and Huckleberry-​Habanero gastrique, really for me it wasn’t even an issue. The duck was prepared beautifully, the Chorizo was fantastic as was the gastrique, not too hot but definitely there. WOW again.
Dessert, no meal is complete without dessert and we were WOW’ed again. Strawberry shortcake, but not your ordinary shortcake. The biscuit was perfect, a little sweet but hot and flaky, with a bit of a buttery crispness on the outside. The strawberries were ripe and so good, we also had the Key Lime Pie after the waitress and the hostess both said it was their favorite. It was very good too. Coffee was the only disappointment. Every restaurant in Eugene should have only one coffee, Wandering Goat.

Amazing food, great ambiance, attentive staff. Highly recommend.

Well, I’ve been to Red Agave a couple of times in the past couple of months, and the experiences have been mixed. I probably have one more try in me, but I’m certain now that it isn’t about to become one of my favorite places in Eugene.
These two things I am certain of:
1) Don’t bother coming here if you are vegetarian. There is exactly one small dish (red bean pupusa) and one large dish (stuffed pepper) for you to choose from. The stuffed pepper, I will say, is excellent.
2) It is overpriced. Most recently, I ordered one of the specials, a halibut that was only ‘okay’ and I was afraid that my eyes were going to pop out of my head when I saw that it had set me back 30 dollars.
Red Agave doesn’t really give me much to say beyond that. The service is okay. The dining space is interesting with tables at different height-​levels, making the large open space feel cozier. Mostly, it seems like a place for indiscriminately-​spending middle aged and older people to have a couple of cocktails and some food.

Been there twice and loved it both times!
The Food: The first time we were just there for drinks and tapas. We had the braised short ribs and the crab stuffed anaheim chili. Both were excellent. Second time, I had the pan seared scallops and a spinach salad with chevre, candied pecans and chipotle honey vinaigrette. The scallops were really succulent. The only thing I had a problem with was the hash that came with the scallops. I was expecting it to be denser than it was. It would have been fine had it been accompanied by a crostini. Despite that issue, the flavors were still there. The salad was very tasty as well.
The atmosphere: Very romantic. Low lighting and the music was indicative of the type of food being served.
The service: The first time, great. The second time, attentive, knowledgeable, but a little on the pretentious side. I didn’t mind, but I felt like the rest of my party did.

I would strongly recommend avoiding this place, unless you want to pay $ 300 and spend the night hugging a toilet!
My parents (and in-​laws) took me, my brother, and his girlfriend to Red Agave over Thanksgiving break. I had heard that they won an award. We had to wait about 45 minutes for a table, then about an hour for our food.
My food was mediocre at best. My enchiladas contained very little chicken (I couldn’t believe that these two flimsy enchiladas on my plate could cost $ 18!). My Mom couldn’t eat her salad because it was really spicy (horseradish leaves, we think) and she didn’t like her crab hash either (it had no crab in it). She ended up eating only a few chips for dinner. We both left hungry.
My Dad and father-​in-​law loved their ribs, so at least it wasn’t a total loss. My brother and his girlfriend ordered the Ceviche, and that’s where the real trouble began. They both started feeling sick about four hours later. My brother’s girlfriend is a nurse, so she knew that based on the symptoms (sweating and nausea), that they likely had food poisoning. According to my brother, they were vomiting all night. His girlfriend tried to draw a bath to cool off, but ended up vomiting in the tub.
I noticed that the bill for the 7 of us was over $ 300. Wow. I must take a moment to make this point… just because a place has a long wait and is really expensive, does not mean that they have good food!
Yuck! I recall that the chef’s name was listed out front as Michael Myers… a scary meal indeed.
Never again.

Took my wife in for her BDay. Had lamb for the first time it was really tasty. Love this place

While this restaurant remains one of our favorites for a night out — consistently great food, outstanding and unique drinks — this review specifically relates a catered party for my wife’s birthday last year.
We had a chef, bartender, and server for a moderate-​sized party at our home (35 people). Superb job overall — Brian (the owner) came for a site-​check with the chef (Mike), and finalized plans the day of the party. No work at all my part — all setup, service/​cooking/​drinks, and cleanup was done to perfection.
Bartender in one room served up fantastic «scratch» margaritas and mojitos, along with beer, wine, and mixed drinks. Chef Mike took over the kitchen and turned out some fantastic grub — «Nuevo» enchiladas, pork confit tostadas (with pineapple-​habanero salsa), ahi poke/​ceviche (Agave-​style with fresh avocados on top of a mold-​pressed prep), and bean pupusas. Dessert area included a fantastic «molten chocolate torte» and key lime tartlets. The server never stopped moving, bringing drinks, passing food, and cleaning up. When the night was done, all was cleaned up an gone in under an hour (so glad the next morning!).
Great job, great food, excellent service, and done within the bid estimated.
We’ll definitely use them again for work and private parties.

Eugene has only a few solid, consistent eateries and this is one of them. There are a few different seating areas, which I enjoy and in the summer they have some sidewalk seating which can be very pleasant.
I’ve been here more than a few times, and though there isn’t anything I’ve had that I don’t like, I think the stuffed Anaheim pepper, the duck, and the caramel ice cream would be my favorite meal. The duck chorizo is delicious, I think it’s my favorite thing I’ve had in Eugene.
You’re looking at 40 bucks a person, without drinks, but I think this is a place you get your monies worth for sure. The chips and salsa aren’t great, and I wish they would change the menu more but the sauces with the dishes are all flavorful and the ingredients are all nice quality.
I think I’d probably rate this place a 3 star if it were in Portland, but it’s a 4 star Eugene place.

Red Agave feels something like a small outpost of a larger city, or perhaps a wayward Bend eatery, as the atmosphere is decidedly geared toward the mature and somewhat serious crowd, with a slight hint of snobbery, which isn’t necessarily a wholly deleterious aspect considering the culinary spectrum of in our humble burg.
Despite the hoity toity miasma, I thoroughly enjoyed the décor, which consists of swanky dim lighting and tasteful prints; and more importantly, the food and drink. On a recent outing, a friend and I each ordered margaritas and were not disappointed, although I was expecting to find our libations in gaudy margarita or even martini glasses, but I admittedly admire the low brow, to which this restaurant does not cater.
My friend ordered the red bean pupusas, and I chose the chicken enchiladas. Both dishes were beautifully prepared and the flavors were clean. Overall, from what I sampled, I can infer that the rest of the menu is delicious. In addition, the chips and salsa proved mighty tasty, but refills on these items require a certain amount of assertiveness on the diner’s part, as the service (aside from the attentive busboy) proved somewhat lacking and dare I say, lackadaisical.
I do share the common caveat found among fellow Unilocalers concerning Red Agave, being the prohibitive prices on their dishes and cocktails, even during happy hour. If one is looking for a college-​student-​budget-​friendly place for bar food and strong, cheap drink, search elsewhere or skip across the street to the Jackalope ($ 3 rum and cokes!) I would highly recommend Red Agave as an impressive first date location, or to the slinky black Anne Taylor/​embarrassing Hawaiian print shirt donning, martini quaffing crowd.

I don’t really eat Latin though. But for Latin food… not bad. The prices are ridiculous though. Not many choices for vegetarians though unless you eat fish, which I do, thank the lawd or else I’d only be eating the complimentary chips and salsa they bring over. Which isn’t that awesome.
The crowd… well, they’re all old white people. It’s probably good for date night… if you’re like 50. The ambiance is not romantic looking, it looks more Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead) style going on.
For service, I am not so sure about others but for us, it was pretty slow and the waiter was unattentive. We waited 10 minutes to get the menu even with our hand raisings and «excuse me’s». Then with the same routine, it also took 15 minutes to get the bill. Sigh…
The drinks… ughhh don’t get me started on the drinks. I never had a Bloody Mary before and I figured, hey might as well try it out now, since I have the chance. They had a Bloody Revolution instead as one of their specialty drinks.
FUCK THAT SHIT. Good lawd, I wanted to splash it in their faces after getting a sip outta this. Wth is in here???
I’M NEVER ORDERING THAT AGAIN.
oh yeah, they’re like $ 10+ drinks. Food is like $ 20 – 30. Toootally not worth it unless you’re a yuppie or a yuppie-​wannabe

Red Agave has a few things going for it: reasonably good food, better cocktails, and a nice space in a beautiful old building downtown. In all, it’s a pleasant dining experience.
It’s major drawback, however, is that it’s ridiculously pricey– especially compared to the likes of nearby Belly. Seriously, at $ 20+ to $ 30+ for entrees, the prices seem unrealistic– great if your folks or your employer is paying for the meal; less so if you are.

I wish I loved Red Agave as much as the rest of Unilocal.I haven’t been blown away by the food in the past 4 years or so, though this used to be my go-​to place for a fancy meal. That said, the cocktails are fantastic, as is the never-​ending supply of complimentary chips and hot sauce.
The service last weekend was very attentive, especially considering that we were a group of 10+ folks. However, I made clear to the waiter that my husband and I wanted to order a bunch of tapas and share the special — the fish dish of the night. I wish he’d mentioned that the fish was a tiny little thang, especially in comparison to the nice sized lamb shanks and other better proportioned plates ordered by my friends. For $ 27, I’d like a piece of fish that is larger than my palm. I have child sized hands.
We had a chorizo plate with arugula, and again, I specifically asked the waiter if this would count as eating my greens for the day. Unfortunately, it was just a little bit of arugula and small slices chorizo.
The omnipresent chili stuffed with crab was very tasty, but kind of a waste of crab, because the delicious sauce overpowered the delicate crab.
Overall, I saw some nice dishes on the table. The lamb looked lovely, and I have to remember to try the pupusas if we return.

Red Agave is handsome and comfortable, serves delicious food and provides warm service.
I’ve eaten there several times and still wasn’t able to pin down the exact cuisine, so I checked their website: «We create a unique cuisine derived from daydreams of Oaxaca, Havana, Buenas Aires and myriad places in between.» Hmm, that’s it.
So far, I’ve tried their chips & salsa, pupusas, crab-​stuffed Anaheim peppers, chicken enchiladas and chile relleno (nothing at all like what you’d get at Burrito Boy). All have been tasty.
I’ll agree with others that a couple of items are overpriced (snapper and pork loin), but they have cantina, tapas and entrée menus. A wide price range suits whatever mood you walk in with, and I really like that.
Super-​special secret treat: the tomato daiquiri. A perfect blend of tart and sweet, it’s the yummiest cocktail in town. We have actually introduced two sets of friends to Red Agave for this alone. But it’s also a rarity: it’s only on the bar menu in late summer when tomatoes are at their peak, because they make it from scratch.

I think Red Agave may be one of the best restaurants in town but…
–They have very few vegetarian choices.
–Everything is spicy. My dad can’t eat spicy food, so it get’s ruled out for special occasion dinners.
I do think they have the best service in town. Their cocktails are also amazing. We enjoy sitting outside in the summer to enjoy a cocktail and an appetizer, but we won’t be by for dinner anytime soon unless they make some changes to their menu.

One of the two best dinners my husband and I enjoyed in Eugene last week during an R&R visit was at Red Agave. (The other top contender was Belly.)
We arrived early, about 5:30, hoping to take advantage of happy hour «half price» specials on some of the appetizer items. But after settling in at a window table in the cozy bar, we learned happy hour here with the half price options doesn’t start until 9P on weekdays. Oy! Even in our younger days we were on to dessert by 9:00!
BOTTOM LINE
The bar was casual and charming (as is the entire restaurant), the service from the bartender was top notch (for libations and food), the cocktails were perfectly mixed and the food was both wonderful to eat and priced to be easy on the wallet.
We’re fans and we will both go back. There may even be a fifth star in a second visit. In fact we recommended Red Agave to friends who like it so much they sometimes make a trip to Eugene for the single purpose of eating there. It is that good.
LIBATIONS
Although there were a handful each of good reds and white wines on the menu for between $ 6 and $ 9 a glass, my hubby had his favorite cocktail, a Manhattan, and I chose the house special daiquiri.
The Manhattan wonderful my hubby said. I can hardly believe I’m going to wax poetic about a daiquiri as they were ruined for me in the «frozen slush drink» era of the ”80’s. But having recently heard a lecture on the charms of a properly made daiquiri, fresh lime juice, simple syrup and white rum served in a martini glass with a sugared rim, I was tempted at Red Agave… which also adds in a little pomegranate juice and just a touch of ground chiles along with the sugar on the rim. It was delectable.
Cocktails were about $ 9 each.
And being a sucker for fresh citrus beverages, hubby and I finished off the evening by splitting a fresh limeade with muddled mint in the soft beveages category. It was excellent.
FOOD
Served at just the leisurely pace we requested so we could split items when they arrived at the table, we started with a vegetarian option from the appetizer menu. The Red Bean Pupusa (Salvadorean) was beans, organic butternut squash and questo stuffed in a masa flatbread with mocajete salsa.. At only $ 7 it was generously enough sized to be an entrée for one.
We also shared Lamb Barria; a meaty shank that was fork tender from braising in a chili rich sauce served with yummy mashed sweet potatoes and perfectly sauteed greens… chard I think. At $ 22 it was a very large serving, even when shared by two people.
In addition to being beautifully plated, the food arrived piping hot — a good thing in our book.
We ended with coffee and shared a scoop of house made salted caramel ice cream ($ 5) for dessert.
GOOD VALUE
The total bill was around $ 58 for two people, which we thought was a very good value for such delicous food and beverages, lovely ambiance, and stellar service.
ACCESSIBILITY
All of the restaurant is nicely accessible to people of all abilities except for the bar, which is up several stairs. So people who use wheelchairs and see «wheelchair access: Yes» at the top of the Unilocal page may find it helpful to know in advance that that does not mean to the bar.
AMBIANCE
In addition to the cozy setting, something we enjoyed about Red Agave during the couple of hours we were there is that the mix of people coming on going was across ages, from small children to senior citizens, from recently graduated students (who sat along side of us and complained about how boring life it is to live on a budget when one has a mortgage to pay ;-)) to working folks stopping by the bar to we who have done our time and are now retired.
A nice blend of «all people are welcome here». Our favorite vibe.
And a great music mix was on the sound system, just right to fit the Mexican /​Latin theme and set at a level that invited conversation not shouting over it.

This is where I eat when I come into town. It’s the best food with the best service in Eugene. (Belly is a close second– but they tend to be a bit snooty.)
Everything on the menu is excellent and the drinks are even better. For some reason I always go in with one drink in mind and come out at least two drinks in. The atmosphere is also the best in town. I live in Portland (where atmosphere is on every corner) and this little place gives PDX a run for the money. I love the location next to the train station and across the street from the friendliest bar in town.
I’m starting to figure out that Eugene food service is random at best. It’s a college town. College students = part-​time servers that don’t give a damn about service. I’ve seen reviews doggin’ this place. I’m guessing they got the college server. I’ve always sat in the bar area and had no problem at all. SUPERB food! Excellent atmosphere. Pricey if you are on the college budget.

A little too pricey for what you get and a little too yippish for being next to the train station. Granted, this place has a pretty fun atmosphere, the service isn’t very good along with the food. The only good thing about this is the variety of drinks with tequila in it. Come here if you wanna impress someone or just wanna try it out. I came here because it looked interesting and looked like it had more flavor and worth. But be warned there’s no originality to this place. I guess I didn’t really feel this place because it was pricey and not good. Those are the worst things to have at a restaurant. Cheap bad food — ok at least it was cheap. Expensive good food — ok it was damn good and worth it. This place is expensive and not good.

This is my favorite restaurant in Eugene!!! Fabulous cocktails and fabulous atmosphere!!! You wont be disappointed.
Bring back the Halibut!!! Please!!!