Salsa & Agave Mexican Grill

The service = Pretty good, the servers were really pleasant.
The atmosphere = just okay.
The sangria = had fresh strawberries in it (interesting) and was pretty good.
The food = very, very bland. The «salsa» arrived after we sat down and it was a joke. About 1 tablespoon of tomato water and a few sad stale chips. Hoping to liven up things a bit we ordered some pico de gallo. Unfortunately it was basically some chopped up fresh tomatoes, maybe some onions but I’m not sure. Tasteless.
For my main entrée I ordered their «sopes». Chicken, pulled pork and an odd offering of «sautéed mashed potato». Surprisingly the mashed potato sopes turned out to be the only one with any taste whatsoever, and it was quite good actually! The chicken and pork were very bland.
I would not come here again to eat, but possibly to have some sangria.

A better place to hang than for the food, so spaciousness it is. Been here for what seem years, a good sign. Good corner locale for people watching.
Nothing really memorable, had a burrito back in the summer. Probably not a fair comparison to Patron Tacos, which is more of a dining/​bar experience so this is pretty casual.
At least it’s authentic.
Friendly service.
Metered parking all around.

About 3 weeks ago I decided to order a BC Burrito for take out. The taste was pretty good, that was until 6 hours later I woke up I the middle of the night with food poisoning. This was quite honestly the worst case of food poisoning I’ve ever had in my 31 year of existence, I threw up 7 times and had devastating heart burn and indigestion for 7 days after.
Please be wary of this restaurant, I don’t wish what I went through on anyone.

Great Mexican food. It is not tex mex so somethings we are used to eat don’t have on the menu, like taco (like half moon shaped), but that doesn’t mean it is less tasty.
The price was excellent. We had a burrito and tostadas and split it. It was enough for two.
They serve a free small portion of chips and salsa as you arrive.

Love it! Super authentic food & people!

The food was definitely not fresh. We ordered the most basic items — everything was either canned or bagged.
When talking to the manager/​owner about the food quality he decided that it was our fault that we didn’t appreciate the food and that the numerous people inside the restaurant liked the food. He did take off certain items from our bill. Needless to say we won’t be back

The food in here was the worst we’ve had in a long time it tasted like a microwave ready meal .We both opted for the Mexican classic Carne Tampiquena it was so bad we asked for hot sauce to give it some flavour but the sauce was far from hot ! Just avoid this place altogether!

I went in to get take out. Stood there for several minutes with many staff passing by without any acknowledgement in a half full restaurant. Order of 1 burrito took 20 minutes without any word from the staff. At the fifteen minute mark I asked then to check on my order, they nodded at me and never came back to tell me how long. The burrito, however, was delicious.
I wouldn’t go back for take out, but the food was great. I’m assuming service wouldn’t be this terrible when you dine in. Enough options in Yaletown to make me hesitate a return trip.

If dry, flavorless, «Mexican» food is your thing, then this place is for you.
But this is a far cry from Mexican. Its not even good as a general restaurant. Service is also bad. Server took our order, but never saw her again until we flagged her down for the bill. Our drinks were empty before the food arrived but she never came to ask if we needed a refill or just to check on us. This happened on two separate accounts about a year from each other. Dont waist your time or money here.

I went here with high expectations… that was a mistake. The place is still pretty good but not a 4 or 5 star. Food is good quality… the location is good… the service is average

First visit here wasn’t super impressed, but I’m glad I decided to give it another go. It’s It’s always nice to find a casual patio to have a brunch on. Not that loud and busy of am intersection for the Sunday morning we went. Brunch list isn’t extensive, but it was good enough to get the job done. This time I really enjoyed the food compared to my first experience with the dry chicken. Would come back for dinner and try again for sure.
Verdict:
The good: great little spot that is easy to get to and the dinner/​lunch menu has a lot of options.
The bad: patio seating as always comes with the risk of having to wait, but try to arrive earlier and you’ll be basking in the sun burrito in hand.
The ugly: last experience with dry and bland chicken discouraged me from coming back, but I’d just not order that again on my next visit.

I thought I was going to rate this place higher — really wanted to — but in thinking of my experience, I really couldn’t. Also as a forewarning, when it comes to Mexican food, I really don’t care if it’s authentic or not — I just care if it tastes good! Just an FYI as I know a lot of people place a lot of value on the authenticity so keep that in mind if you read my review.
We came here as a group on a Saturday night after being turned away from The Parlour who no longer accepted walk-​ins (BOO). Was one of the restaurants in the area that popped up on the Unilocal app with a high rating and we all love Mexican.
The place itself is nicely decorated with a nice bright feel to it, but a bit small. We had to wait about 10 or 15 minutes before being seated because all the tables were taken. I counted and it seems that you could fit ~25 people inside (not counting the patio).
We ordered drinks and small nachos to start and share before we proceeded to order rolled tacos, some taco looking non-​taco thing and 2 burritos.
Drinks — the server himself was nice, but the drinks didn’t come until 15 minutes. He said that the bartender had gone out on a break or something — it wasn’t very clear what happened. I don’t mind waiting anyway, so this wasn’t a big deal to me. However, I was disappointed that the drink I ordered had tequila in it, when it was supposed to be vodka. I didn’t say anything since I had already taken a big sip.
Nachos — good enough I guess. We had a long conversation about wanting the sour cream on the side, but when it came, it still came with sour cream on it. The server said that it was the kitchen’s error and asked us if we wanted them to re-​make it. We said it wasn’t a big deal and ate it anyway but I felt that if they knew already before delivering it, they should have just remade it on their own, instead of putting us in an awkward spot where we’d have to decide to send food back and make them re-​do it (which always feels awful to me).
Nachos itself was just ok — something’s off with their chips, it tasted stale to me? Perhaps even a bit overly salted.
Ok now comes to the main stuff — I had the burrito and did not like it that much. Actually, I wanted it with shredded beef, but was surprised to hear that they can’t do it because the shredded beef is only offered on specific items because those specific items are pre-​made. ICK. I hate hearing the word pre-​made. So I decided to go with the Carnitas, shredded soft pork. The meat itself is pretty good, but the overall burrito was kind of disappointing. All it had in there was beans, meat and some cold cheese. And it was dry for some reason. Where are all the fresh veggies or rice?
Other things I didn’t like were the guacamole and hours of operation — is guacamole supposed to be watery? I have no idea. But what I do know is that I don’t like watery guacamole! Hours of operation — they close at 9 30pm on a Saturday. That was a bit of a buzzkill — we ended up being the only ones in the restaurant towards the last half hour and it was suuuuuch a boring atmosphere.
My friends seemed content with their choices and the rolled tacos seemed to be a good hit. However, I don’t think I’ll come back — I think trek back to La Casita.

I have to give this place 5 stars because I have been coming here WELL over 6 years now… and its always amazing. The Azteca soup is my GO TO and definitely one of the best things of put in my mouth. Tasty, Spicy, Cheesy… and always fresh. NOT TO MENTION the burritos are heavenly and heavy.
Will continue to share many anniversaries, lunch date, and evenings out there.
Cheers

I am obsessed with Mexican. When I found this page reviewed and posted on the May 6^th front page of Unilocal I immediately had to put this on my bucket list. Sadly for some odd reason it took me 8 months to get here which is almost the equivalent to 8 years in my world. I love Mexican… how the f*ck did I allow this to go on for so long before finally visiting?
I came in here well aware of the sub par reviews, however, Mexican is compatible with the diet I am on, therefore, it worked for me. When you have so many dietary restrictions, beggers can’t be choosers.
Not only was the weather bad outside, however, I was seeking some serious internal comfort (emotional).
I used to know the cooking staff back when they had a place down on Howe street and but it took me almost 6 years to get here.
Our waitress Marta was totally sweet and had the cutest accent ever.
I had the 3 rolled and fried tacos which were awesome. They weren’t over fried and a very modest price for the trio at $ 9.

As far as affordable tacos go, you wont find anything closer to an actual Mexican taco in Vancouver.
After visiting Mexico for the first time this year and putting in a lot of hours at the street taco stands (culture!) I quickly realised that tacos are about the intense flavours and diverse range of the filling and quantity of condiments.
I’m not remotely suggesting that these tacos are Mexican street taco authentic, but, they do offer a good range (5 or 6 ish) of fillings (including the very authentic cow tongue). This is far closer to an authentic taco than the usual Vancouver bar effort that usually comprises of deep fried fish, packet salad, and spicy mayo.
Where they let themselves down is a lack (or maybe overly safe amount) of seasoning on the fillings as well as a seriously limited amount of condiments to build your tacos with.
Still, at four for $ 10 you can’t go wrong,

Bueno, despues de haber estado en Mexico de vacaciones, Playa del Carmen, regresar a Vancouver a buscar el verdadero sabor Mexicano no fue tarea facil. Estuve en todos los restaurantes Mexicanos en Vancouver Downtown area y este es el «point» lo mas cercano al sabor real Mexicano y la atencion personalizada de Juan Carlos siempre de primera.

Without a doubt, the BEST Mexican Restaurant in the lower mainland.
I have gone here almost a dozen times, and it keeps getting better.
First-timer’s should try the Azteca Soup. It’s amazing!
I don’t think I have ever tried anything so damn delicious. I could swim in an ocean of this soup and die of happiness. It’s that good. You absolutely have to try it.
Basically it’s a tortilla soup (chipotle pepper, diced avocado, cheese and house sour cream)
The way it is served is the best part. You basically put your spoon in the bowl, grab some of the melted cheese at the bottom, a bit of tortilla chips, and some avocado, stick it in your mouth, and you’re in heaven.
The avocado just melts in your mouth like butter. The base of the soup itself is not watery, but not thick either. It is the perfect balance of tomato-​chipotle flavour, and you just want more and more of it. They’re able to do take-​out with this soup too, and it’s just as good.
Also, try their Margaritas. I usually go for a Lime Margarita on the rocks. You can get it blended if you like, but I find you get more out of it the way I order it. It’s not a weak drink either, it’s the perfect Margarita. I’ve gone to so many places and they manage to screw up Margarita’s all the time. Either by making it way too watery/​weak or too much ice. Salsa & Agave makes it the right way.
Some of the other items on the menu I have yet to try, but so far, the tacos are good (4 for $ 10, best type is carnita), burritos, nachos, gringa (quesadilla) are all terrific!
The restaurant has seating both inside and on their patio outside. Perfect for summer. It can get quite busy later on in the evenings, so I like going mid-​afternoon. That way you don’t have to worry about seating and you’ll be served pretty fast. All the staff are very friendly, prompt, and knowledgeable.
I know a lot of other places are all the rage, like La Taqueria or Patron, but in my opinion, they are all overrated.
Salsa & Agave wins every time.

If the patio is is the only good thing about a place, chances are I’ll not be back. Adiós!
Choriqueso $ 9 sounded good but they were out. Switched to Asada Taquitos $ 10.5
Large Steak Nachos $ 13.5 were both ok but nothing special. Ordered house margarita on the rocks, no salt. 8 – 10 minutes later, it showed up with salt. Joy. At least I had free wifi to make notes about this review while I was waiting.
Ok food but crappy service.
Free wifi. That’s all this place is good for.

Decent Mexican food but pretty pricey. The best thing on the menu are the rolled tacos– potato filled rolled taco is my favorite. Enjoyed the single soft tacos too but most of their other stuff is standard fair. Nothing special to be honest.

Now I know where to get Mexican food if I ever develop an ulcer.
My husband and I had a hankering for a burrito and despite knowing better we went to a place in Vancouver for one. On the positive side, the food was fresh and hot and they did not skimp on the protein. I had the shrimp burrito and it contained a plentiful supply of perfectly grilled meaty prawns.
What it did not have was a whole lot of spice or heat. Our first clue of what to come came with the complimentary chips and salsa. The salsa was exceptionally mild. A fairer description of this burrito would be to simply call it a wrap. Not bad, but not what was advertised.

Great location.
Pacific Boulevard before Davie st close to the seawall.
The chips and salsa are always fresh.
But again…
Nothing WHAMMY about this place.
It’s kind of half way authentic…
Of course the patio is awesome.
With the view. The sun and some margaritas.
It’s not that bad.
I’m coming back sometimes cuz it’s close to my crib.