For anyone who enjoys Mexican cuisine but wants something besides traditional fare, the Redmond restaurant scene will soon offer diners another option.
On April 18, Agave Cocina & Cantina will open at 17168 Redmond Way, offering diners a contemporary menu made from fresh ingredients, free-range meat, fish and eggs, sustainable seafood and when possible, organic produce.
“We wanted to explore a little bit and be different from traditional Northwest Mexican restaurants,” said co-owner Julian Ramos.
Julian, along with his brother Federico Ramos and sister Faviola Ramos also owned Las Margaritas, the location’s previous restaurant, for about eight years. And while that restaurant had been very successful, the three siblings saw people growing more health conscious about their food as well as how it affected the planet and wanted to be able to offer their customers such dining options.
In addition, the restaurant, which had been a Redmond fixture for decades, had not had any major remodeling done since the 1970s. The restaurant’s interior was completely gutted for the remodeling process, which began in January.
In May 2009, the Ramoses opened Agave Cocina & Tequilas in Issaquah, which features a similar menu as the Redmond location.
“People have responded well to that concept,” Federico said.
Some of the restaurant’s signature dishes will include chile rellenos with three cheeses; tamales made fresh in-house with pickled red onion and Mexican crème; sizzling meat, seafood or vegetarian fajitas; and prawn, scallop and halibut enchiladas.
Julian said they will offer a variety of healthy sides such as grilled asparagus and sweet potato fries, adding that everything is made from scratch, in-house on a daily basis.
While Agave will offer a different kind of Mexican fare, Federico said they are keeping a number of traditional dishes such as burritos, enchiladas and fajitas.
He and his siblings also owned the restaurant in Issaquah prior to the first Agave opening. Since the change almost two years ago, their clientele has consisted of old customers from their previous restaurant as well as new customers looking to try a different type of Mexican cuisine. The Ramoses hope to welcome old faces back as well as new faces for the first time when their Redmond restaurant opens next month. Former customers can also look forward to seeing familiar faces among the staff, many of which had previously worked at Las Margaritas for years — and in some cases, decades.
Julian said Agave in Redmond will have a casual and contemporary dining feel to it and seat roughly 180 people. Like Las Margaritas before it, the restaurant will be very family oriented.
“We’re still going to be family friendly, kid friendly,” Julian said.
This being said, the restaurant will also have a lively bar area with enough seating for 42 people. The bar, which will be separated from the main dining area, will feature wines from the Northwest and South America, along with a “huge tequila selection,” Julian said.
The name of the restaurant is fitting as blue agave is the plant from which tequila is made. All three Ramoses live on the Eastside, but they grew up in Jalisco, the Mexican state where tequila originated and is made. The country’s government had the name “tequila” protected in 1974 and limits its use to products distilled from agave grown in certain regions of Mexico.
To share their knowledge of tequila, Julian said Agave in Redmond will have tastings and other events for their customers. The restaurant can also accommodate private events in their party room, which will seat about 20 people.
Agave Cocina & Cantina is located at 17106 Redmond Way. For more information, visit www.agaverest.com or call (425) 881-8252.
