When you live in sunny southern California and you travel to Baja frequently, you get pretty spoiled when it comes to really good Mexican food. We love discovering how other parts of the country execute one of our favorite cuisines, and we were thrilled to try Cleveland’s Blue Agave restaurant, which serves upscale Mexican cuisine and hand-crafted margaritas in the city’s bustling East 4th Street District. 

Who owns Cleveland’s Blue Agave restaurant? 

Blue Agave is owned by Arturo Martinez, J. Alejandro Martinez and Guillermo Ayala. The group also owns a few other Mexican restaurants in the Cleveland area including Tres Potrillos, Tito’s Mexican Grill, Tacologist, Blue Habanero, and Fiesta Jalapeno. 

The trio’s restaurants are all incredibly popular, and they now have plans to expand into Boston. 

Location & Atmosphere

If you’re familiar with Cleveland’s East 4th Street District, it may be helpful to mention that Blue Agave is located in the same space that Zocalo used to occupy. This downtown Cleveland restaurant is in the heart of this bustling area and is close to destination nightlife venues like The House of Blues, the Comedy Club, and the Cavaliers home court, which makes it an ideal place to stop for a bite before or after a game. 

When it comes to decor and ambiance, Blue Agave has one of the most beautiful interiors we have ever seen. The restaurant is two stories, and a dramatic spiral staircase connects the upper and lower levels.

Vibrant Day of the Dead artwork lines the walls, and eye-catching hand-blown glass artwork is on display everywhere you look. It really is gorgeous and so unique. 

It’s also worth noting that this space has patio dining when weather allows. 

Food & Menu

The menu at Blue Agave is a little trimmed down compared to other restaurants of similar caliber, but that’s by design. The idea was to offer a smaller selection of authentic Mexican dishes that could be well-executed, rather than a sprawling menu with endless options.

Starters like melted queso, traditional chips and salsa, warm quesadillas, and tuna ceviche are a great way to start your meal. If you love tacos, you’re in luck. Blue Agave has one of the most robust street taco options we have ever seen. From chicken chipotle and garlic shrimp to carne asada made with certified Angus ribeye and carnitas featuring succulent slow-cooked pork, there is a taco style for every palate. 

Other menu highlights are sizzling fajitas, including a vegetarian option, three types of burritos, and a great selection of salads. 

Endless Signature Margarita Options

There are margaritas, and then there are made-from-scratch margaritas. One of the easiest ways to tell the quality of a Mexican restaurant is how they make their margaritas. If you see the neon green margarita mix being poured into your glass, there’s a good chance you’re not going to have the high-quality experience you were hoping for. 

The owners of Blue Agave consider their selection of signature margaritas to be a menu highlight. Each unique cocktail is made-to-order with fresh squeezed juices and fruit, and the variety on this list couldn’t be better. 

How can you say ‘no’ to drinks like the Coco Loco made with Coconut cream, Rumchata, agave, and tequila, or the Blood Orange with Freshly squeezed blood orange, lime, and tequila?

We tried the Hibiscus Margarita and the Spicy Cilantro Margarita and can vouch for the authentic quality. Both measured up to the authenticity of those we’ve enjoyed on our travels to restaurants in Baja’s Valle de Guadalupe.

Our Experience

There is a lot to love about this East 4th Street District Mexican restaurant. The food and drinks were great. The seafood relleno and the trio sampler were just perfect. But here’s the thing: the owners clearly invested a lot of time, energy, and creativity when they designed this concept, and the artwork, food, and cocktail selections were excellent. Our only qualm was with the service. It’s hard to know if the restaurant was understaffed the day we visited or if they just needed better staff training, but the service was far too slow.

We only saw five other tables seated, so it wasn’t a matter of the servers being overwhelmed. It looked like they just weren’t paying attention. If the service was better, Cleveland’s Blue Agave would easily have been a five-star experience. 

Final Thoughts

While the food and drinks were very good, the service wasn’t.  We are still going to recommend you try this restaurant; if not, just grab a margarita and walk around the space looking at the amazing artwork and murals. You just might want to prepare yourself for service that is a little underwhelming.