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Los Agaves - Milpas
600 N. Milpas St, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 564-2626
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Reviews by the General Public
Very nice experiences here
Reviewer: Jeff
from Goleta, CA
Been to Los Agaves Milpas a couple of times. Yes during busy times things can get backed up a bit. Deal with it! It's popular for a REASON. THE FOOD IS REALLY GOOD! I am a gringo who really appreciates good Mexican food and the food here is GREAT. Who are you kidding with your bad reviews? If it is too "noisy" for you go to some crummy restaurant with bad food that nobody goes to, then you won't have to listen to people's "noise". Honestly, it's a good place to go if you want good food, a good salsa bar, etc. I will agree to avoid the busy periods if you can, but that is testament to people's approval of the place, not otherwise.
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Nothing to be exited about but decent
Reviewer: Marc
from Santa Barbara, CA
Long line and very busy, hard to get a table to sit down, not well organize and food okay, not always the same so.
I keep going every once in a while
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No response to complaint
Reviewer: Bob
from Santa Barbara, CA
Regarding the non response of the GM of Los Agaves in the last review.
The last time I went to Los Agaves on Milpas was right after they opened the DLV location. Up to this point, every meal I ever had there was great. I ordered the seafood burrito on this visit and it had two shrimp and two pieces of fish the size of a pair of dice. I mentioned this lack of seafood to the hostess/server and she said she would mention it to the cooks. I followed this up with an email to the Los Agaves website and did not receive any response. My reaction at this point was if you cannot take the time to respond to a customer who takes the time to politely explain a problem, you do not deserve my business.
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Catering Review - a very bad experience
Reviewer: Jeff
from Santa Barbara, CA
I wanted to have a small event of 40 people catered by Los Agaves. I contacted the GM about 2 weeks before the event to talk options and pricing. We talked on a Monday a second time after talking the prior Friday to see if he had received 2 emails I sent with food and drink options. He did receive the emails but was busy so we both agreed that he'd have a preliminary cost estimate with suggestions by Wed. I know these things can take time and he had other proposals so I thought I'd get it by Friday vs. the Wed. we agreed upon. Well, to date, I never heard from him again and 2 weeks have lapsed. I gave up and Los Agaves lost a $1000+ order. I did not find it my place to harass him to order from HIS restaurant since the effort was on his side. Too bad he was so disorganized and unprofessional. I remain amazed that he never tried to contact me again as we had 2 conversations and 2 emails in that timeframe. We went with Los Arroyos and were quite happy with the food and their professional service.
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good but very loud
Reviewer: Tim
from Santa Barbara, CA
Came here a few times with my sister, always very busy, therefore loud. Nice salsa bar, chips sometimes are a bit hard. Everything i have tried has been good, my sister on the other hand has had 3 problems with her food, the manager did offer to fix the problem right away!! Very busy expect a wait.
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The best Mexican food in Santa Barbara
Reviewer: Tom
from Michigan and Berkeley
I came to Santa Barbara for several weeks to eat Mexican food, hike, and write. I tried a lot of restaurants. Los Agaves was by far my best experience in Santa Barbara. I lived a long time in Mexico and was surprised to find REAL Mexican food in California and in sufficient variety to start to reflect the immense variety and freshness of food in Mexico. The food is wonderful in Los Agaves. For the atmosphere, the Chinese have an expression for a good restaurant, which they call "renao" or "hot-noisy". It means a LOT of people love the place and come in droves and just go wild. I found the service great too, so friendly, typical Mexican hospitality. Viva Los Agaves!!!
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Solid Food, Chaotic Ambiance
Reviewer: MB
from Santa Barbara, CA
Tried LA Milpas for the first time last weekend. First, parking is a nightmare. Small lot and no street parking. Not a great way to start an evening out to dinner. Upon entry to the restaurant, the place is chaotic. You order at a counter and the food is brought to your table. Long line to order, no identifiable system to secure a table, so customers are milling around. Long line at the serve yourself salsa bar and self service drinks. So, you spend half your time in lines. The food is delicious. Home made with fresh quality ingredients. We had two different enchilada dishes and both were very good. They forgot to bring our side of guacamole, and it was okay, a little too much heat. LA does not "set" the table for you, you have to get your own utensils, which I think is unsanitary with so many customers hands reaching into the supply. For dining in customers, they should bring utensils and chips and salsa IMO. Overall, the food is great, but it is not a relaxing place for a night out to dinner.
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Waited an hour and was not worth it
Reviewer: Conner
from Santa Barbara, CA
The food here is not that good at all. I've had better tacos from Taco Bell! I think people just go here to go with the flow. The food here is not that satisfying and you have to wait roughly an hour to be seated! I don't recommend this place there are better mexican restaurants than this one.
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Los Agaves
Reviewer: Sally Spork
from Santa Barbara, CA
Atmosphere: Mexican-ish decor: not flashy, not fancy. Rustic appeal with wooden tables/chairs and colorful art posters/wall decor. There is quite a bit of indoor seating.
Service: This is an eatery where you order from the counter, like many Mexican cafes/restaurants, and given a number to place on table. I was with Sam and has an aversion to this setup of ordering: higher end prices but less customer service. I don't have a problem with it. However: the restaurant was packed seating all taken, you do you have to scope out where to sit while staying in line and when a spot opens up quickly grab it (I put my sunglasses/phone book on table) When we went to sit at our 'saved' spot we found someone had put their number on it (and yes my sunglasses/book was right beside it.) Hmm. Food came out quickly, but we only ordered a cold dish.
Food/drink: We ordered a beer and verde ceviche. It was so hot that we could barely eat it., too bad as there was plenty of seafood and avocado. In fact we didn't finish it, choosing to take it to go and give it someone we saw on the street. We told a passing server that it was extremely hot and can't finish it she said, "oh, yeah: three other people told me that." We said it would be nice if there was some indication of 'heat' by each item (as they do in Thai food), she agreed as that was a common problem. She also went on to say, 'it really depends who is cooking in the kitchen: one chef cooks a more tropical way another with more heat.' Boo on this! She also said, "just to let you know green sauces are hot, and red ones are more mild." Again Boo! Is this an insider secret? Consistency and clarity are key for a satisfying experience.
Summary: Los Agaves has an interesting menu and I've heard many good thing from Anglos and Latins alike. The place always looks packed, usually a good sign! I'd go back again. I do know that we will have to be scrutinizing about the dishes ordered in terms of 'heat' every time we order.
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COMPLETELY OVERRATED
Reviewer: Mike
from Santa Barbara, CA
This place is crowded for some reason but the food is below average. I just don't get it. There are plenty of much better Mexican places in Santa Barbara. You have to wait in line to order. The guy taking orders (supposedly the owner) was rude. It was hard to get a table. All things you can put up with if the food is good. It is not. I think the owners must be very busy every day posting positive reviews of their restaurant.
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Finally a TRUE Mexican restaurant in Santa Barbara!
Reviewer: Hector and Rocio
from Panaroma City, CA
Fiance and I visit SB annually at least 1-2 times a year. We have searched and tasted various so called Mexican restaurants in Goleta, Santa Barbara, and Montecito. Without hesitation and with conviction Los Agaves is truly authentic. From the first to last bite along with their warm thick tortillas that my fiance and I had to go with our orders we almost placed a second take out order before we left SB to go back home. Yes, you read that exactly, TAKE OUT. That says a lot. The restaurant is quite busy but nothing that I could not get used to especially with the delicious food they prepare when we make our return visit to SB later in 2013. Definitely coming back and spreading the news of this great place to all of my friends in Los Angeles.
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I love this place
Reviewer: Stu
from Santa Barbara, CA
Best Mexican food in town. My wife and I have never been disappointed. The chicken mole was great and the steak Alhambrs plate was incredible. Very busy but very friendly staff. Fine salsa bar. Imaginative menu as well as the standards you expect. The crowd is half Anglo and half Hispanic and everyone seemed to be enjoying their food. They have wine and beer and bottomless soda refills.
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