“Tequila is who we are,” Federico Ramos, owner of Seattle’s Agave Cocina & Tequila, says. “I drink nothing but tequila. This is my passion so much that we partner up with companies to customize our own tequila. We have one in barrel that we handpicked and customized it ourselves.”
So proud of his tequila and home state of Jalisco, the tequila capital and only origin for the agave spirit to be able to don the title, Ramos, and along with brother Julian, launched three sibling restaurants dedicated to the continously booming and omnipresent spirit. With the original location in the Highlands of Issaquah, Washington, the second restaurant opened in Redmond and the third is now in Seattle’s lower Queen Anne neighborhood.
Outside of tequila, the Ramos’ have another priority of their restaurants: freshness. “We wanted to do a Mexican concept but wanted to do something different,” Federico Ramos says. “We wanted to do something on the healthier side—as soon as you drop off the plate [at other Mexican restaurants], you need a to-go box. We sell fresher and healthier foods like free range meats, no preservatives, organic vegetables when we can and scratch products for everything made in house daily. Most are made to the order.”
Like the margaritas, which come from fresh-squeezed limes, house-made purees, scratch ingredients and Ramos’ handpicked tequila selection. Try the uber-fresh, straight-forward house margarita, with blanco tequila and fresh lemon and lime juices (add some prickly pear juice for an extra buck). Get a little crazy with the Fiery Margarita with chile de Arbol-infused tequila, ancho reyes, agave nectar and fresh lime or the Margarita Botanica with reposado, fresh lime juice, basil, chartreuse and agave nectar.
The Queen Anne restaurant itself is also made-from-scratch. “This is built from the ground up,” Ramos says. “The furniture, light fixtures, tiles and hand-carved stone [pillars] and stone barrel are all from Tonalá, Mexico. They made everything specifically for us.”
And Agave specially makes its plates for its guests. Everything is customizable and creative—welcoming those with more fickle dietary restrictions (vegans are welcome with open arms!) or those who want to add or subtract an ingredient. A must order (for those who eat meat) are the bacon-wrapped jalapeños, unctuously stuffed with goat cheese and leeks then topped with a bright cilantro-lime crème and piquant pineapple-serrano salsa. Or start with the guacamole, hand-mixed with roasted poblano, corn and queso fresco, the house-made tortilla chips are hot, hardy and more than able to handle the weight of the hefty guac. Go veggie with the garlic roasted cauliflower salad that is tossed in a house Green goddess dressing with baby spinach, avocado, tomato and cotija cheese. Do the opposite and try the grilled skirt steak carne asada (which might require a to-go box after all).
Lastly, but likely first in the mind of the Ramos brothers, is the world of tequila that exists at Agave. “We have the largest tequila selection in the state with more than 160 different tequilas,” Ramos says. “To qualify for our restaurant program, they must be 100 percent agave.”
The somewhat daunting tequila list offers approachable options, like with tastings hosted by producers or brand ambassadors and expertly programmed flights. The latter are divided up as “familia flights” (three tequilas from the same brand) and house favorites, that are comprised of a number of producers in hand-selected, complementary sets. What to pair them with food? Ramos can help there too, recommending that silver is best with the salad, resposdo with entree and anejo with dessert.
Raise your glass and make a toast to Agave and to tequila. “¡Arriba, abajo, al centro, pa’ dentro! [Up, down, in the middle, bottoms up!]”
