Nice Spanish food. Had the steak and it tasted great. Didn't speak much English but were friendly nonetheless.

A pretty unassuming little restaurant in a strip mall that serves excellent food. My husband had the tempeh tacos and I had the chicken mole enchiladas. Both were delicious and enough left over for our dinner tomorrow. We sat at the bar and had good service from the bartender. When we are back in the island, I would definitely make a return visit. I would suggest reservations. They get packed. read more

Some of the best food we've had so far in OBX. Small place-need reservation. We arrived early, they were emptier and could accommodate us. We're a gluten free family. Chips and salsa came out along with drinks. Food shortly thereafter. I had chicken enchiladas mole, son's had chicken tacos and carnitas as did my wife. I had a Marg rocks. Everything's was very delicious. Server was great as was supporting staff. We absolutely will come back. If you like authentic Mexican-this is it. read more

Made a reservation Got a confirmation email When we arrived the manager stated sorry, we don't have that reservation. Showed the confirmation and he stated sorry no room. Standing in front of the restaurant embarrassed (with 3 visible open socially distant tables) we elected to leave after he stated u can wait if u want but I don't know if we can sit u this evening. Not the best customer service!!! Previous visits food has been good. Won't go back though. read more

Great Mexican place near Corolla! Came with my family to a house in Corolla and found this place to eat dinner. The chips and salsa were GREAT, and our waiter was great at keeping them filled. I ordered a copa del sur which was delicious! Not too sweet, plus they poured a little heavy. For my main, I got the shrimp tacos which were delicious. They were overfilled with the mango salsa and lettuce, but the shrimp were fried perfectly. The salsa complimented the shrimp perfectly. Unfortunately, we were rushed out due to a dinner reservation for our table, but our waiter was nice enough to give us a locals discount of 10%! read more

Was here with my wife for the first time today. We enjoyed it. The vibe is chill. The decor is cool. Most importantly the food was GOOD! She got pork enchiladas, i got shrimp tacos, we had a side of guacamole. The dinners came with refried beans and rice. We were given salsa and chips upon sitting, with water. We ordered iced teas. Everything was fresh, tasty and well put together. We have enough for seconds! Service was fast and friendly. We would go back anytime we are in the area and feel like this type of food. If your in the mood for "Mexican" food, you cant go wrong with this place. read more

Love the food Love the drinks Steve is awesome! Always hit this spot every year we come down. read more

This is the place to go to... didn't expect such good Mexican fare in North Carolina. The owner is one of the most genuine guys in Outer Banks and if you're considering going here I urge you to do it ... the food and service surely won't disappoint read more

Decent service but the food was sub par at best not to mention the most expensive Mexican food I have ever eaten. Not sure what I expected, but I would suggest traveling across the street to the Philly cheesesteak shop. read more

Upscale Mexican, loved it! The menu had your typical Mexican staples such as tacos, quesadillas, and enchiladas, but I had one of the house specialties, a salmon dish, the salmon was cooked to perfection and the spice red sauce was exceptionally delicious. The meal came with a large ear of Mexican street corn and beans and rice were in side dishes (served family style). Hubby had a seafood enchilada dish--looked amazing, tasted amazing. Their corn chips were light, crispy and plentiful and their salsa was nice and garlicy. My only complaint would be that the place is so small, it would not be good for a big group of people (more than 10). Attentive wait staff and floor manager! We will be back! :) read more

I used to like this place a lot. The food is delicious, but now they're way too busy for their own good. The service has suffered severely. They're borderline insulting to guests. There is always a wait, and reservation times stink. We tried to order carry out and they had to check to see if there were too many tickets in already and there were. This place is another victim of how overcrowded the Outer Banks has become. If you do manage to be served there, queso is great. Spicy margaritas are good. So are the fish tacos. Not sure if we'll bother to try again. read more

I ordered the chicken tacos and the meat was completely bland, no seasoning. Everything looked delicious here but had no flavor. The chips tasted like the restaurant style tortilla chips that you buy from Aldi and the salsa treated like it was from a jar. My husband ordered the quesadilla and it was huge and no spice or seasoning, just completely lacking in the flavors you crave at a Mexican restaurant. I have never seen food that looked so pretty but had zero flavor. Very disappointing. read more

Very disappointed with my experience here. We called in an order for pickup. They did tell us that they were short staffed and it would be an hour and 15 minutes before our order would be ready for pick up. When we got there to pick up, they pulled our ticket to take to the kitchen. It hadn't even been started. So we ordered a drink while we waited. It was another 45 minutes until we got our order. There were only 2 dishes in our order. Got it home to find that the cheese quesadilla I ordered had pork in it. When I called they told me it was tempeh. It didn't say anywhere on the menu that the cheese quesadilla had tempeh in it. And I had specifically told them I just wanted the cheese and veggies. Won't be going back there. read more

A big round of applause for the staff!! We stopped here for lunch after arriving on the island and didn't know all of our friends would slowly start arriving and want to meet up with us. The staff was so accommodating by putting tables together and trying to seat us all as close as possible... and this was during lunch rush on a Saturday! One of the staff also started coloring with our kids when they started getting antsy (we were there for about 2 hours as everyone else was arriving, ordered and ate). Oh, and the food was absolutely delicious! Super fresh and no complaints from anyone in our group of 16! read more

Great service to DELIOUS food!! It is a small place and we had made a reservation the day we had arrived. It was well worth the wait. Drinks were equally good. For my vegetarian folks, ample of selection and the restaurant is accommodating. read more

This place was disappointing... server was rude, salsa was watery, chips were greasy, we had to beg for more chips and water, food was gross, asked server for a modified version of dish and he told me it would be disgusting that way, definitely not a place for picky eaters. read more

The dinner started off well, but after we got our drinks and appetizer, we didn't hear from our waiter again. We had to ask about our order 45 mins later. Then they had a different waiter bring our food with the only explanation being that they were busy. It's a pretty small restaurant and it was a Tuesday...not a busy night. They really missed the mark with communicating to us. Instead of cutting the bill by 20% (or whatever) they gave us a piece of pie (there were 7 of us) and the waitress gave two of our 3 children maracas...thanks for leaving one of the kids out. Just missed the mark. Oh and the food was just OK. The waiter and staff can make all the difference in the experience! read more

3 adults 2 kids & we all loved everything. Kids had cheese quesadillas & cheese dip which was really good. Chips where so thin & fresh, too. Hubby had fish tostado, I had chicken taquitos, & shared brisket tacos with my daughter. The tacos were the best of everything & I highly recommend giving it a try. Only complaint is a little pricey. read more

Drove 30 minutes to come here for dinner. Website says open but door days 'closed on mondays'. We are not the only people that have showed up tonight thinking the restaurant was open. Please update your website to be courteous to future patrons read more

See all

The food was fantastic. Yummy chips and salsa. Fajitas were so yummy as were the margaritas. Everyone was very friendly and the service was outstanding. read more

Amazing! I have never had better Asada tacos! Truly ready to have them again tomorrow! Guacamole also a must! Clean establishment, friendly service, great family atmosphere, and truly wonderful food! read more

I went to this restaurant with my family on vacation, and every year we come here and their food is normally good. This time when I came, I ordered the vegetarian tacos and rice. We had to wait a long time although the restaurant was practically empty. When I got my food, I noticed that I didn't get the rice that is supposed to come on the side. When I tasted the taco, I almost gagged. Not only was it piled with onions, it had a sweet taste, but it wasn't a good sweet. I asked my cousin if her tacos tasted the same, she said she would refuse to eat them! About an hour into dinner, my whole table noticed that mostly all the waiters were not doing their job and sitting at a table eating. We eventually couldn't take it and we left without dinner. If you ever visit the Corolla area in North Carolina, your experience there could be a 50/50 situation. I would not go there again for sure. read more

Agave Roja - Mexican Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

We were down in the OBX with two other families, so we had 12 in our group (6 adults and 6 kids). Since so many places in Corolla don't take reservations or you have to book them weeks in advance, we were having trouble finding a place to eat with our size party and not having to wait for 1.5 to two hours, as that wouldn't work well with 6 kids. We called Agave Roja and while they do take reservations, they couldn't accommodate our party that evening, so we inquired about take out. They normally don't do take out for that many people, but they made an exception for us and asked us to get our order in by 2pm and they would make it before their dinner rush, so we could pick it up sometime between 5 and 5:30pm. We really appreciated him making the exception for us...great customer service! We arrive to pick up our food and everything was ready and packed into bags! Cute little modern Mexican place and next time, we would call ahead and get reservations. Once we got the food home, we dug in! Guacamole...very good! Ceviche...excellent! Tacos de Cameron's...excellent!! Salsa...excellent!! Tacos de Pollo...very good! Pollo Mole Colorado...pretty good! With a mole sauce, I'm used to it being more spicy than sweet, and this had more of a cinnamon flavor to it. Kids went pretty much was basic cheese or chicken quesadillas and all said it was good. Overall, really enjoyed our meal and next time we are in the OBX, would make sure we make reservations in advance so that we can dine-in. Thanks again for making the exception on the take-out!! read more

When we entered there were plenty of open tables. We were quickly seated and served chips with salsa. This is where the positive experience ends. Our server never came back. We watched while several others were seated but left unattended. After 25 minutes of waiting to have our drink orders taken (not even our food order) and trying to politely grab the attention of someone, we decided to leave. read more

Several years later, and I'm still telling friends that go to Corolla about the ribs here. Amazing!

We have gone here several times in the past and had great meals, but this past trip was underwhelming. Nothing was bad but nothing was outstanding. The drinks are great but the glass of sangria had more fruit than wine. A larger glass would have been great, or maybe less fruit? I had the fajitas and the steak was slightly over cooked. The veggies were fresh but overcharred and the tortillas were wrapped in waxed paper inside the tortilla warmer - which they stuck to. On the plus side, the service was excellent - friendly, helpful and seemed genuinely glad to have us. read more

Worst service ever from management. The only tip I have is if you complain about your rare local tuna being grey and frozen just ask the manager what he recomends he do about it and you'll be given the option to leave. All 7 of you. No matter what's been eaten or drank. read more

Delicious meal! The best refried beans we've ever had! Service was friendly and our drinks stayed filled. Only suggestion - reservations are highly recommended on the weekends or in season. It is pretty small and it was very busy. read more

Bad food made worse by terrible customer service (e.g. a medium rare tuna burger shouldn't be frozen in the middle). Slow servers, wrong orders, and worst of all, confrontational management. #everbackwards read more

Bad service. Barely could call it Mexican food if you know what good Mexican food is. None of the food seems authentic and high prices for it to taste not authentic. Asked for a straw twice and am still here waiting for one 30 minutes later. Highly do not recommend read more

Best Mexican food I have had in a long time. Ribs were incredible. Call ahead and get a reservation. Place is absolutely worth it!! Update - ate here again in July 2019. Get the ribs. Not the whole rack, that's too much with the sides, but the half rack is perfect. Dip the meat in the chimichura sauce. It is fantastic. Really awesome Mexican food. Margaritas were excellent as well. Eat here. read more

Food: Some of the food was great- the chicken tortilla soup and the guacamole were great. The chicken taco's weren't good. It was the same shredded chicken from the soup. It was missing flavor. My son had steak quesadilla- kids version, no good. My husbands dinner was very good. He had a different taco. I would try it again for the food but wouldn't go back without a good reason. Service: slow, our waiter was friendly but really needs to brush up oh his skills- seems new. Confused our credit cards and was a bit scattered. Not intentional. Cost: The bill was $60+ for two adults and 2 kids. Overall: the inconsistency in the food and ok service, I would skip it. I have never found a Yelp review that was so good and not loved it. I was disappointed. That being said, maybe it was a one time bad moment. Their reviews are great so not sure what happened when I went. read more

Tried to dine here last night but the hostess was determined to turn us away. We walked in at 5:45 and half of the restaurant was full. Hostess took a few Minutes to greet us. We were asked if we had a reservation and since we didn't, she said it would be 6:45 before she could seat us. We asked if we could order to go and she said no, the kitchen is too small and they were too busy. There was a table empty, nothing set up and we asked if we could sit there. The hostess was increasingly rude and said again, "no seating til 6:45." We own a restaurant and were stunned at the repetition of NO NO NO. We were not encouraged to stay, sit at the bar, have a drink and wait for a table. Too bad because we had been referred to this restaurant by a food sales rep, a liquor rep and two home owners. Would love to add a review on the food, but the hostess needs training and customer service skills. Fortunately in the same building is fun, open to seat restaurant named Tomato Patch Pizzeria. We were greeted when we entered with a smile, seated immediately and thanked for dining with them by our server and hostess. 100% positive experience that Agave could learn from. We had the works fries with Bacon, what a treat! There were several delicious beers on tap and we had a great meal! Thanks for turning around the night and making us feel welcomed!!! read more

What an amazing Mexican restaurant!! We had BBQ ribs for an app and they may have been the best we have ever had! Also a great app is the zucchini and corn cream. Literally. Wonderful My husband and I split a portion of fajitas for lunch and it was a perfect size for the two of us. For dinner, we might have each gotten our own and expected leftovers! If you can ask for a waitress, ask for Taylor! She was another great part of this experience Super attentive read more

I wish I could comment in the food but we were rudely turned away. 2 hour wait to be seated. .mind you there were empty tables and one party of 2 waiting. As a service industry person, I understand reservations but they are not a guarantee of a table at the moment you walk in. We said ok, we will sit at the bar. The bartender YELLS across the bar, nope my bar is about to fill up! !! Are you kidding me? A bartender turning a customer away from ordering a drink? We just wanted to regroup and figure out where to go to dinner. Terrible customer service. GET OVER YOURSELVES We are now at la dolce vita.. An amazing Italian place that welcomed us with open arms even though we didn't have a reservation read more

Stop eating apple fritters from Dunkin' Donuts for dinner and go to Agave Roja! Their fish tacos and shrimp tacos are amazing. Dress code is tourista casual, so don't show up in a tuxedo and monocle. You'll feel overdressed. This place is an elite Corolla food spot. Worth the $$, worth the wait. read more

I'm going to give my first one-star review. I was so mad at this place. I came about 7pm on Friday night looking to place an order for takeout and was refused. Staff said they were too busy and would not accommodate until 9:30pm or later. That's poor customer service since nothing I saw had a mention about no takeout during busy times. Too bad because I had about a $150 order and I would have bought drinks while waiting. read more

Not sure what words to describe Agave Roja that can't be summed up with one word: AWESOME! Drinks: Excellent Mixolgist Estaban is muy benito! Ceviche - Out of this world Pork Ribs - best around Some kind of seafood enchilada - Some kind of wonderful Service - best in class Atmosphere - airy, cool, bustling yet intimate- outside seating nice touch My complements to the chef - Juan Oh yeah One last suggestion Chili Chocolate Torte read more

Let me start by saying the food was inventive and fresh. My husband and I really enjoyed our meals here. Chips were crispy and light. Salsa had a nice thickness to it with a great flavor. Guacamole was very tasty, but very rich and almost too creamy. For lunch, I ordered the shrimp tacos. The lunch portion was two tacos - more than enough for me. The shrimp were very lightly breaded, slightly crisp, juicy and flavorful. My husband ordered the chile con carne which was braised pork enchiladas topped with a tomatillo serrano sauce. Both were served with sides of delicious refried black beans and rice. The beans had so much flavor and my husband declared them the best he had ever had. I have to agree. They have a nice selection of tequila, especially for a small restaurant in Corolla. Every item on the menu had a tequila pairing with descriptions of the tequila which I thought was a nice touch. The margaritas were delicious - Konan mixed a mean margarita. I love when house made mix is used as it so improves the flavor of the drink. I would have rated Agave Roja 5 stars, but there was an unmistakable tension in the restaurant which almost made our dining experience a bit uncomfortable. We thought about lingering for another margarita since it was cold and raining, but instead decided to move on. While we received decent service at the bar, without going into too much detail, I didn't sense a feeling of teamwork amongst the people working - just a very weird vibe for what should be a relaxing lunch at the beach. Quick tip - Agave Roja is small. If you wish to dine during peak hours, make reservations. The menu at lunch is understandably smaller so I really do want to come back my next visit to try some of the dinner menu items. Their food is delicious. Try it - I doubt you will be disappointed. read more

This is hands down the best Mexican food I have ever eaten, now remember this is modern Mexican. We had street corn which was amazing!!! Also had the fish tacos and a burrito. The burrito I highly recommend- it was infused with so many flavors both sweet and spicy. The tacos were also full of flavor and awesome but the burrito was even better! Even the chips salsa and quest was great. I will definitely be coming back here again. Try t, You won't be disappointed! read more