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    El Agave

    3.4 (144 reviews)
    ModerateMexican
    Closed 6:00 am - 11:00 pm

    El Agave Photos

    EL AGAVE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - El Agave

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    Reviews With Photos

    Enchilada Plate
    Ricardo J.

    This place has been a JC institution for quite a few years now. It offers some really good Mexican food at some really old school prices. We came here for the first time this last weekend (10/21/22) and were pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere, the service, and the quality of the food. The chips and salsa were delicious- the restaurant also offers three other salsas you can request early as they usually just come out with the meals. I had the cheese enchiladas with onions added on top. They came out hot and very cheesy. The enchiladas had good flavor as did the rice and beans sides. It was a generous helping of food for the price. I haven't seen single digit prices on cheese enchiladas since the 80s, it seems. The chiles toreados were amazing- big and spicy as they should be. The reports from my woman and my mom were that they also enjoyed their meals. My mom, especially, is a picky eater and tough to please, so that said a lot for me. We are looking forward to our next visit. There is so much to choose from, so I guess we will have to come back a lot!

    Sam G.

    I think this is one of the only good Mexican places in the Blanco area. Very authentic and the service definitely speaks Spanish. There will always be Mexican music playing on the radio and the decor is very authentic Mexican also. The backs of the benches are embroidered with the El Agave logo. Each bench even has a little painting of a Mexican house or horse or some kind of nostalgic Mexican scene. The 1 lb barbacoa plate is our go to. It's the perfect flavor of barbacoa that you're used to and it can definitely be shared and split between 2 people. Parking is easy and the prices are very affordable for what you would expect these days. We typically walk out paying only $40.

    Judy R.

    We're on our way to our next campground and drove through Johnson City. It is most adorable and has many local restaurants. We decided to try El Agave because it is too cold to eat outside. The restaurant is surprisingly large with an entry room. The chair and tables are beautiful and wooden with hand painted scenes on them. I had the ham and cheese omelette. It came with potatoes, retried beans and tortillas. Also topped with two thick pieces of bacon. Dave had the scrambled egg and pancake breakfast with the bacon on top. Our server brought spicy salsa and warmed tortilla chips out first. Then three different sauces. I used the green one, my favorite. I'm sure we won't have to eat for the rest of the day! Everything was fresh and hot and relish! We love supporting this local business and enjoying the local food on our journey!

    Threat of deadly weapon
    Lauren S.

    Food is fine, but service is real weird. We came for lunch on a Saturday and they seemed put out to serve us. Had to ask for silverware and they rolled their eyes. Never got a check so we went to the counter to pay and they just gave us a total. Had to ask to see the actual bill. The real kicker is the sign up front that says "we don't dial 911" with a shotgun attached. I love a good threat with my meal.

    Christian J.

    Great little tex-mex/mexican joint. The seats have cool embroidery and are very solid tables which adds to the natural Mexican restaurant feel. I usually get the barbacoa plate but the carne asada is also delicious. The margaritas seem a little bit syrupy. But the prices are very affordable and they'll usually walk out paying only 40 or $50 for two people. The chips and salsa that you originally get seem very authentic and the chips are very thick and crunchy. All in all this is definitely a good Mexican place if you're driving through Johnson City and need to grab a quick bite at an affordable price.

    Picadillo taco on corn tortillas. Not was we were expecting.
    C M.

    I ordered individual tacos- $3.50 each. I was expecting everything on them , like onion, cilantro, and lime but they came with NOTHING. At the end of our meals we went to pay. The waitress checked us out and quickly walked away. We were charged for a soda we returned. The waitress did a decent job but did not return to help resolve the issue. The male Manager came up and was rude! He should not multi task if he cannot place a friendly smile and friendly attitude towards a mistake his employee made. The issue was an easy fix but made a big deal about adjusting the bill after it was paid. The food wasn't that great. I could have gone to Taco Bell and we would have had better food and service. Will not be returning.

    If you want bad and rude service plus below average Mexican food - this is your place. We arrived with only 4 tables with guest. All tables had food served. We ordered our food and a beer. The beer was promptly delivered. Another two folks arrived and received their food within a few minutes and then an 8 person party arrived. When their food started arriving, I motioned for their waiter to come over. He looked at me and walked away. We figured my chile relleno was the item delaying but at this point we have been waiting more than 30 minutes, so my wife went and found the waitress playing on her phone hidden in a corner. When asked about the delay, she told my wife she had forgotten to turn in her order. We were her only table. When we originally ordered my wife had asked for her soft flour tortillas to be warmed up and of course, they were not. She asked to have two warmed up tortillas and those two were burnt, plus they tried to charge us. The whole staff was soooo smug, including the manager. Bottom line - absolutely horrible service and below average food.

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    Photo of Gary W.
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    3 months ago

    The food was great and the service was too! Very clean! Ambiance was very good. Will be back!

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    7 months ago

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    4 years ago

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    1 year ago

    The food and margaritas are great! Service is excellent. Decor- Tequila makes you dance!.

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    8 months ago

    Really great food, good service and a great looking interior. Went here after missing my hotels breakfast and it was worth it.

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    2 years ago

    We had lunch at the Blanco, TX location. The food and service was wonderful. Fajitas were delicious. Everyone loved their food in my group.

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    1 year ago

    i was given a raw burger and they told me it was my fault for ordering so late when that had at least 25 minutes to cook it which is enough

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    3 years ago

    Understand that they are busy with spring break BUT-The service is BAD!!!!! And not only this week! It is like this every time I come in!

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    9 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great food and service. Excellent homemade tortillas. Queso was also good. Large portions

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    El Charro Restaurant - Cowboy Enchiladas

    El Charro Restaurant

    3.9(128 reviews)
    0.9 mi
    $

    Every time I walk into El Charro, I am greeted with a friendly smile and feel super welcomed…read more Although I get most of my items to go, the staff must know my voice because my order is constantly changing and they never ask for my name. However every time, my request for a small side of the regular table salsa is already in my to go bag when I pick up...I don't even have to ask anymore! To me, that attention to detail and really knowing your customers is one of a kind. Thank you El Charro for always taking care of our local athletes before/after games when they come in starving and of course for making me feel like a VIP!!

    Overall: 3.5 (decent/good, but nothing great) Walking in we…read morenoticed it was a bit warm temp wise in the restaurant but still a good vibe, but right when we sat down (it's self seating, no hostess) they promptly brought us very large and crisp ice waters with limes which helped a lot. The chips and salsa were alright, a bit greasy chip wise but we liked the salsa. My husband and I ordered the Muchos Nachos with fajita meat and the Crispy Taco plate. My mexican food go to is usually tamales but they didn't have any :,(. The muchos nachos were definitely MUCHOS, I barely ate a third before calling it quits, you definitely get bang for your buck with this one, tasted pretty good too with good servings of jalapeños, sour cream, and guac. The crispy tacos had the same problem as the chips with being a bit too greasy for our liking, but the rice and beans were quite good and flavorful and made up for it a bit. Overall, I was filled up but if I ever came back to town and was reallyyyyy in the mood for mexican I would probably come here but avoid any fried things for sure.

    Photos
    El Charro Restaurant
    El Charro Restaurant - Combo plate!

    Combo plate!

    El Charro Restaurant - Menu

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    Menu

    Proof and Cooper's at the Lumberyard - Brisket stuffed jalapeño

    Proof and Cooper's at the Lumberyard

    3.4(184 reviews)
    0.5 mi

    This was such a friendly place for dinner. The service was so good, and it felt like they cared…read moreabout everyone who walked in the door. My parents loved their chicken fried steak and talked about it for a week seriously. Ha! Also, the peach cobbler is almost like if bread pudding and cobbler had a baby, and it's to die for! I would love to see some more vegetarian (or even vegan) options on the menu, though. We didn't know they had a shortened menu during the holidays, so I was bummed that they had taken the meatless burger option off the menu. I know that it is Johnson City, but with all the tourists, a good veg option would be really appreciated. I did have a delicious tomato soup, though. They have great drinks, too, and they had a few fun ones for the holidays. I will definitely return here with the fam when we are back in town.

    Let me first say I wish this establishment well, and hope they have success in their endeavors…read more I was in centex to visit daughter, and suggested a bbq tour of the small towns west of Aus. We arrived at P&C mid afternoon on a Monday. We were touring this and other towns, so only ordered the pulled pork sandwich, side of mac n cheese and side of mashed potatoes w gravy between the two of us. And some extra bbq sauce on the side. The pulled pork sandw comes premade with what looks to be homemade pickles, smoked pulled pork, coleslaw, & bbq sauce. The presentation is fairly impressive. Unfortunately, the taste did not measure up. We had bites of the sandwich as a whole, and also tasted the individual ingred by themself to get a feel for what contributed to the overall. The pulled pork was hit/miss. Some of it was generously smoked & that smokiness came through. Other bites of it the smoked flavor was not prominent. Mac n Cheese - solid. By far the best thing we tried. Super cheesy, flavorful. Nice work! Coleslaw - substandard. I'd say the C range. Pickles on the sandwich - they were thicker and appeared homemade. They didn't seem like they had been left to sit long enough on the shelf for the pickling to soak in. In appearance they were still very close to cucumbers instead of pickled cucumbers. Flavor wise they didn't taste like cukes, but nor did they add a dill-ish or sweet pickle flavor of substance. (Can see the pickles in attached pic, can see the color and texture doesn't look significantly pickled.) Sauce - extremely little flavor. The consistency was not watery, but you had to close your eyes and concentrate to taste what little flavor there was - as though it was watered down immensely. Sauce gets a D. Mashed potatoes & gravy. They served the gravy on the side. The potatoes themselves were good - a little buttery and therefore enjoyable. The consistency of the gravy was mealy - was unexpected, and odd. Lacked the common flavor of a hearty gravy begun with a roux of flour and meat drippings. (Zoom in on attached photo, you can see the mealy and almost-grainy texture of the gravy.) Overall we weren't impressed. The mac n cheese being the best thing is not what you expect at a bbq place. Like I said, we wish the establishment well. But we wouldn't come back when in Johnson City. Final note, the hostess/server was genuinely warm and friendly. She was wearing multiple hats, running around, but was pleasant and engaging.

    Photos
    Proof and Cooper's at the Lumberyard
    Proof and Cooper's at the Lumberyard
    Proof and Cooper's at the Lumberyard - Craft Cocktails

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    Craft Cocktails

    El Agave - mexican - Updated May 2026

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