We hadn't been to El Agave in a while and wanted to go back. When the new owners first took over we'd eaten there and it was good. This time, our experience wasn't as good as before. When we arrived, there was one other couple at a table. Other than the staff, no one else was there. We were seated and given menus right away. Our server took our drink order and we asked for an order of guacamole. He brought our drinks along with a basket of chips and salsa quickly. We ordered our meals - a two tostada dinner and a three taco dinner when he served the guacamole. The chips and salsa were good, but I like my salsa a bit spicier so asked if they had any. He brought two bottles of homemade salsa, one green and one red. The guacamole was over $10 and was small. Strangely, it had somewhat of a sweet taste to it and wasn't what we expected. Our meals came out about ten minutes later. The presentation was nice, as you will see in my pictures. The food was okay - not spectacular. We had expected better. The Carne Asada in the tacos was actually very good. The Al Pastor was just okay. On the Tostadas we had Al Pastor, too, and one was guacamole which I've already described. We skipped desert. Although we weren't thrilled with the food, the portions were large and we were both very full when we finished. The service could have been better, especially since there were only two tables filled. After the food was served, we didn't see our server again. We waited for the check and finally had to get up to find them and ask for it. It is possible that there were only two people working. We didn't see any other employees so it may be the servers were also bartending and cooking, which could explain the service we experienced. Both of those we saw were very nice and pleasant, just not as present as we expected. read more

El Agave Mexican Restaurant - Tostada dinner - Mexican Near Me - Hoffman Estates, Illinois

See all

Saw this place driving home and decided to stop. The food was delicious and the staff was very nice and sweet. Will definitely be coming back. read more

See all

Always enjoy coming and been coming over 5 years. Nice family run small strip mall restaurant with friendly service and good food. Like the salsa and chips and entrees especially chili rellenos, tostada dinner, enchiladas dinner. read more

The food is fantastic and the people working there were so nice! It was such a great experience we are going again tonight.

We walked in on a Friday got the chicken nachos, kids chicken quesadilla, and three taco steak dinner. Everything was delicious and came out very fast. We will be back. read more

Great food, friendly staff and a good value for your dollar. Some of my favorites include the chicken enchiladas in verde sauce (has a nice, surprising kick) the mini burritos, chorizo tacos, and chimichanga. Beer selection is good too. read more

See all

This place is close to my dads house so I keep returning, despite recurring issues. I grew up working corporate owned restaurants so the training was great and maybe that means my standards are a little higher. Seems like the little things need tweaking and then I'd give it a higher score. Even when the place is EMPTY it still takes forever for menus, or the chips and salsa, or the drinks. There is never any music playing so you hear your neighbors conversations or kitchen noise. I always ask for some Mexican music for 'ambiance'. Once they put on the music, and I get my margarita, and munch on some chips, everything is better. Food is okay, but nothing out of this world. The lady (the owner?) stayed behind the bar chatting with one guest the whole time, while a gentleman ran around taking care of the whole place. He was great. But I feel like the whole team needs some training on the basics, including the owner. "Running a Restaurant 101." They have such an opportunity to make this place an amazing little local gem... but it just seems to fall short on a few things. read more

Excellent food and service! First time coming here and wanted to eat somewhere nearby! Perfect location as it's close to major streets. The place is very clean; servers were welcoming. The food was tasty: guacamole was fresh and creamy. I ordered steak fajitas and the skirt steak is on point! Finally a place that perfected the taste of skirt steak. This will be my go to place to eat! Highly recommended! read more

Sadly this restaurant has not improved over the years. We had steak burrito, chicken tacos and steak quesadillas. I give two stars for the owners, they are wonderful people and so nice, but they focus on low price with low quality ingredients. The salsa was mostly water, the steak had so much fat that I had to pull chicks out, and the rice had frozen vegetables in it (the rice might have been frozen too). I hope they step up the ingredients, they are wonderful people. read more

Delicious Mexican Food. As always they recommend the hand made corn tortillas. The guac is creamy and has the right texture. We will be back read more

I asked for no beans I got beans I asked for new plate with not beans and on the bottom was beans this places food was ok and it was expensive read more

First things first: this restaurant follows the COVID guidelines and adheres to wearing masks and no dining in per JB Pritzker. This restaurant is compliant. Didn't know this was here since I almost got food from Tacos El Norte, the Palatine location and not the Lake Zurich. Then I saw the ratings. So I went here as it's close to work. I got both the 3 taco dinner and a steak burrito. Both were great. IIRC, you get a choice of tacos MexTex style or the more authentic-ish with onions and cilantro. I chose the latter and it was mmm good. Burrito was also good too, and without RICE! It's very comparable to the burritos I love at El Faro in Summit - lots of steak, and the usual fixins'. Picked it up within 15 mins of submitting the order, ready for me when I arrived. Had this been a normal non-pandemic situation, ample space in front with more in back with the bar. Seems like a nice and clean restaurant. I'll be coming back to try more though my thing is with tacos, burritos and enchiladas with mole, so I look forward for more with an update. Very solid 4, actually 4.5. read more

We love going to this restaurant. We felt very much at home when we go there. We went there before it changed owner/name with our baby who is now 12 yo. That's how long we have been going to this restaurant. The food was great and the service was friendly. They used to have a few young staffers that was friendly and happy to chat with us. Recently, as we enter the restaurant we feel unwelcome. The staff was friendly to the other table however when turned to our table I feel the attitude change. Perhaps because we have kids and not ordering alcohol beverages or we ate too much chips and salsa that when asked to get extra salsa we got instead an extra chips and salsa ($2.75 extra charge). Our food arrived quickly which is good. However there was that feeling of having to ask for red and green sauce that made me angry. Other table got the sauces without asking however we have to ask to get them. We will certainly go back because my kids love Mexican food but might opt for take out instead. read more

Nice small restaurant with great Mexican food! Friendly owners and staff. Love their enchiladas.

Lemme first say that it was a catered event and wow !thats about all i can say il bein there for your food ,the steak and chicken taco platters withaweso.e beans and rice too ! Blammo nailed it !!! read more

Found this Mexican restaurant near where I recently moved to. Had few, but all good, reviews. I gave them a try. I usually get quesadillas or enchiladas; my wife gets tacos. So, we got both with chicken. We were both very happy with our meals! I picked up the food and saw they had a nice small restaurant with a bar area. I for sure will eat in and try some of their drinks once places open back up for indoor seating. The lady who took my order was very friendly. I see no reason to deduct any stars! read more

See all

My wife and I decided to check this place out after reading all the good reviews. Even though it's in a strip mall the inside is very comfortable and nicely laid out. The hostess was very friendly and got our menus right away after seating us. Our server got us drinks quickly. We order the guacamole dip as an appetizer it came within minutes and was very good.(see picture). I ordered a steak taco soft shell with no tomato and sour cream on the side. My wife ordered the fish tacos (tilapia) with pico de gallo on a soft shell. The place was filling up with other people so things were getting busier for our server. The food came quickly within 10 minutes my order had tomatoes but it was no big deal easy to scrape off. My sour cream was not there but that was no problem just to have them bring it. The server was attentive you know very busy and refill their drinks. The food was awesome! Everything was very fresh and tasted great. We were both very happy we made the trip to try it out. read more

El Agave Mexican Restaurant - Guacamole dip - Mexican Near Me - Hoffman Estates, Illinois

See all

Nice smaller neighborhood restaurant. Service has always been very friendly, good food, easy take-out orders. So nice to have this place in the neighborhood read more

El Agave Mexican Restaurant - the front of the restaurant - Mexican Near Me - Hoffman Estates, Illinois

I was at Agave yesterday and I I order enchiladas verdes , they were horrible , the sauce was so old that it was so acidity. , and my husband ordered chiles rellenos they were so old that they tasted funny , and is not the first time , but we. Used to love the place not anymore , won't go back read more

Have eaten here many times and have always enjoyed their food. Great salsa and guacamole! Enchiladas and tacos always prepared well. Warm welcoming family run restaurant. read more

the tacos were good they were not the best but definitely not the worst they were fresh they taste good the salsa and everything .. i would definitely go back read more

Just found this place recently and I wish I knew about it sooner. The staff was really friendly and the taco dinner was delicious. Will definitely be coming here more often. read more

Really good restaurant, I order my food over the phone and pick it up, I live really close by and the workers are very friendly and nice. I have never had a problem with them. I've been going there for over 4 years read more

We love El Agave and it is our go-to place for Mexican food. We love everything we have ordered there and have never been disappointed. We are happy to live near this restaurant so we can eat there often. Love the combo platters...the tostadas are so good! When we dine in, we also love their margaritas! read more

Is it possible to give zero stars? Because that's what I would give this restaurant. Since it changed ownership, the change in quality of the food has been very noticeable. We haven't been there in a while, but we decided to give them another try today. Not only did they charge us extra for regular toppings like onions and cheese on the tacos, but they shorted our order as well. I called to let them know of their discrepancy, and they were completely unsympathetic to their error. We will never patron this restaurant again. Muy malo. read more

Needed a quick tasty dinner at a good price. Found it! El Agave combo was delicious, the tostada was very good. Friendly staff. Will return. read more

So happy we tried this place out for dinner tonight! Ordered takeout - 2 steak tacos, 2 chorizo tacos, a steak burrito, and 1 steak chimichanga suiza dinner platter. Food was ready within in 15 minutes for takeout, and everything was DELICIOUS! Plenty of complimentary salsas too - the verde is good, and the red salsa has a kick! We will be ordering again from them soon. read more

The Burrito and guacamole was great. They had my order waiting for me when I got there. I will be coming back soon!

used to be one of my favorite resterants, even catered their for my sweet 16th birthday. But el agave experienced a change in management and yesterday, the waitress was extremealy unfriendly to my friends and I and even refused to split the check. After I ate their, I got food poisoning and today I spent the whole day sick, nauseous and vomiting. Additionally 3 of the 5 people who ate at el agave all experienced upset stomach. to top it all off, a friend who speaks Spanish, heard the el agave staff badmouthing customers in Spanish. I am very disappointed and as someone who eats el agave regularly, my family and I will not be coming back. read more

So happy this restaurant is in my neighborhood had the chicken taco dinner and it was generous and flavorful will definitely come back and recommend to anyone you will be pleased read more

This family-owned Mexican restaurant has friendly staff and reasonably priced food. It's a hidden gem inside a small strip mall. You can dine in or order take out. I eat here frequently and am never disappointed. They serve good quality food and take wonderful care of their customers. Highly recommend this place. read more

Went on Friday (9/17/21) at 7:15 pm. No greeter. WaIted a few minutes for someone to come from the back bar ( although I could hear employees talking loudly back there). Waitress spoke zero English ( even the most fundamental of words). Horrible service and the place was empty. Had 3 glasses of Diet Coke because it was all ice.... Got the bill and they charged $2.25 for each one. What a ripoff. Do not go here. The good reviews are definitely not real. read more

The food is really good here the meat is higher quality them some of the other tacos joints in the area I give em 5 stars they go out of there way to please read more

El Agave Mexican Restaurant, formerly Lilly's, has great authentic food, good service & a friendly atmosphere - nicely located in the shopping center on Algonquin & Huntington near the Walgreens. read more

Wow what a hidden gem! Food was fresh and delicious and margarita was great. We highly recommend!

100% recommend. definitely more affordable and it tastes amazing and super authentic. hella underrated. i got the steak burrito and it slapped. read more

This place, the food...AMAZING! Give this spot a try. Its def a sleeper restaurant. Hospitality was great too. Will be back sometime soon

Great food!!!! We were a fan of Lily's and did not know what to except with the new owners but were surprised in a good way. Lily's was very good but El Agave is much better! We would eat there again :) read more

Ducked in here one rainy Saturday afternoon and had a lovely Mexican lunch. The fish tacos were amazing, the service friendly and fun. Don't leave without having the flan - a fabulous finish to the meal! read more