Agave Tapas Grill Restaurant & Bar

Mike Orren, says:

• Food:

  3/5

• Vibe:

  1/5

• Service:

  3/5

• Value:

  4/5

• Overall:

  3/5

Easily the best tapas restaurant on Lake Ray Hubbard...

This one's a matter of expectation setting. If you're expecting Cafe Madrid, Si Tapas, De Tapas, or similar Spanish restaurant, you'll be disappointed. But if you're looking for a quick bite on the lake you could do much worse.

The calamari (our default dish for comparing Tapas places) was good, but not great. It wasn't too chewy, but it was a little chewy and the seasoning on the batter and the aoli wasn't spectacular. Garlic cheese fries were OK, but certainly had no Spanish flair. Best dish we had was the ceviche, which rivaled neighbor Gloria's.

The <a href="http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2009/jun/16/agave-restaurant-rockwall-welcomes-credentialed-ne/">new menu</a> is more conventional than most Tapas places, with as many entrees as Tapas. (My guess is they learned that the lake crowd didn't get a world without entrees.)

Ambiance-wise, the place is a bit schizo. The bar is a see-and-be-seen modern-elegant affair. The restaurant area was, by contrast REALLY BRIGHTLY LIT and featuring fast-food tables and art from the Courtyard by Marriott collection. (This at 9:00 on a Friday.) As we finished, they started breaking down the tables and setting up a DJ for dancing.

At any rate, we'll assuredly be back, but only when we happen to be on the lake.