Agave Bandido - Lakewood Ranch, FL
Recently, while looking for a new place to try, we came across Agave Bandido in Lakewood Ranch. It had only recently opened in an upscale area called Waterside. Waterside is a part of Lakewood Ranch, designed to be a place where you can live, shop, work, and of course…..eat. The area is beautiful, but you should expect everything’s going to be a bit elevated, usually including the prices.
After seeing the cool vibe on our quick research into Agave Bandido, we knew we needed to check it out.
According to their website, Agave Bandido is a South Florida inspired Mexican restaurant and tequila bar offering authentic creations and a lively ambiance. They currently have three locations; the one we tried, another in Pembroke Pines, FL, and the last in Dunwoody, GA.
When looking at the menu, we were happy to see that they while they offered tacos in groupings of two, you could still order individual tacos which they called bandido tacos for some reason….or so we thought. As we got to the restaurant, we started worrying that we couldn’t order a la carte. While looking at the menu, we realized that the tacos are served in pairs, along with rice and beans (or other sides), and our server informed us that the bandido taco was not what they called a la carte tacos, it was a taco that they would assemble on top of shredded cheese, creating a thick cheesy outer shell.
As we began to worry that we wouldn’t be able to order our typical tacos for the review, we described to our server Aidan what we were looking to do, and he jumped in and went out of his way to help us. He let us know that while it wasn’t on the menu, you could mix and match the taco combo, and even add one to it. This solved our problem, allowing us to order our Three Amigos along with a single bandido taco for our Wildcard. We truly couldn’t have done this review without Aidan’s help.
Crunching the Numbers:
The Tacothority Scorecard
Our taco rating system runs from 0 to 10, where 5 is perfectly average, and 10 is pure taco nirvana. A 0 is the dreaded "Sad Taco"—so bad you’d prefer last week's leftovers. A 5 is a neutral, forgettable taco, while anything above that ranges from decent (6-7) to almost perfect (8-9). A 10 is the ultimate taco experience—flawless in every way.
Agave Bandido - Carne Asada, Adobo Chicken, Carnitas
The Three Amigos
Steak - 8.2
The steak taco was filled with HUGE strips of steak, seasoned quite well, cooked to the right temp, and it had good flavor. Paired with the chimichurri and radish, it was a balanced bite. The trouble I had with it was that the strips of steak were just too big. Instead of taking a clean bite, you’re basically forced to try to rip and tear each bite, creating a bit of a mess. On a positive note, it is the only taco that didn’t blow through the tortilla (I will take into account that I have to take pictures of everything before eating it). If they would’ve used chopped pieces of steak, it may have been closer to a 9.
Adobo Chicken - 8.0
The Adobo Chicken was tinga-esque, with a marinated and shredded chicken, topped with queso fresco, salsa verde, pico, and radish. While it looked a bit complex, it did look good. The tortilla was good, but as noted above, it fell apart pretty quickly, and it may have fared better if double wrapped, but if you’re not taking a ton of photos, it may hold up. Tortilla aside, it had good flavor and texture, and the pairing of their salsa verde (which uses serrano pepper) and the queso fresco made for a good balance that we really enjoyed.
Carnitas 7.3
Filled with solid chunks of pork, garnished with pickled onion, radish, and chimichurri, the carnitas was still a bit “simple” compared to the adobo chicken, but sometimes simple is a good thing. The pork was flavorful, but a bit fatty and greasy, contributing to both a blown out tortilla and a puddle of juices. The taco was good, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the others.
Agave Bandido - Barbacoa Bandido Taco
The Wildcard
Going beyond the usual lineup, The Wildcard is the taco that stands out—whether it’s the restaurant’s go-to recommendation or just one that caught my eye. It’s the bonus option that brings something different to the plate.
Bandido Barbacoa - 9.2
While the menu didn’t do much for describing what the bandido taco was, our server let us know that it was a taco that they then cooked atop a bed of cotija and cheddar cheeses, making for an outer shell that consisted entirely of cheese….and we like cheese, so we were looking forward to trying this.
At Agave Bandido, every taco can be ordered this way, and we decided that the barbacoa would be a good option.
The barbacoa itself was cooked very well, providing some depth of texture in the meat itself, including some charred bits that added a nice “crunch”. Before even taking the cheesy shell into account, this was the most visually striking taco, covered with pico, queso fresco, pickled onions, and a house hot sauce. Before picking up the taco, you really get a good look at the cheese and how it crisps up on the edges.
The simple fact that the cheese was adding structure was a win given how the tortilla would’ve definitely blown out on its own given the heft this taco had. On just the first bite it was clear that this was the best taco we had. The savory bite of cheesy shell came on each bite, and brought such a balance to the taco. It was as heavy with cheese as you’d imagine, and if you don’t like cheese, you might want to skip the bandido tacos, but if you like cheese, you better get one!
*Sidenote - this would be incredible if you have a hangover.
Agave Bandido - Chips, Salsa and Guac Flight
Notable Mention
The Chips, Salsa & Guac Flight
Aside from the bandido taco and the cheesy shell, the surprise of the day was the guac flight and the two house-made salsas. The chips themselves were very good with a near perfect crunch, topped with just the right amount of salt and tajin seasoning.
Starting with the salsa, we were really enjoying the salsa verde which we correctly surmised was serrano based on it’s savory profile. It was very, very good. The salsa roja was also tasty, and a bit thicker, but the winner was definitely the salsa verde.
The guac flight was also surprising, with three very different taste profiles; Esquite, spicy chile, and pineapple bacon. As one might guess, the esquite guac had some corn, onion, cotija cheese, as well as a chipotle aioli. making for a savory creamy dip. The pineapple bacon was good, but it was just contrasting flavors that felt simple.
Our favorite guac was the spicy chile. It didn’t look too spicy, but the green chile and jalapeno peppers added a bit of a kick. Texturally very good with a nice crunch, we found it to be very refreshing, citrusy, and it just felt like it had a very fresh bite. We ate every bit of this particular guac.
Final Thoughts
It’s hard to determine if the barbacoa taco was the “best” overall taco, but it’s clear that the bandido taco was something new that we really enjoyed. This would be a great place to go for a date night or a quick sophisticated lunch. The atmosphere was definitely an added highlight, largely consisting of lots of murals, bright colors, and cool accent pieces and unique lamps.
We were also really surprised by the price. It was “higher”, but for what we ate, we spent a reasonable amount, and it was well worth it.
Final Final Thoughts
When coming into a new place to review, it’s typically my preference that I don’t make a big deal out of it, and try my best to avoid the “We’re a taco blog here to review” type of conversation, largely because I know we’re just getting into our groove and I definitely don’t want to seem like I’m something that I am not.
But when it came to figuring out how to order at Agave Bandido, we mentioned what we were trying to do, and Aidan truly went above and beyond to help us out. Aside from helping us order, he shared some great thoughts and seemed hyped about our purpose.
In telling him the story of Tacothority and the ~7 year gap that took place, one thing that really hit me was when he said “Don’t give up, just keep doing it…imagine where you’d be if you kept going the last seven years”.
I can’t turn back time, but I can give it my best effort this go around. I do this to share my love for tacos, and I just hope others will like it.
This one’s for you, Aidan!
