Agave Social Curates an Authentic Mexican Dining (and Drinking) Experience in Narrragansett
The sophisticated little sister of Condesa restaurant group focuses on regional Mexican cooking and quality tequila and mezcal brands, with monthly educational tastings to teach guests about spirits.
A special scallops dish with a passion fruit margarita at Agave Social.
Agave Social restaurant is the sophisticated little sister of Condesa restaurant group. Located in Narragansett’s Pier Marketplace, this upscale Mexican restaurant features more regional menu items alongside an elevated agave spirits program with a focus on reputable tequila and mezcal brands.
Principal owner Roberto Leon opened the first Condesa in 2015 with his brother, and now they own four locations, including in Smithfield and West Warwick, Rhode Island, and in Watertown and Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The next wave of the restaurant group, Agave Social, opened in June of 2024.
“We wanted to do a different concept. When you think of great restaurants and great bar scenes, Mexico City comes to mind as one of the top three destinations in the world. But in the US, we always think of Mexican food as being a cheap commodity and tequila as a party spirit,” Leon says, “as opposed to a unique tasting experience. So, that’s the way we wanted to play it, and that’s how Agave Social came to be.”
While the Agave Social food menu does have the usual favorites like tacos, burritos and enchiladas, it also has many house specialities like you might find in Mexico City and regional cities, like the Guajillo Agave ribs, posole and slow-roasted meats like barbacoa and carnitas. And most dishes can be personalized by the diner with made-in-house salsas.
“Contrary to popular belief, Mexican food is not spicy,” Leon says. “That’s why we put salsas on the tables. And you can add as much or as little as you want, or don’t add anything at all. One of the big things I would also say to do is to order a good tequila with your food and sip it.”
The team prides itself on agave education, with Leon traveling to different parts of Mexico each year to learn from agave producers and tequila and mezcal distillers. He brings that knowledge back to Rhode Island, and passes inside intel on to guests.
Leon’s family immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the 1970s. He grew up in the hospitality industry, when his parents ran a restaurant called La Carreta in Manchester, New Hampshire. He is thrilled to be able to offer guests a more authentic Mexican dining experience through Agave Social and Condesa, with Agave Social part-owner Jed Cartwright by his side.
“I just love the hospitality industry. I love hosting and entertaining,” Leon says. “The vision was to highlight our culture in a different light, eventually, so baby steps, with progressions. Agave Social is a reflection of how we have evolved over the past fifteen years, to get to the point where we feel comfortable now that we can offer this type of cuisine.”
Agave Social often hosts tequila tastings paired with small bites at the restaurant to highlight a different high-end tequila or mezcal brand with educational notes. Leon also founded the New England Agave Club, which hopes to take two trips to Mexico each year to teach groups about the spirits by visiting agave producers and distilleries. “We’re lucky enough to be able to go to different parts of Mexico. So we went to Oaxaca, which is where they make mezcal. We went to Jalisco, and to the town of Tequila, all to visit different distilleries,” he says. “I’m always trying to learn more.”
Cartwright also travels to Mexico each year to learn about his family’s heritage on his mother’s side. He has explored Mexico with Leon, visiting Leon’s hometown near Tequila, the birthplace of the spirit. He hopes that more people can appreciate real Mexican cultural traditions and food and drink from different regions.
“It’s unfortunate that Mexico, in a lot of the world, gets a bad reputation for violence and negative things in the news,” Cartwright says. “It’s unfortunate that that has become the talking point of Mexico, when there are so many things to offer. As a Mexican-American, I have never felt in danger or in a bad situation. The one thing my mother wanted to impart on us all is our heritage, the regionality and the things that every area produces that are unique to those areas.”
Leon and Cartwright are delivering authenticity and true Mexican culture to Rhode Island through Condesa restaurants and Agave Social. “One of the things that gets lost is Mexico’s contributions to the world of gastronomy,” Leon says. “When you think of great restaurants and a great bar scene, a great dining scene, Mexico City is top of mind. I can’t stress it enough.”
Agave Social, 23 Pier Market Place, Narragansett, 401-795-4423, agavesocialcocina.com
