Westin Desert Willow - Agave Grill

[daviator]

I heard that Agave Grill, the on-site restaurant at Westin Desert Willow, finally reopened last month after having been closed since March of 2020. That's some good news, if true.

I will look forward to checking it out when we are there in October.

I am hopeful that they will soon restore the items removed from rooms at the beginning of the pandemic, and restart the midweek tidy service. Does anyone know if midweek tidies have resumed at any of the Vistana properties?

If they replace the missing items and restore the tidy service, I think the resort will be back to 100% of pre-Covid operations.

 

[Olienh]

I heard that Agave Grill, the on-site restaurant at Westin Desert Willow, finally reopened last month after having been closed since March of 2020. That's some good news, if true.

I will look forward to checking it out when we are there in October.

I am hopeful that they will soon restore the items removed from rooms at the beginning of the pandemic, and restart the midweek tidy service. Does anyone know if midweek tidies have resumed at any of the Vistana properties?

If they replace the missing items and restore the tidy service, I think the resort will be back to 100% of pre-Covid operations.

According to Yelp it is finally open again: https://www.yelp.com/biz/agave-grill-and-bar-palm-desert

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I'm glad to read that they're open again. Their website says that they are still closed but the Yelp post is encouraging.

 

[dcornell]

We were just there and it was NOT open. Sad. However, you could order food from the Mirage Pool Bar. Reasonable but limited selection. Food is prepared over at the Agave restaurant, packaged to go in styrofoam containers, and delivered. Was tasty....... but not really......restaurant-y.

 

[Mulege]

We gave up. Found a great place called Fresh Agave in Palm Desert. Fun place and both locals and tourists. It’s off 111.

 

[daviator]

We gave up. Found a great place called Fresh Agave in Palm Desert. Fun place and both locals and tourists. It’s off 111.

+1 for Fresh Agave. Great place, great food and drinks.

 

[critterchick]

We checked in today. Agave opened on Tuesday. It’s a soft opening - dinner only with a limited menu. We picked up menus at the bar and went to a table. Sat for 20 minutes while runners brought food to other tables and ignored us as they passed by. So we went to the bar where we were served promptly. The deal is that we’re supposed to order at the bar first and then sit a a table - I guess we missed that part. No big deal. Food was pub grub - Burgers, chicken, salads and appies. Very tasty. They hope to expand the menu and get more staff. And maybe open for breakfast and lunch.

 

[daviator]

Oh that’s fantastic news. We are heading down to WDW tomorrow and will definitely try the new Agave Grill while we are there.

 

[Red elephant]

I heard that Agave Grill, the on-site restaurant at Westin Desert Willow, finally reopened last month after having been closed since March of 2020. That's some good news, if true.

I will look forward to checking it out when we are there in October.

I am hopeful that they will soon restore the items removed from rooms at the beginning of the pandemic, and restart the midweek tidy service. Does anyone know if midweek tidies have resumed at any of the Vistana properties?

If they replace the missing items and restore the tidy service, I think the resort will be back to 100% of pre-Covid operations.

Just left Westin Kierland and they had midweek clean up service .

 

[daviator]

WDW still doesn’t have mid-week tidy service restored.

 

[Mulege]

Let us know how the food is.

 

[critterchick]

Let us know how the food is.

I did. It’s tasty pub grub.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I contacted the Agave Grill today and they confirmed that it is open and they have a full menu. I told them that on the Marriott site and on OpenTable, they they are still listed as closed. I communicated this via FB and they said that they would follow up to correct this misinformation.

 

[daviator]

I took a photo of the menu and will try to attach it here. Restaurant is busy! Staff is friendly and enthusiastic.

The "Spicy Westin" burger was excellent. I don't eat burgers often these days, and this one was well worth the splurge. Also highly recommend the Agave Margarita. Kevin the bartender did a great job.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I only ate there once, a few years ago and I recall that they had a broader menu, including pizza, Chicken Marsala and prime rib (might have been a special). Maybe I'm mistaken...

@daviator, do you think that this is the lunch/dinner menu or just the luncheon menu?

 

[zinger1457]

Looks like dinner only, the photo of the menu shows "Served From 4PM to 9PM" on the top left.

 

[critterchick]

We just left the resort yesterday. Agave is only open for dinner with a limited, but very tasty, menu. The arugula and prosciutto flatbread is to die for. Restaurant closes at 9 and the bar at 10.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I contacted Agave Grill via FB and received the following response:

"The menu has changed to foods more along the lines of sandwiches and wraps."

While it is nice that they have reopened, I a bit disappointed that they have reduced the menu so significantly. I liked their Prime rib special as well as their non-sandwich items. But I'll try it out in December.

 

[daviator]

I'm told that it has been a challenge to get the restaurant reopened due to staffing issues, but also because the restaurant apparently was losing money pre-Covid and the developer doesn't want to operate the restaurant if it can't, at least, break even. That doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

So they have reopened with a pared-down menu and essentially counter service – you order at the bar and they will bring the food to you when ready – and a minimal staff. But I am told that they're pleased with the amount of business they've done in the first couple of weeks, and the intent is to move toward a more full-service model and probably some expansion of the menu as they are able to.

Although the menu is limited, everything I've tried has been really delicious. So my opinion is that they are doing things well. I'd rather have a few dishes that are really good as opposed to an expansive menu of mediocre food. I thought the (new) staff they've hired for the restaurant were really efficient, attentive and personable too.

I expect the offerings will evolve as time goes on, but I am happy to have the restaurant and bar open and filled with energetic diners and drinkers.

I heard that they expect to be able to bring back the mid-week tidy service (for the rooms) in January. They seem to be a lot closer to full staffing than they were when I was here in April.

 

[lorenmd]

just left there and we found a fabulous restaurant. columbian and peruvian. it's called mi cultura. fabulous super casual. order at the register. nice outside seating but amazing food.

 

[daviator]

Resurrecting an old thread. We are at WDW this week and next and I am pleased to report that since our visit last October, Agave Grill now is running on all cylinders. The abbreviated menu has been retired in favor of what I'd call a full menu; they have nightly meal specials (we went on schnitzel night and it was delicious with six or seven different options for schnitzel in addition to the regular menu) and the barriers reducing the size of the space are gone and the restaurant is once again full-sized. They have new chairs and maybe tables. It's a very pleasant food and drink experience.

I will try to attach the photos I took of the menu and specials.

 

[dioxide45]

Resurrecting an old thread. We are at WDW this week and next and I am pleased to report that since our visit last October, Agave Grill now is running on all cylinders. The abbreviated menu has been retired in favor of what I'd call a full menu; they have nightly meal specials (we went on schnitzel night and it was delicious with six or seven different options for schnitzel in addition to the regular menu) and the barriers reducing the size of the space are gone and the restaurant is once again full-sized. They have new chairs and maybe tables. It's a very pleasant food and drink experience.

I will try to attach the photos I took of the menu and specials.

Was it pretty busy? I've found that resort restaurants don't get a lot of traffic, which often ends up with lack luster food that isn't always fresh.

 

[daviator]

Was it pretty busy? I've found that resort restaurants don't get a lot of traffic, which often ends up with lack luster food that isn't always fresh.

Yes it was busy, and this was on a Saturday night about 8:15, so well after the prime time for dinner. And it was on Coachella weekend, so a big chunk of the guests were undoubtedly at the festival and not at the resort. So I was impressed.

When we wanted to order schnitzel – the special of the day – the server wasn't sure they had any left and had to go check. (They did, but it sounded like they'd sold so much of it they were running low.)

My sense is that they are doing reasonably well. They also have more staff than they had last year, though I was pleased to see that the staff which have come on board since the post-pandemic reopening are all still there.