A bar so tall that bartenders need a library ladder to reach top-shelf tequilas. Dining booths with actual agave succulents planted in gravel above them. A neon sign by the mall entrance with two flashing messages: “VAMOS” and “HOST.”
Welcome to Ash and Agave, which debuted Sunday in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Owner Sean Huggard, who opened Blue Island Oyster Bar and Seafood across from the mall more than a decade ago, has now transformed the longtime Denver home of California Pizza Kitchen, which closed last year, into a space serving dishes from Mexico’s Pacific coast.
“The vibe of the Mexican Riviera is really where we started,” said Huggard, who conceived of the idea for the restaurant from scratch, using the resort towns of Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, where he and his family like to travel, as inspiration. “We’re in Cherry Creek. We want to be vibe-y, but we also want to be approachable.”
The menu includes an array of fresh seafood dishes, grilled meats and Mexican staples. Ceviche comes two ways, while the Coctel Campechano ($19) piles chunks of lobster, sea bass and shrimp with zesty clamato juice. There is also an appetizer of octopus and shrimp tostada ($13) with a creamy coconut aioli and fresh apple.
Larger entrees include pineapple-braised chicken with a quinoa tabbouleh salad and a trio of dipping salsas ($30), and a grilled 10-ounce skirt steak ($39) with chimichurri salsa, cheese fries, an avocado-and-cheese tostada and a quesadilla. Tacos and enchiladas come in pairs and include seafood, meat and vegetarian varieties. One enchilada platter has roasted sweet potato and a cashew crema filling ($18).
There is a spinach salad with shitake, maitake and wood ear mushrooms ($16), too, which Huggard said is one of his favorite dishes on the menu; he calls it his rejuvenated take on the “warm spinach salad” trend from dining scenes past.
One welcome surprise: Chips and salsas (there are three kinds) are free, a point of contention with his team that Huggard ultimately won. So are the little cuts of fruit servers offer tables to toss into their water glasses.
“I think it’ll bring people back, honestly,” he said of the free chips and salsa. “It’s a special touch.”
Ash and Agave is at 3000 E. 1st Ave. It is accessible from inside the mall and by an outside valet entrance. The restaurant opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. on weekdays, 11 p.m. on Fridays and weekends, and at 9 p.m. on Sundays.
