Agave Cantina, Lafayette, Louisiana

Downtown patio offers place to meet and party

by Cheré Coen | August 10, 2010

Downtown Lafayette is the hip place to hang, with several fabulous restaurants offering great food and outside dining opportunities. The top patio award, however, has to go to Agave Cantina, a festive Tex-Mex restaurant that includes Cajun and Creole accents to its dishes.

The restaurant has nabbed several awards, including Best New Restaurant, and much of that can be attributed to its cuisine and outstanding margaritas, among other specialty drinks. But its location on Vermilion Street places it next to the popular San Souci Parc with its spray fountain and stage used for live outdoor concerts and special events and the San Souci Gallery, the retail arm of the Louisiana Crafts Guild. So if you sit in Agave’s spacious patio — covered above but without walls —sipping margaritas and enjoying a fine meal, you’ve got a first row view of downtown Lafayette in action.

The patio is also a fun party space. Many people gather here to celebrate life events, meet for drinks or to enjoy the live music. After Second Saturday ArtWalks, Agave’s patio becomes overflowing with art enthusiasts.

Agave hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily except Sundays.

Here are a few other downtown patios to consider:

The Filling Station at 900 Jefferson St. serves up burgers, hot dogs, steaks, tuna, salads and Mexican favorites such as tacos, enchiladas and oversized burritos, but they are known for their margaritas as well. It’s another great spot to meet friends or to stop and rest after ArtWalk.

Legends Annex at 110 Polk St. is the back side of Legends, the bar fronting Jefferson Street, with a nice courtyard area in between. The menu here is varied and delicious, but our favorite is the Hawaiian burger, a nice slice of beef topped with apple-smoked bacon, pepper Jack cheese and a pineapple slice. (They also have patios at their other locations throughout Lafayette.)

Zeus Café does not contain a patio, but they offer tables in front of their restaurant along the main drag of Jefferson Street. Here you’ll find some of the city’s best Lebanese and Greek cuisine.

Likewise, Guama’s on Jefferson offers sidewalk tables to enjoy their fabulous Caribbean cuisine and specialty cocktails, not to mention Latin nights.