MADRE RESTAURANT & MEZCALERIA

I’m told this is a very authentic Oaxacan-style restaurant.
I can tell you that they went the extra mile for an upscale ambiance and experience.
The pricing is higher than many Mexican restaurants but is absolutely worth it in this case!! Our party was there for a midweek lunch so we’re pretty much had the whole restaurant to ourselves. One member of our group ordered a plate with four different moles.
The server told us that he had worked at many different Mexican restaurants and this is the only place who makes all of their moles from scratch, which explains the complex flavours! So delicious.
If you’re in the area, I highly recommend this restaurant.

We've been wanting to try it, Madre since they opened last year.
We love, good, upscale, Mexican food, and our big fans of tequila and mezcal.
As vegetarians, we were always a little suspect on what we could eat here.
Their menu is helpful labeled with what is available vegetarian or with vegetarian options, but up until recently the main star of the show, their moles, didn't seem to have a vegetarian op after checking again we saw that their Verde mole now had a Vette and we thought OK let's go give it a try. So we made a reservation, headed on in, we're seated relatively quickly in the main dining area, a lively space which had a live mariachi band playing throughout the evening.
This was particularly nice.
They weren't wandering from table to table, making it awkward for people, but treated as true performers in a performance space, without being intrusive. We started with the widely raved about squash blossoms, and they lived up to our hopes and dreams, perfectly and lightly fried with delightful cheese on the inside, a really nice indulgent way to begin the meal. I had the El Chapo Y Kate Cocktail which was beautiful and generous in size, not overly sweet and lasted me throughout the whole meal.
My wife took one of their tequila recommendations, and despite it being a tequila, and not a Mezcal, it also had a smokiness to it and was a unique and perfect recommendation for her tastes.
The amount of tequila and Mezcal available at this place is off the hook, and I definitely want to come back and try more. The things we chose to order besides the squash blossoms were OK, we tried the Mole Verde with its vegetarian option meaning they didn't serve it with fish, but put various vegetables like squash inside it.
It was fine, kind of tasty, but as it was a Verde Molé, it was a little more, unique offering than a classic mole experience which we kind of wanted.
Unfortunately, none of their other classic dark moles are vegetarian, all made with a meat or chicken stock of some kind.
We were also disappointed that the price for this stayed the same since we essentially didn't have a protein on it, it was awfully expensive for what we got. We also had the vegetarian version of their Tlayuda Doblada which normally comes with a few different kinds of meat in it, but is available vegetarian… Some kind of communication issue with the kitchen had them send it out to us with only vegetables and cheese in it as opposed to the black bean paste that we were hoping for.
In the end, it was impressive looking but kind of like a slightly souped up quesadilla with the second version of it, they brought out to us with the black beans paste and cheese.
I think we would've been better off sticking to items from the starters menu, including the fried quesadilla and taquitos.
This is also very expensive for what we got, especially since the price didn't lower when all of the meats were removed from it. Our server, and an extra server from the bar took very good care of us.
They checked in with us a lot and wanted to make sure that we were happy throughout.
We loved the atmosphere of the place.
We definitely want to come back and would do so for again, starters and drinks and probably be super happy with those choices.
We wish that the entrées they offered were, better priced and suited for our vegetarian needs, and that there was a more traditional mole offering that was also vegetarian so we could have the true Madre experience.

Madre Restaurant is awesome.
We were making our way to Sequoia National Park and we stopped here for lunch. Atmosphere was great, decor, very large sitting area indoors and outdoor.
The bar is magnificent. Server made us feel very comfortable and walked us through their menu.
My wife and dad are vegetarian and they had a vegetarian menu. Food was very tasty and we ordered appetizers, main entrees and drinks.
Every time a new dish came it was better and better. If you in the area this is a must stop if you’re in the mood for MADRE RESTAURANT.
It will be a unique experience and the food taste is something none of had before.