we visited gracias madre to celebrate my sister's birthday. walked in at around 9 pm. the place was totally packed, which is why they initially seated us at the bar. in about 15-20 mins, we had a nice table for 4, somewhere in the middle.
the place has a very different vibe going on. modern yet a little classic rustic, indoor but outdoor - that kind of feel. the few tall plants scattered about the huge place gave it that connection to nature. loved it!
gracias madre is a vegan + veggie only restaurant. they serve organic food and specialise in mexican cuisine. it felt like a perfect pick for a bunch of vegetarians. we had already decided our order at the bar, so in no time we had ordered:
gorditas - potato mash cakes
guacamole con tortillas
coliflor frito
tamal - squash sauteed
sopes con mango - potato masa cakes with mango salsa
boozy popsicle
gorditas were essentially 2 big potato mash patties topped with a cream sauce, lettuce, corriander and all that other good stuff. they were absolutely delicious - a crunchy outer covering with a soft, buttery potato mash inside. a very enjoyable dish.
guac and tortillas is a no brainer when choosing mexican food. as always, loved it.
coliflor frito was an all cauliflower dish with pieces sauteed in a yummy sauce. it's hard to find cauliflower that tastes so good.
for mains we called for dishes that were slightly offbeat as per us - squash and mango based. tamal, which was a sauteed squash dish came wrapped up in plant leaves (indians will be able to relate it to panki) with black bean sauce and veggies at the side. i was very unsure about this dish, but to my surprise i rather enjoyed it. i didn't love it, but it wasn't bad at all. others really liked it.
sopes con mango - i was completely against ordering this, cuz mango in food? a no no for me. but this dish was the hero of the night. it was so delicious and it looked super tempting on the plate too. this place had us taste mexican food like never before and we loved it.
the only cocktail drink we ordered was boozy popsicle and i ordered it more for the name than anything else. it was a fantastic looking drink, so playful. a fruit (mostly pineapple) based popsicle lolly drowned in a glass of liquor. can't remember if it was tequila or vodka, but i do remember that the drink was super strong, almost too strong for my liking. however when the popsicle was dipped in the drink and bitten into, it gave us the best of both worlds. we finished the lolly, but a lot of the drink remained unfinished. i was just very happy we had this!
food - 4/5
drinks - 3.5/5
service - 4.5/5
ambiance - 4.5/5
value for money - 3.5/5
gracias madre was overall a great dining experience for us - very authentic yet very modern and lux. loved it. something i was more delighted about was how packed with people, a veggie restaurant could be! turns out that it's just great food that draws customers out, not the fact that it is vegetarian or non vegetarian. and this place was just that.
definitely recommended :)