La Madre
Minneapolis's newest restaurant boasts a stunning space reminiscent of Puerto Vallarta, but La Madre's soft opening left room for improvement vis-à-vis the food.
The Zammer Review: 3 out of 5 stars.
I was invited to the private soft opening of La Madre, the newest and first Mexican restaurant in the Mill District of Minneapolis, inspired by Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. I haven’t written a restaurant review before (unless you count ghostwriting a Yelp review for my college dining hall that went semi-viral), but my years of watching Food Network shows, reading cookbooks front-to-back, and eating at restaurants of all kinds have prepared me for this.
Ambience: 4 out of 5
I loved the outdoor patio feel of Jalisco in a vibrant, indoor space filled with color and patterns. The music and smells made me think I should look out the window and see a beachfront instead of Washington Avenue. Complete with a faux plant wall, this space was undoubtedly designed to be Instagram-friendly.
Service: 3 out of 5
The service was good. The staff was perhaps a little unrehearsed and discombobulated in the space at times, but nothing unusual for a preview event. I liken it to a newborn horse learning how to walk; it will be clunky at first but, if all goes well, smooth in time. None of it disrupted the experience and our server was warm and attentive.
Food & Selection: 2 out of 5
They were unfortunately out of a few items so we couldn’t order the pollo tacos, al pastor tacos, or a mocktail, El Chapulín Colorado. They opened two hours before our reservation time, so it was disappointing they were already out of our first choices.
We got the esquite appetizer, an off-the-cob dish similar to elotes (street corn). It captured that smoky flavor, but it needed more crema and less mayo to freshen it up.
For entrees, we got the carne asada tacos and pescado (beer-battered codfish) tacos. The carne asada was not the best quality cut of beef and left my mouth feeling coated, but the marinade/seasoning was good. I opted for the salsa roja, which had a nice flavor and a slight heat that was a perfect enhancement to the street taco.
The pescado tacos were, in a word, greasy. In multiple words, I can’t remember if it was supposed to have aioli or crema on it (or maybe both), but I tasted only aioli which made the deep-fried fish even more oily. It wasn’t as crispy as I would have liked it. They included pickled cabbage that I suspect was just quick-pickled, because I didn’t taste any of the subtle natural sweetness of red cabbage and instead just got a vinegary assault. The fish needed a component to cut the greasiness, something crunchy like fresh cabbage for a crunch, or something tangy like pickled red onions for the sweet-sour contrast. My mom got the salsa picante added to the fish tacos, and I wouldn’t recommend the combination. It added more punch than fish can bear. That being said, it was a tasty salsa and would be great on other proteins, if you can handle your heat.
We shared a Mock-rita, a non-alcoholic margarita. It was not too sweet and I liked the Tajín rim.
Price
For one appetizer, two entrees, and one mocktail, the total was $51 with tax, before tip. This included a 25% discount on one appetizer and one entree. Without the discount, it probably would have come to just under $60.
The Mock-rita was $10, which is kind of steep for a very small, non-alcoholic drink served in a lowball glass—especially one whose alcoholic counterpart conjures images of large glasses.
Each taco dish comes with three hefty tacos, and the appetizer was big for two people. The portions are large, and for the location and ambience, the price seems average. I am willing to accept that any attempt at replicating the food and vibe of Jalisco in Minnesota does not include the low prices. However, if I’m getting tacos because I’m craving tacos, then I usually don’t care about the vibe and can get better-tasting tacos in other Minneapolis neighborhoods for much less.
If La Madre can use better beef, make the food less greasy, ensure ingredients are in stock, and fine-tune the flavor balances, then I would be happy with these prices. I looked at the prices for the other non-taco entrees and if the portions are similar, then I think the menu is reasonably priced.
Overall
I'm giving this three out of five stars because the ambience and service were inviting, and though the tacos missed the mark, the rest of the menu sounded interesting enough that I would give it another try and hope they fine-tune the menu in the coming weeks. They were giving out QR codes to all patrons to leave feedback, so provided they make adjustments using the feedback, that shows promise that improvements will be made.