Madres Brunch — Restaurant in Long Beach

Honestly, this place is WAY overhyped and overpriced. I came during the week at a lunch time to meet a client and chose this place because of all of the social media I saw around it.

I chose to sit inside because of the aesthetics and I will say this - if you want to be screaming in conversation, than this is the place for you. The music inside is so loud and it was the middle of the week...I cannot even imagine what it would be like on the weekends.

Let's move on to the food. First - secret menu (QR code on the menu) sounds so good right? Wrong. It's trash. Let me first start on their "specialty coffee flight," ($16) which was a take on "mexican-inspired" coffees/lattes?? The horchata and mazaplan was okay. Didn't taste much of anything except a hint of cinnamon and a hint of peanut butter. Then they had pistachio and Abuelita's hot chocolate...DO NOT DO IT. It was absolute TRASH. We literally didn't even take a second sip, that's how bad it was. I told the girl to not ever recommend it and her response was that "they were popular."

Next, I got the verdes chilaquiles with chicken ($24) and my customer got the birria chilaquiles ($20). The verdes was really good but the chicken was dry and honestly - reheated 2 day old chicken. At least that is what it tasted like. If you don't care about the meat, I would forego the extra $7 and get just that. The birria was a little spicy, which was fine, but it did not taste good at all. No real consome taste, even with the consome to dip it in. And to finish it off - we got the pistachio waffles ($19), hoping that it would be the saving grace. Hell to the no. It didn't even taste like a waffle, let alone pistachio...it was green food dye and a handful of real pistachios sprinkled on top.

Was it worth the $119 I paid? Absolutely not. It was terrible, but the people and service was nice - which is why this place got 2 stars. Usually if a place is photo op cute, the food is mid, at best. This place's food was below mid and really disappointing. I would go somewhere that was actually more authentic and edible...

Giving it 3 stars because we’ve been here a few times & had a good experience… UNTIL TODAY. I’m very disappointed. From the beginning. I walked in, stood there 5 mins before the host acknowledged me. I didn’t mind that, he seemed busy, he was seating the person before me. NOBODY ELSE was in line before me, & I seen a table that had just left & was getting cleaned. Yet, when he came to me, he told me there was a 10-15 min wait. I asked about the empty table & he told me there was a party of 4 waiting, as if someone had already been waiting BEFORE ME (there were only 2 names on the list before me, none party of 4, & both already crossed off & seated) bt he said he could seat me outside. (I don’t like outside seating, they get forgotten about A LOT! & that’s anywhere). So while I wait for him to sit us outside, there is a party of 4 that just walked up BEHIND ME, he takes their name down & tells them 5 mins & gives them the table INSIDE that I asked for. Then proceeds to sit us outside (all available tables outside sat 4 or more ppl). The menu we received had something sticky on it, so I asked for another, it never came. Took a while for someone to take our drink order. Then again took a while for our waiter to come back & take our food order. After finally ordering, it took a very long time for our food to come out (longer than we’ve ever had to wait there, even when coming on a very busy weekend. Today wasn’t too too busy) our food took so long, lots of tables that ordered WAY AFTER us got their food first. Now we usually like the food we got there, today wasn’t that good. My husband didn’t really like his Chilaquiles Verdes, & the cheese inside my Chile Relleno Omelette was SO HARD it...

If you need a brunch joint to keep the Friday night mood popping but work off that Friday night drinking, this is your spot. The food is hearty and the portions are generous. I had the Chilaquiles Verdes with $7 chicken upsell and they for sure gave $7 worth of chicken breast. My partner had the Chilango omlette and he said the eggs tasted really fresh. The green and habenero sauce were served on the side which was good because this joint means business on that habenero sauce spiciness. We were the only customers when we arrived at 3pm Saturday and our food was on the table in fewer than 15 minutes. I am writing this on Oct 26, 2024. The liquor license has not yet been approved so I can't speak to the liquor drinks but the unsweetened hibiscus tea is very flavorful. The menu is a good mix of sweet and savory. I would recommend this joint for the most part. I say for the most part for two reasons. To me and my partner, it seemed pricey. I posted pictures of the menu so you, Dear Reader, can make your own assessment. The other thing is there is a virtual DJ on screens all over the restaurant playing Latin House Music. The music itself was good but for me, it was a touch too loud. Others may find it energizing. If you really are recovering from a night of drinking, the virtual DJ pounding beats may not be for you. If you're STILL awake from dance clubbing all night, this virtual DJ might be right up...