Madres Brunch — Restaurant in Riverside

This is coming from a plant-based/vegan experience, so if you don't have any dietary restrictions, your experience may be much better than mine (when it comes to the food). VEGANS BEWARE!! THIS PLACE IS NOT FOR YOU.

Parking was tough! We went around 11:30a.m. and lucked out, but it's a smaller business so we were understanding about that Just be mindful if you're looking to dine in. Entering the establishment, very small corridor and loud atmosphere. No host/hostess at the mess of menus, and when we were approached, it was by a young gentleman not wearing any indicators of staff, so we just thought we were blocking his way to the exit. It was only when he asked our party size did I realize he was the host and not another guest. Seems like staff dress code is all black, but no other indicators of staff, hopefully that's a helpful tidbit.

I will say, if you're into atmospheric aesthetics for a cute photo moment, then this scene is for you! Artwork of butterflies on the wall was beautiful and the LED lights gave it a vibe. But seats were too close to each other and there's no semblance of privacy between other guest, on top of loud music. It was overstimulating. You just hear too much chatter bleeding into each other in one small space. I couldn't hear the person I was with unless we kind of yelled to each other, which made the noise worse. And other guest seemed to be offended we were seated near them and elected to move. Seems like they try to seat guest every-other -table to help mitigate the issue, but it helps little to none. Especially on a crowded day or when there are multiple large parties already seated. Understandably a small space, but the theme seemed to be a confusion of vibes and quaint, but being both works against it.

Service was slow, but not unpoliet. It took nearly twenty minutes to get our drinks, but we were given water straight away when we were seated. Luckily, we order our food with our drinks, but I'm not too picky when it comes to wait times. I would suggest ordering all at once as well, because no guarantee on the next time your server will come and cater to you.

My guest and I are plant-based/vegan, and the menu did have a vegan section. It isn't an extensive section, but having a section at all is usually a good sign for us vegans when we're eating out. I had no expectations, as I never tend to when eating out at a predominantly non-vegan place. But man.. I don't want to be too harsh, since this is a small business, but I would rather them not cater to vegans at all.

None of the vegan products offered were prepared correctly, so most of out things were overcooked (is the nice way to say it). We had a mix up, of getting non-vegan pancakes instead of the vegan pancakes, and I'm pretty sure their hash brown was also not vegan friendly. Nothing was indicated as vegan which probably led to the mix up, but they also weren't conscious to the fact that we were only looking to eat vegan options and did not distinguish what was and wasn't viable options for us. They let us order anything and input the order wrong as well. We're plant- based for dietary reasons, which reasoning aside doesn't matter, both currently in pain because we ate something with dairy in it. Food did not come out at the same time, and we weren't given a ETA on how long the wait would be. Luckily we planned to share (omelet)anyway, but if we hadn't, one of us would have had to watch the other eat nearly all of their food before the second meal came out. Which in this case, happened to be the wrong order. Our waiter was apologetic. He was never rude to us. However, the initial person we raised our complaint to just grabbed our waiter without informing him of said complaint, as if she couldn't be bothered to help.

Prices were a bit disproportionate to what we actually got (again, vegan perspective. glancing around, it seems like their non-vegan options are plentiful) As a plant-based/vegan, I'm used to the higher price point, but again, was disproportionate in this case.

Overall, not a horrible business....

This was my first time at madre's brunch, and it will be the last time. With so many options in riverside, service and food quality are the only things that set these insta-trendy brunch places apart. Unfortunately, this place didn't have either. For starters, the parking is absolutely horrible. The neighborhood is packed, the alleys are packed, and there are not nearly enough parking stalls. Luckily, my friends arrived early, so I did not have to wait since they were already seated. But because of that, no one came to offer me a drink, including water, until they came to take our order. Even then, we had to ask 3 different times to have our water glasses refilled, and that was after we ordered bottled water. I ordered a Mimosa flight, and when the waitress brought it, she spilled a good amount and didn't even offer to refill it. Each time we ordered additional drinks, we had to stop someone and get their attention to call our server over because she never came back around.

Most of us ordered a variety of chilaquiles, and one of us ordered french toast. The French toast looked amazing. Unfortunately, it came out almost half an hour before the rest of our food. So when it was time for us all to eat, the french toast was soggy. We sent it back but canceled before it came because it was taking way too long the second time around. The portions on the chilaquiles were all different.I barely had any birria. The chips were super soggy and cold, and my over easy egg was well done.

The service was nonexistent, and because we were a party at six, there was a 20% service charge. We asked to speak to the manager and this young girl came out. She didn't introduce herself, she didn't apologize, She didn't ask how they could do better or even ask what happened. She agreed to take off the service charge. And as she walked away, she rolled her eyes.. the gentleman cleaning our table was very polite. If the food was good, the price would be worth it, but in this case, it wasn't. I'd skip this place and go to another one of the many...

Ate here 09-30-25. Really enjoyed this spot! Would love to come again!

Ambience is really great! The art on the walls is beautiful and the music gave me modern loungey club vibes, but was quiet enough to hold a conversation. I was digging it.

Food was presented well, delivered in a reasonable time and more importantly was delicious. I had the Gold Bowl and my husband had the Birria. The "vinaigrette" from the Gold Bowl tasted more like soy sauce, imo. It wasn't terrible but I think for such a fresh bowl with salad and salmon, it would be better to have incorporated a type of berry sauce to keep the freshness rather than make it so salty. Luckily, it's on the side so you can add it by choice. Also decided to splurge and have the Horchata and Banana shake. Weird combo for us to be eating with our food, but the heart wants what the heart wants, haha! Both were very delicious.

Alexis was our server. He was very attentive and super friendly. Definitely made the place a very welcoming environment.

If I was to give a "con" about this experience, I would advise the worker who was sitting at the bar area on his phone and greeted us (if it was his responsibility or if he was on break, I don't know?) to not let the customer "sit wherever you like on this side" if not all the tables are clean and floor isn't swept underneath it. I couldn't see until I sat down at the table, but it definitely needed a good wipe down (which was done promptly once we sat without asking) and there were some broken tortilla chips under the table. I didn't mention that to the greeter, because it wasn't THAT huge of a deal for me. Oh! And I'm not a fan of plastic cups for water. I really do prefer glass for a restaurant. Plastic really cheapens the experience and does not keep the beverage cold.

All in all, wonderful experience. I would have given 4.5 stars, but since that's not an option, you get a 5! You deserve the 5 more than the 4! Thank you for a...