As a Mexican it’s so hard for me to eat at Mexican restaurants in Los Ángeles. I’m sorry but I can’t take a restaurant seriously if they sell burritos or their salsa comes out of a jar.

Then there’s Madre: Oaxaca Restaurant and Mezcaleria. It may or may not ring a bell, but it’s by far one of my top favorite Mexican/Oaxacan Mexican restaurants in Los Angeles. My favorite part is that there are actually two locations, one in Palms and one in Torrance, both equally as good as the other.

My first encounter was at the Palms location, when I found it on a Google Local Guides list #OnGoogleMaps ! My friend and I decided to give it a shot. We started with their mole , alambre, with a side of some queso fresco. The moment we tasted the mole negro and red mole we fell in love. Not only was their food to die for but also their mezcal drinks spectacular. Oh and did I mention that they have about 250 varieties of mezcal at the Palms location and 400 at the Torraence location. So you’ll have more than enough mezcal to choose from.

I was then personally invited by Madre to experience their Torrance location. I can’t even begin to describe our experience. We started our night with a tasting of some of their collected mezcal.

Guided by Madre’s bar program manager Bryant Orozco, we proceeded to try 3 types of mezcal: Domingo Oaxaca, Bacanora, and Rey Campera. We first started with Domingo Oaxaca, a very smooth mezcal with a floral and tropical flavor. Next we sipped on Bacanara, a bold and smokey mezcal yet still smooth and slightly sweet; although most Mezcal is made in Oaxaca, this mezcal was actually produced in Sonora. Finally, we ended with Rey Campera, a dry and a spicy mezcal exclusive to Madre. Between each mezcal tasting, we each had a slice of orange with chapulines. Madre serves chapulines with their mezcal since mezcal comes from the agave plants, and the chapulines eat those plants. The combination of mezcal, chapulines, and oranges , stimulates the taste buds, giving off a herbal and floral flavor that compliments agave distillates.

Bryant then prepared us some drinks personally, The Cazuelita (the newest addition to the menu), El Chapo y Kate (a smokey and spicy drink, and Besos De Mezcal (a refreshing, cucumber infused drink). In fact all the cocktail ingredients are made in house, ensuring the quality of the beverages.

When it came time for food we had La Canasta, an assorted selection of meats ranging from chorizo to asada placed on a basket, just like they do in Oaxaca. We had some of their delicious mole negro and coloradito with some queso fresco and queso Oaxca on the side. We were then brought a plate of nopalitos, fried beans, and some freshly sliced avocado. There was so much food we didn’t even know where to start. Let me just say that I’ve had Oaxcan styled meat but nothing beat the flavors at Madre. And to top it all off, the entrees come with some fresh hand made tortillas! I was in Mexican heaven all that night! Specially since there was also live music making everyone get up to dance.

Overall, Madre is now one of my favorite Mexican food restaurants in Los Angeles. The decor make the visit Insta worthy, their food is amazing, and their team is one of the kindest.

We will for sure be coming back soon, I might even host my birthday dinner at Madre next month and finish a bottle of mezcal…or maybe two!