Gracias Madre
Once occupied by plant-based restaurant Cafe Gratitude, sister restaurant Gracias Madre took over the super cute Costa Mesa space and brought with it healthy, creative plant-based Mexican cuisine and some of the best crafted cocktails these lips have ever touched. It’s definitely a scene - in the best kind of way. The decor is on point. The patio feels private and intimate and the food - well, I honestly forgot I was at a vegan restaurant, which I think is the biggest compliment you can pay to a vegan restaurant. I am a sucker for Malibu Farms nachos, but the nachos at Gracias Madre stacked up well against my tried and true favorite. The house-made chips were perfectly crispy. The vegan cheese sauce was the star of the plate. They were one of the handful of food options on the happy hour menu that runs from 3-6pm every weeknight. After you polish off the nachos (and a marg, duh), definitely get the mushroom fajitas with portobello, oyster mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, brown rice, black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole and flour tortillas. I was beyond impressed with the fajitas - and equally impressed with the tacos al pastor with the same oyster mushrooms from the fajitas plus grilled pineapple, red onion, cilantro and guacamole. You really can’t beat a made-from-scratch tortilla.
It’s apparent at this point that I fell hard for the mushroom dishes here. I have honestly never had a mushroom taste more flavorful. Now, you can also get the bowls - but they are definitely the more safe bet. I personally love ordering things off the menu I know I can’t or won’t want to whip up at home - and the bowls gave me that impression. Nonetheless, they tasted fresh and as with everything I tried at Gracias Madre, the restaurant’s commitment to sourcing fresh, local ingredients and making everything in-house did not go unnoticed.
Because their happy hour specials are some of the best in Orange County, it’s one of my top choices for a girl’s weeknight happy hour - because there is nothing better than breaking up the week with some margaritas (with the cleanest ingredients) and nachos on a Wednesday.
