Not many places I’ve written about have been a more “Los Angeles” scene than Gracias Madre– a vegan and organic restaurant located on Melrose in the heart of the Design District of West Hollywood. And since it’s LA, you never know who you’ll happen to be sitting next to…
This well-known animal-free eatery is the ideal place to sit outside on the patio on a sunny LA Day (which is usually like, every day), with one of their specialty margaritas in hand.
What’s the T(equila)?
Back in 2014, the Gracias Madre name had already built up a reputation for tasty, vegan food fare in San Francisco- so when Cafe Gratitude founders Matthew and Terces Engelhart were presented with the opportunity to bring the latin love down to a Los Angeles location, what better place to plant the seed than on iconic Melrose Ave?
Gracias Madre offers a wide variety of creatively concocted vegan Mexian entrees including tacos, quesadillas, chimichanga, and sopes, all which are made with substitute ingredients such as cashew nacho cheese and tempeh chorizo and appeal to every type of dining preference. Their recipes so realistic in my opinion, I really can’t tell it’s vegan.
My favorite part about Gracias Madre is the outdoor terrace’s peaceful atmosphere. There’s a magical quality about sitting outside underneath the cascading tree foliage and twinkling string lights that makes it feel separated from the chaos of Los Angeles.
Prayer candle offerings are displayed at the entrance of the patio for any visitor who wants to send well wishes to the universe as they spare the animals by ordering their nachos a la vegan.
To start off, I would recommend the tortilla chips + guac. The chips are seasoned just right- not too salty and just enough crunch. I also ordered the “So Fresa So Clean” which featured tastes of strawberry, rose water, lemon, cachaça, aquafaba, blanco tequila because it looked pretty delicious (it was pretty AND delicious).
Our group also ordered the “Bowl Dos” which features flavors of braised lentils, peanut sauce, spinach, pico de gallo, coconut rice, pineapple salsa, pumpkin seeds, avocado.
In conclusion, I can confirm that Madre indeed has got the spirit(s). So get out to WeHo and order yourself a bangin’ cruelty free margarita alongside some vegan comida Mexicana while you check out the Angeleno scene at Gracias Madre on Melrose.
Gracias Madre located at 8905 Melrose Avenue West Hollywood, CA 90069 open weekdays from 11am – 11pm, and weekends from 10am – 11pm with happy hour from 3pm – 6pm and weekend brunch from 10am – 3pm
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