Madre Liverpool

Madre Liverpool is the latest recruit to the Royal Albert Dock’s independent offerings, firmly establishing it as a location for great eateries, rather than just the home of the floating weather map (the map is no longer there and let’s not mention the weatherman).

Madre – Spanish for Mother, language fans – is brought to you by the teams behind local independent Belzan and Breddos Tacos, all the way from that London. The premise is simple. Mexican street food. You might think you’ve heard this song before but spoiler alert – it’s the remix that’s somehow better than the original.

Let’s start with the basics. Tacos. You know them, you love them, you’ve probably eaten enough of them to know your pork al pastor from your chicken pibil. And the tacos here are great, really good. But that’s not what I want to talk to you about.

The steak sharing plate is one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten in my life. I eat out a lot (not a humblebrag, I just hate washing up) and most meals are good but I’ve forgotten about them a week later. I have told everyone I’ve met about this steak sharing plate. It’s getting weird. People are telling me to stop telling them. But I can’t because I want everyone to try it and then they’ll understand.

It’s listed on the menu as carne asada, an aged steak, marinated in jalapeno beef jus and bone marrow. It comes with sides of tortilla, black beans and rice that’s not too fluffy but not too sticky. It’s full of flavour, the bone marrow sauce rich and smooth mixing with the juices, the meat cooked to perfection. It’s an experience, my mouth is watering as I type this.

And yes, it’s not cheap, in fact, it’s the most expensive thing on the menu. But at £55 including sides), it would easily feed 4 and it’s worth it. So worth it. Also worth it are the margaritas which is lucky because a Mexican gaff that doesn’t know it’s way around tequila isn’t worth its salt. We opted for the Tommy’s variation and it didn’t disappoint.

The only letdown of the meal was fully of our own making – no space for desserts. No space for churro french toast. What a sad sentence to type but also what a good reason to return.