Oh, Mother

by Melissa Howsam | Mar 28, 2023 | April 2023, Eat

Madre is shooting to open Thursday, June 29.

Meet me at Madre. It just rolls off the tongue. It’s the kind of thing you’d say to your mom (aka “madre”), your SO, your bestie or your business partner. Or to no one at all as you fly solo. And that’s exactly the point. 

Classy. Sophisticated. Elevated. The first full-service locally conceived and owned restaurant to drop in Smoky Hollow—and the first concept of this scale to drop in Raleigh since Brewery Bhavana—Madre will bring an unparalleled flair from some of the most brilliant minds in the hospitality industry, led by trio Tyler Helikson, aka Happy + Hale CEO/co-founder and man about town; his business-savvy best friend of almost three decades, Brad Shoff; and former Barcelona Wine Bar GM Celina Salinas, who will be running day-to-day operations. “This is the best assembled team I’ve ever seen in this industry in this town,” says Helikson.

To start, there’s the design, intentionally fashioned by master Lead Designer Bryan Costello “to create opportunities for serendipitous friend-making,” says Helikson. The heartbeat of the ~100-seat space from which the rest of the restaurant’s energy and liveliness will emanate is the captivating horseshoe-shaped bar—“which was really important for us to increase the odds of socializing,” he adds—aglow beneath a striking double-tiered canopy. 

A vibey candlelit and dried-botanical-dotted windowside lounge adjacent to the bar overlooks the patio. Encased by two breeze-block walls, the living room-like first-come first-serve full-service space with loungey seating and coffee table enhances ops for mingling. “It’s cool because you could be sitting with strangers—share a cocktail, a laugh, a conversation—and by the end of the night, you could become friends,” says Helikson. 

Meeting the challenge of making the massive space feel intimate and cozy—so big-city dining meets your mom’s house energy—it’s sectioned off so no portion feels too cavernous. Two reservation-only tables flanking each side of the bar serve as cozy cubbies for convo, and Earthen finishes throughout create curves to soften the space. “Bryan really touched on all the senses to give an energy you can feel the minute you open the door,” says Helikson. For the designer behind such aesthetic masterpieces as Heights House, “designing Madre has been about going all-in to set the scene and inviting people in to be a part of it,” says Costello. “We’re building our own little world in there. It’s a little piece of theater, and I’m really looking forward to opening night.” 

Promising to be the Hollow hang, the patio will straight transport you with its Mediterranean garden feel via climbing jasmine, fig and olive trees, and background beats. Peppered with 10 to 15 tables, the alfresco affair leans Euro piazza, with an additional smaller outdoor lounge space with lower loungers for cocktails and snacks—think “great people-watching, comfortable, while-you-wait vibe,” says Helikson.

At its core, Madres sits at the intersection of bar and restaurant, casual and fine dining—exactly what Raleigh arguably lacks. Madre doesn’t fit in a box. Madre is enthralling, edgy, elevated, adventurous, spontaneous. And she will surprise you. The fresh protein-, seafood- and veggie-forward rotating menu by San Antonio-transplant renowned executive chef Jarrad Gwaltney leans coastal Mediterranean plates for sharing, natch, repping the regions of Portugal, Spain, Italy, France—even reaching for inspo from North Africa. “Think bright flavors—and really letting ingredients speak for themselves,” says Helikson. A boards section will bring charcuterie and cheese to whet (or sate) the appetite. And—so Euro—a pintxos section (aka “small snacks”) serves up food sans the need for knife and fork, a perfect bite for the wait or even while you play cards or work.

And of course cheers are in order via 10-ish signature cocktails imagined by bar lead and craft cocktailier Mara Sudol of Tazza fame. (Find us pinkies out in the Hollow a la The White Lotus’ Harper with that Aperol Spritz.) Both old and new world wines and sparklings will woo you, as will local brews. And the inventive vermouth on draft will have you talking—and checking yourself to see if you’re in Raleigh or at a Madrid tapas spot. “Vermouth on ice with an orange, a little sparkling water—it’s absolutely delicious,” says Helikson.

Shooting to tentatively open to the public Thursday, June 29, Madre encapsulates exactly what Raleigh needs right now—a space intentionally designed for all walks of life for any occasion. From the experience to the ambiance to the bites and bevs, “it’s all about shareability,” says Helikson.  So meet me at Madre? I’ll be perched on a stool at the bar.