The North’s Best Mexican Restaurant Is Opening in Leeds This Week

If you caught our piece on Salon Madre arriving in Leeds back in February, you’ll already know that Owain Williams and Sam Grainger’s OG Hospitality group has serious form. Now the main event is here. Madre, the restaurant that started it all, opens its doors at Wellington Place on 17 April.

And this isn’t just another opening. Madre has built a genuine following across Liverpool and Manchester, earning serious critical acclaim along the way. Leeds is next, and it feels like a natural fit.

The food is the real draw. The menu takes in the full breadth of Mexican cooking, from rich Oaxacan moles and salsas to Baja style seafood and Sonoran grilled meats. These are dishes rooted in real regional tradition, inspired by co-founder Sam Grainger’s travels across Mexico. As Sam puts it, Mexico is a place where traditions blend and evolve, and that spirit is built into everything Madre does.

By day it’s a relaxed lunch spot, with a combo menu at £15 per person covering tacos (served in pairs), a side and a drink. By night things get livelier, with the kind of atmosphere that keeps people at the table long after the plates have been cleared. That last bit is actually intentional. Sobremesa, the Mexican tradition of lingering over good food and better company, sits at the heart of what Madre is all about.

Taco Tuesday is also making the journey to Leeds. It launches on Cinco de Mayo and runs every Tuesday from there, with two for one tacos all day. Get that in the diary now.

Madre sits at Wellington Place, just a short walk from Salon Madre over at West Village on Wellington Street. The two venues are designed to work together. Dinner at Madre followed by margaritas and games at Salon Madre is already shaping up to be a very good evening out. If you haven’t been to Salon Madre yet, we covered the opening earlier this year and it’s well worth a read.

Madre opens 17 April 2026. Bookings are open now at thisismadre.co.uk and you can follow along on Instagram at @ThisIsMadre.