Mad Mex Fresh Mexican Grill is a popular franchise over east and as usual, Perth gets its invitation late into the party. I’ve come along to Mad Mex’s newest store at Hillarys Boat Harbour to meet founder and Head Honcho Clovis Young, learn about Baja (“Bah-ha”) Mexican cuisine and get my first taste of Mad Mex. Jac loves Mexican food and is excited to attend with me. Also at Mad Mex this afternoon is fellow Perth food blogger Foodie Cravings and her other half, Burger Boy.
Many Australians probably think of Mexican food as cheese-laden, heavy and certainly not a healthy choice. Baja Mexican cuisine changes that old image of Mexican food, combining the bold flavours of Mexico with the health-consciousness of neighbouring California. Mad Mex’s menu has an emphasis on fresh ingredients and is designed to be healthy as well as tasty.
Mad Mex, Hillarys Boat Harbour
Ordering at Mad Mex is a 3-step process:
- First, choose your “Mad Mex style”: burrito, naked burrito (served in a bowl), soft tacos, crispy tacos, nachos, quesadilla or a Mad Mex specialty – the Grande Melt, a quesadilla with the works, rolled like a burrito and toasted.
- Then, choose your filling: pollo (freshly grilled chicken), barbacoa (slow roasted beef), carne asada (freshly grilled steak), carnitas (slow roasted pork) or vegetariano (freshly sauteed vegetables). Although fish tacos are a well-known specialty of Baja Mexican cuisine, there’s no fish on the menu currently. Would seafood present logistical challenges in this “fast casual” restaurant setup, I wonder?
- Last, choose fresh salsas: pico de gallo (tomato, mild), chilli corn (medium), Mexican tomatillo (mild), roasted tomato (medium) and picante (habanero chilli, hot).
Guacamole is an extra AU$2. There are other side dishes, kids’ meals, and churros for dessert.
The ordering counter at Mad Mex, Hillarys
The process to get your food is similar to that of Subway. Although this means you can customise your order at every step, personally I’m not a fan of this style of ordering as the choices can be overwhelming and it can be quite intimidating if you’re indecisive or unfamiliar with either or both the menu or procedure, especially in a busy, fast-paced, noisy environment. To ensure the process works smoothly with minimal frustration, it’s crucial that the staff members assembling the orders are good listeners.
Staff at Mad Mex
There are a lot of staff working today. The store has only been open for a few days, so experienced crew from Sydney are here training the new Perth staff, which helps ease the pressure of ordering anxiety a little… on both sides of the counter.
Filling my soft tacos
My soft tacos (AU$8.90 for two tacos) are filled generously with chicken that’s been marinated in authentic chipotle (a blend of smoky dried jalapeno chill and other spices), black beans, cheese, chilli corn salsa, lettuce, tomato and sour cream, topped with guacamole. The chilli corn salsa is made with fresh sweet corn, pineapple, onion, coriander and jalapenos. The black beans are delicious and quite different to the mushy refried beans I’m used to avoiding at Mexican restaurants.
Chicken soft tacos
I could eat my tacos with a fork but I prefer to pick them up with my hands and dive in. The guacamole is delicious but makes the tacos extremely sloppy and I’m sure I’ve given myself a bright green creamy moustache after my first few greedy bites.
Chicken soft taco
Jac’s carnitas soft tacos are loaded with pork that’s been slow roasted for 6 hours then shredded traditional style, flavoured with garlic, onion, lime and cumin, and bursting with tomato, lettuce, onion, cheese and black beans, topped with lashings of guacamole.
Slow roasted pork soft tacos
We also share a chicken quesadilla (AU$9.90), a grilled flour tortilla with grilled seasoned chicken, cheese, capsicum and onion. We try four Mad Mex salsas: guacamole, tomatillo sauce (mild, made with tomatillos, chipotle peppers, citrus and spices), roasted tomato sauce (medium, made with tomato, onions, chile de arbol and coriander) and picante (hot, made with habenero chilli). Note: quesadillas usually include two salsas.
Chicken quesadilla with salsas. With the guacamole, L to R are: tomatillo, roasted tomato and picante
The crisp tortilla, tender chicken and chewy melted cheese are delicious. I try all the salsas but my favourites are the guacamole and tomatillo, which I spread in turns on my slice of quesadilla before each bite.
Chicken quesadilla close-up
We wash our food down with Jarritos Mexican soda – I choose mandarin and Jac has lime. Other flavours are tamarind and guava. Mad Mex Hillarys will soon be fully licensed so diners will be able enjoy Mexican beers, tequilas and margaritas with their meals.
Jarritos Mexican Soda – Mandarin and Lime flavours (AU$4.20 each)
We sit at a table out on the boardwalk and chat with Clovis while we eat. He grew up in California eating Baja Mexican cuisine and when he and his wife moved to Sydney several years ago, they decided to bring Baja Mexican food to Australia. The first Mad Mex opened on Crown Street in Darlinghurst four years ago, serving long queues of diners eager for a taste of gourmet Baja Mexican food. Since then, Mad Mex has opened another nine stores across New South Wales, two in Victoria, one in Queensland and this latest one in Perth, Western Australia.
Clovis speaks with great passion and pride as he talks about Mad Mex’s food. A lot of research has gone into the development of Mad Mex’s recipes to ensure the authentic flavours of Mexico and traditional cooking methods are preserved through the combination of fresh locally sourced produce and selected imported ingredients. Clovis tells us his aim is not for Mad Mex to be the biggest franchise, but a brand that is loved and respected for its great-tasting food made always with the freshest produce.
The most noble food philosophy is meaningless if the food itself doesn’t taste good, but I’m pleased to report that everything we try is really delicious. While Clovis speaks I can tell that like me, Foodie Cravings is torn between tucking in and taking notes.
Taking the healthy food approach even further, Mad Mex has a dynamic nutritional calculator available on their website (which also works on your mobile).
Clovis Young, founder of Mad Mex.
We finish our meal with churros and chocolate, freshly deep-fried crispy Mexican doughnuts rolled in cinnamon and sugar, served with warm melted dipping chocolate (two churros per serve, AU$4.50/AU$5.90 with/without chocolate). I don’t just dip my churros in the chocolate, I dip my fingers too. Even after all the churros are gone, I keep eating the chocolate. Clearly, I’m not one of the nutritional calculator’s devoted users.
Churros & chocolate
Mad Mex’s logo and decor echo the colours of the Mexican flag. The walls are decorated with Mad Mex’s mascot, a masked Lucha Libre wrestler.
Mad Mex wall
The Corona bottle lamps and chandelier are eye-catching features in the store.
Corona bottle chandelier. The mural explains the meaning of “Baja”.
Mad Mex, Hillarys Boat Harbour
We really enjoyed Mad Mex. Our food was fresh and delicious and it was great having a chat with Clovis.
I hope Mad Mex Hillarys does well, and its success inspires Clovis to open up more franchises around Perth. Hint: I’d love a Mad Mex in Victoria Park (if any of you guys agree, please feel free add your support in the comments)!
Mad Mex – warning, their website loads up with auto-play music (can be disabled)
Hillarys Boat Harbour
Shop 31 Sorrento Quay Boardwalk (next to Gloria Jean)
Hillarys WA 6025
Telephone: (08) 9447 7444
Open 10am to 10pm daily
Also in NSW, Vic and Qld (check website for details)
More on Hillarys Boat Harbour
TFP and Jac dined compliments of Mad Mex Hillarys.
I'm TFP, a food blogger from Perth, Western Australia.
{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks delicious! :) It’s almost identical to Chipotle, over here in the States. Sadly, ours doesn’t sell Jarritos, or churros :’(
Christle,
I hadn’t tasted Jarritos soda before, but churros are one of my favourite hot snacks. It’s good Mad Mex decided to include both on its menu.
I would also love one in Vic Park – Hillarys is the centre of no where
Sarah-Jane,
We rarely head out to Hillarys, but we’re South-East people, not North of the River people. :)
Yes to Vic Park!!!!! Wonder how one of those crunchy tacos would taste ….*drool*
Erin,
I actually prefer crispy tacos, so that’s also on my list to try next time.
Looks delicious! I’m not a fan of guacamole… so I would drop that but YUM! The soft drinks look good too! Would love to see a Mad Mex in Brissie.
Kath,
It’s funny – just a couple of years ago I hated avocado and guacamole, but my tastes have changed and now I really like it. The Jarritos are nice, not too sweet.
There isn’t a Mad Mex in Brisbane central, but there’s one in Fortitude Valley, is that too far for you? :)
I live but 60 miles from the Mexico border, my husband is Latino…and that all definitely looks as authentic as anything around here. :-) Except we prefer pinto beans to black beans (which are rarely used).
Ah, Jarritos Mexican Soda! Lime is THE best. I always stock up on 3 or 4 bottles in the summer, continually; love to star gaze while sipping a cold Jarritos. :-) It’s not overly sweet; just perfectly sweet.
If I were visiting Perth and got a craving for Mexican food, I’d definitely pop into Mad Mex’s…(high praise from someone who’s *known* nearly 20 years now).
I have a salsa suggestion for Mad Mex’s: Fuego. It’s roasted jalapenos pureed with (just?) onion, I think. I’ve only known it available at Taco Cabana (a Texas franchise; we often eat at the Mesa Street store when in El Paso). I’m sure a recipe is available online. It’s a very unique smoky-spicy salsa especially perfect with quesadillas, and soft chicken tacos.
I prefer the tamarind one, personally, but the lime *is* one of the best ones :)
Christle, that’s an interesting flavor. My 2nd favorite Jarrito’s flavor is Pineapple.
Speaking of beverages again, does Mad Mex sell sodas? I don’t see Pepsi or Coke products on the menu or in the photos. I *must* have Diet Pepsi with Mexican food. Nothing else will do to wash down all that yumminess!
Jarritos is something I drink simply for the pleasure of it, alone.
Cindy,
I’m not sure, I think they do sell other sodas but can’t say that with 100% certainty because I didn’t really look. :)
Glad to hear that the food looks pretty authentic to you!
Christle,
I didn’t try the tamarind because it seemed like a weird flavour for a soft drink… but if I get the chance I will have to just so I know what it’s like. :)
It’s even harder for we Taswegians to wait in line till hell freezes over for ANYTHING to open here :o(. We are actually close to the Eastern States and you would think that as we are assumed to be part of Victoria, that we would get some of the franchises down our way. We don’t have eagle boys! How sad is that? I guess if I want a Mad Mex style establishment down here I am just about going to have to open it myself! Thanks for the idea I will keep you posted :o)
narf7.
Yes… condolences for having to suffer the Taswegian Effect. :)
Your photos look awesome :-) We don’t have Mad Mex in Canberra but it looks a lot like Zambrero? Although I don’t think they have churros at Zambrero :p
Thanks Ravel! :D
We have Zambrero here as well but I am yet to check it out to compare. But if Mad Mex has churros and Zambrero hasn’t, well…
I’d love to have one in Vic Park too! But it’ll be completely overrun by us uni students.
Nicole,
You say that like it would be a bad thing! :P
Mmmmmm churros!
Nic,
Yep, mmmmmm indeed.
Love ya post.
Thanks, farmerjac. :)
Yes to a Mad Mex in Vic Park!
Craly,
Haha! Unite!
I’m a lurker, I never comment here, too busy drooling- but my ABSOLUTE LOVE for Mad Mex has drawn me out! I love the burritos with steak nom nom nom. I also love the Mexican soft drink- but my wallet doesn’t!
Hi Catherine,
It takes just the right post to get readers to de-lurk! :) But I don’t mind lurkers, as long as they keep reading and enjoying, I’m happy. Yes – the Jarritos aren’t the cheapest soft drink – it’s like buying soft drink at a pub!
A few months too late. Mad Mex is a hundred times better than Zambreros or Salsas, which have already infiltrated Perth. Hillary’s? Really?
Eli,
Time will tell the outcome in the battle of the Mexican Fresh Grills. I’ve eaten at Salsa’s and quite like it, love Mad Mex, am yet to try Zambreros.
Dear TFP,
I’m not a fan of Mexican food but I do recall something about dipping fingers into chocolate :)
If I remember correctly, I think there’s a Hippo Creek at Hillarys Boat Harbour and their rib eye steak on the bone is truly an awesome feed.
Apparently research have shown that websites with blaring music tend to drive visitors away and have shorter visit times and smaller number of page views.
Chopinand,
I knew you’d bring that up again! :)
Yes, there’s a Hippo Creek at Hillarys Boat Harbour. We’ve been meaning to go there for dinner but just haven’t got around to it. Took a squiz at the menu while we were in the vicinity – a delicious read.
Personally, I’m put off by auto-play music and can’t stand Flash sites.
How yum does this new era Mexican look?? A BIG yes, to a store in Vic Park.
French Toast,
Looks AND tastes yum! :D
Completely agree that the Subway-style of ordering can be difficult for the uninitiated or if the staff aren’t brilliant, but I do think it’s a pretty cool concept for Mexican food! :) As far as I’m aware, we don’t have anything like that here.
Given the choice, I think I’d definitely have to go for a soft taco with carnitas with picante salsa and guacamole! The Jarritos sodas look delicious, too – lime for me, please.
Jessi,
If the staff and customers both know what they are doing/what they want, then this system works extremely well and you get your food and get out of there quickly. Maybe they need a slow lane for newbies. :)
When I was a kid I wasn’t so keen on lemon and lime flavours but now I can’t get enough!
Oh yay!
I LOVE non-tex-mex Mexican! My favourite restaurant in Perth is That Little Mex – but it’s not terribly cheap to eat there.
Yes to opening in Vic Park, although for now, I think it’ll be worth travelling!
Jess,
Fingers crossed for Mad Mex Vic Park! :D
Another YES to a Vic Park Mad Mex if they make their meats halal!
Tweedles,
Maybe write to them regarding the halal issue – then you can get a definite answer, whatever that may be.
I just went to Mad Mex at Hillary’s tonight, and it was muy delicioso! I’m from California and have been craving good Mexican food since I came to Perth in 2004 … this is the best I have found so far … so reminiscent of Chipotle! … the burritos were a decent in size (Chipotle burritos are HUGE), they were more expensive (Chipotle veggie burritos with all the goodies, like I get are just $6.00 !!!) … but I realize, this is Perth, Wait Awhile after all … I will say that the Mad Mex burrito was really good, I was just so overjoyed to be there and be eating delicious Mexican food, I hardly noticed or cared about the differences ….LOL! Can’t wait to go back! ; )
… I like the one at Hillarys … ok for Vic Park, but it’d be so great in Freo as well … we need Mexican food somewhere south of the Swan! :)
SWheatley,
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it!
Those pictures are making me hungry, I’ve been up 15 hours and only had two glasses of water, tummy is making noises. I would be useless at ordering as I would want a bit of everything!
kissy,
LOL, I suggested a slow ordering lane earlier in another comment reply – you can be in that line. :P
Only water for 15 hours? Hope you got something to eat.
I really like the “Subway” way of ordering/putting together the burritos, etc … for me, very easy and isdone the same way at Chipotle, back home in California, they are very popular and do fantastic business! Hillarys is a great location, only so far …. My only wish is that another Mad Mex would open south of the river Swan, maybe in Freo, or maybe at Carousel in Cannington, or Garden City in Booragoon (that would be great!!!) or even Gateways in Cockburn, that would be awesome …. a bit far, but even Rockingham would be cool! Let the Mad Mex invasion continue!!! :))
SWheatley,
Carousel would be great as we go there a lot – but there’s a Salsa’s there already. I’m sure if Hillarys does well, over time there will be more Mad Mex locations around Perth.
+1 for Vic Park!
:D
hehe I’m not a nutritional calculator user either – those churros were delicious, def going back for more. Wish I hadn’t eaten so much at lunch in preparation for our Mad Mex feast, would have so gone the burrito if I had room and more churros ;)
You are right, the menu was a little overwhelming – I was after something light and there was just so much choice so I quickly chose the soft taco which was nice but probably not my usual choice. burger boy had alot of Mad Mex when we went to Sydney so it was pretty easy for him to decide!
Great catching up with you and Jac as always.
foodie cravings,
Great to catch up with you guys (we seem to be bumping into each other regularly!)
Be interesting to see if Mad Mex runs away with a little of San Churro’s churros business given that it’s easy enough to get your Mexican and dessert in the one place rather than have your Mexican THEN go next door to San Churro for churros. :)
Long time reader, first time commenter!
YUM! I have been thinking of visiting Mad Mex here in Melbourne, and your post has made me decide I must get onto that soon!
I love Jarritos. I tried them for the first time at Subiaco Market when I visited Perth earlier this year – coincidentally after seeing one of your blog posts too! :)
Hi Catherine!
Hope you check out your local Mad Mex – let me know what you think.
Subi Markets are awesome. I didn’t know you can get Jarritos there! Usually I only have eyes for the freshly squeezed OJ at the stall near the entrance.
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