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Two of Chicago’s most celebrated chefs just brought a splashy new seafood-focused restaurant to one of the city’s architectural landmarks.
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On May 6, chefs Rishi Kumar and Zubair Mohajir—the duo behind Bucktown favorite Mirra—opened Mariela inside the Reliance Building in the Loop, bringing an ambitious, all-day coastal menu to the ground floor of the Staypineapple hotel.
The restaurant pulls inspiration from coastal cuisines around the world, weaving together flavors from Southeast Asia, Mexico, the Mediterranean and beyond. That globe-spanning approach mirrors the chefs’ own backgrounds: Kumar grew up in Singapore, while Mohajir was born in Chennai and raised in Doha before building a string of acclaimed Chicago restaurants.
If Mirra fused Indian and Mexican cooking into one of the city’s buzziest dining rooms, Mariela lo oks to do the same for seafood on a global scale. The menu includes dishes like seafood arroz negro with octopus and scallops, tom yum aguachile with poached prawns, seafood kebab tacos layered with grilled octopus and seafood chorizo, plus chili crab agnolotti topped with smoked trout roe.
The restaurant also serves breakfast and lunch, with offerings ranging from saffron-cardamom French toast to lamb shawarma wraps and fried cod sandwiches. Beverage director David Mor (Mirra, Lilac Tiger) has built a cocktail list inspired by coastal regions and classic hotel bars, including a lightly briny martini variation called the Vesper Del Mar.
Design-wise, the 100-seat restaurant leans into breezy seaside aesthetics, with seafoam-green accents, marble surfaces and massive windows overlooking State and Washington Streets. There’s also a 20-seat patio for warmer months.
Perhaps most surprising is the location itself. The chefs told Eater Chicago they never planned to open a hotel restaurant, or even a Loop restaurant, but saw an opportunity in the long-vacant former Atwood Café space inside the landmark building.
For a downtown Chicago still rebuilding its post-pandemic dining scene, Mariela arrives as a major statement: a destination-worthy restaurant from a pair of chefs who already helped redefine one neighborhood now betting big on the city center.
Mariela is located at 1 W. Washington Street. The restaurant is open daily from 7am to 9:30pm. For more information, click here.