Who’s behind it: Altamarea Group, the hospitality company founded by CEO Ahmass Fakahany, operates more than 20 restaurants worldwide, including Wine Spectator Grand Award Winner Ai Fiori in New York. Best of Award of Excellence winner, Marea, located on Central Park South, is the company’s first restaurant and its flagship. The group recently took the fine-dining Italian seafood restaurant to Beverly Hills, Calif., just steps away from Rodeo Drive, famed for its luxury shopping, hotels and restaurants.
Senior director Francesco Grosso said it made sense for Marea to be in Los Angeles because a lot of Altamarea’s clientele is in the entertainment or publishing industries. “Even though there are a lot of Italian options in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, I think we’re a welcome addition with our seafood focus and elevated wine program,” Grosso told Wine Spectator.
Grosso oversees the Beverly Hills property, including the wine and beverage program. Kaleb Kiger, a former sommelier at Grand Award Winner Lazy Bear in San Francisco, serves as the wine director. Marea’s executive chef, PJ Calapa, supervises both the New York and Beverly Hills kitchens, with Amaury Tafolla and Travis Passerotti acting as co–chefs de cuisine.
When it opened: Jan. 16, 2025
The culinary approach: Those who have frequented Marea in New York will find many of its classic dishes at the Beverly Hills restaurant, including the handmade fusilli with octopus and bone marrow, as well as the astice, a decadent twist on a caprese salad with lobster served over burrata, basil and eggplant a funghetto (“mushroom style”).
[article-img-container][src=2025-03/restaurant-news-marea-beverly-hills-interior-030635_1600.jpg] [credit= (Marea BH)] [alt= The dining room of Marea in Beverly Hills.][end: article-img-container]“Largely, the menu is the same as New York, but we do have some Southern California–spun touches to the menu,” explained Grosso, highlighting dishes such as a new artichoke salad with hearts of palm, Meyer lemon, Parmesan, Fresno chile and parsley, as well as an avocado stuffed with Santa Barbara spot prawn tartare and served with fennel, Calabrian chiles and tarragon. “You don’t find much avocado on the Amalfi Coast, but it’s a very Amalfi dish with a California spin on it.”
The seafood-heavy menu offers plenty of opportunities for indulgence, including a caviar service and an array of crudo plates. House-made pastas and larger plates round out the menu and can be shared.
What’s on the wine list: Marea Beverly Hills opened with around 400 wines on the list, but Grosso said the team plans to grow it to around 1,000 selections by the end of the year, closer to the size of the New York program.
The list leans toward Italy, with seafood-friendly whites from Campania and Sicily, such as Benanti’s Etna White. Grosso is particularly excited about the white-wine and Champagne storage room. “In New York, we have one or two bottles of everything at service temperature, but every single bottle is cold in California,” he said.
From Chablis to Chassagne-Montrachet, there’s a little bit of everything for white Burgundy fans. “We sell a lot of white Burgundy,” Grosso noted. “Even though we’e an Italian restaurant, [I’m] not going to talk anyone out of a glass of Meursault with langoustines!”
For reds, Piedmont and Tuscany lead the way, with bottlings from Giuseppe Mascarello & Figlio, Conterno, Canalicchio di Sopra and Valdicava. And a diverse mix of Burgundy should appeal to Pinot Noir lovers. For those who can’t resist a Napa Cabernet, the list includes older vintages of wines from leading California wineries, including Diamond Creek, Dunn and Staglin.
The design: Nusla Design styled the 140-seat restaurant, as it did Marea New York. The glowing, honey onyx bar makes an…
Source : https://www.winespectator.com/articles/marea-opens-in-beverly-hills-los-angeles
