New York’s Marea Restaurant Is Heading to Beverly Hills (Exclusive)

Marea, the coastal Italian power dining spot on Central Park South where diners have included President Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, is heading west. Owner Altamarea Group plans to open Marea in Beverly Hills in early 2024 at 430 N. Camden Drive, near Gagosian Gallery and just up the street from Mr. Chow.

“It’s our first expansion of Marea in the U.S. outside New York,” Ahmass Fakahany, founder and CEO of Altamarea Group, tells The Hollywood Reporter exclusively.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

• Snakes on Rodeo Drive: Inside Bulgari's Serpenti Jewelry Pop-Up

• Goop and the Maybourne Beverly Hills Hotel to Bring Claridge's Afternoon Tea to L.A.

• Chef Daniel Boulud's Café Boulud Arrives in Beverly Hills This Year

Opened in 2009, Marea (Italian for “tide”) is known for its coastal Italian menu with signature house-made pasta dishes like gnocchetti with ruby shrimp and octopus and bone marrow fusilli; a lobster astice appetizer with burrata; and its salt-baked branzino, all of which will be featured on the menu at the forthcoming Beverly Hills location. Also similar to the original New York spot, the restaurant will feature a healthy selection of crudo.

The design of the restaurant will be overseen by ICrave, which has done projects for Ocean Prime, Lavo, SushiSamba and STK. Marea Beverly Hills — to feature a large outdoor dining patio and two private dining rooms — will include elements seen in the New York location such as a gold onyx bar, Murano-glass chandeliers, original artwork and mahogany wood design elements. The overall look of the L.A. restaurant though will “be a lighter and more airy design,” says Fakahany.

The Altamarea CEO further tells THR that the expansion comes after months of discussions with city leadership in Beverly Hills, including council member Lili Bosse, who recently finished a term as mayor. “My chat with the mayor of Beverly Hills certainly was an important element too,” says Fakahany. “She came to New York and we had a meal and talked about it … I was impressed that they sought us out. This wasn’t just a lease deal. It was a real conversation about the market and the community and how it fit.”

Says Bosse in a statement, “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Marea to Beverly Hills. Our city truly is the home of the best in terms of restaurants, energy and iconic hotels that captivate everyone with the magic that makes Beverly Hills so special.”

Altamarea Group, overseen by corporate executive chef Lauren DeSteno, currently owns and operates 20 restaurants around the globe, from Marea Dubai and Osteria Morini locations in Riyadh and Istanbul to Ai Fiori at the Langham hotel in New York and the recently opened contemporary Asian spot 53 adjacent to The Museum of Modern Art. Marea New York, which lost its one Michelin star last year, previously hosted a pop-up restaurant in Beverly Hills in 2019 at Spring Place. At Marea, DeSteno has spearheaded operating a zero-waste program. “Lauren is a big advocate of sustainability efforts. We are a leader in that space,” says Fakahany.

Beverly Hills makes sense for the second Marea in the U.S., adds Fakahany, because “you look for something with density and intensity. I think those are two key elements and that there is enough of a mix of business, fashion, entertainment and art coming together. I’m excited by what’s happening in Beverly Hills, and I want to be part of it.” As THR previously reported, Cipriani also has its sights set on Camden Drive in Beverly Hills, with plans to open a Cipriani restaurant there at 362 N. Camden.

Fakahany says he’s also looking forward to the restaurant being able to “play off” being on the West Coast with its “abundance of producers and fisheries. We are going to really enjoy the location we are in.”

Best of The Hollywood Reporter

• Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Stylists: Why Sydney Sweeney, Sadie Sink, Anne Hathaway, Angela Bassett and Jodie Turner-Smith Love Their Image Makers

• The Environmental Cost of Red Carpet Fashion

Click here to read the full article.