Mareida’s founder, Prenay Agarwal, introduces Londoners to the ‘underexplored cuisine’ of Chile and provided an insight into the gastronomical culture of the country. This fine-dining restaurant is the first of its kind in London, selling not just food but an entire cultural experience across the Andes - a South American mountain range that extends through Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Colombia.
Directing the menu are two well known Chilean chefs, Trinidad Vial Della Maggiora and Carolina Bazan (who was named Latin America’s Best Female Chef in 2019). Both are passionate about sharing their cultural identity with diners through their dishes. Some of their plates include ingredients that are staples to Chilean cuisine, and some are even sourced directly from their home country - for example, salt sourced from the Atacama desert. To accompany these dishes, the restaurant has enlisted the help of sommelier Rosario Onetto, who has curated an extensive wine list that focuses on the diversity of the Chilean region.
With a vibrant menu, one can expect to be served fish tartare with granita in ice cream cones, the Chilean staple pescado a la parrilla, and a delicious and lightly salted fried pumpkin pastry. For dessert, these chefs go all out to celebrate their cultural heritage across the sea by the Easter Islands as diners have the opportunity to order Moai-shaped white chocolate, passion fruit, dark sesame and quinoa bites, along with other petit fours. Bazan and Maggiora are also joined by rotating South American guest chefs to further portray the diversity of South America through their menus.
What makes Mareida so unique is their eager desire to share their culture. This can be felt in the atmosphere alone as the restaurant and wine bar has entrusted Macarena Aguilar, a Santiago-based architect, to design the restaurant and commission the designs of three Chilean artists to showcase beautiful landscapes of the world’s longest country.