I am used to being the only Black face in the room. Growing up in the suburbs of California, it was easy to count the amount of Black students who shared a classroom with me. Moving to Colorado, even easier. While I now live in New York and representation is found just a few steps out my door, my career covering food media tells the same story of division. Especially in restaurants, the hierarchy can be clear: people of color are usually relegated to service positions and it’s the white chefs who win awards.
But when you see the opposite—a dining room and kitchen staffed entirely of people of color and women, it’s enough, for me at least, to pause and take notice. This was by design at Hav & Mar. A Marcus Samuelsson restaurant, Hav & Mar tells the story of Samuelsson’s heritage, from the food it serves down to the name itself (“hav” translates to “ocean” in Swedish, while “mar” is Amharic for “honey,” the official language of Ethiopia). But more than that, Samuelsson wanted his latest to pay homage to the women who shaped his career, telling us in 2022 when the restaurant opened, “We thought of people of color and women and decided to focus on female leadership.”
Making good on that promise, the kitchen and crew are entirely staffed by women and people of color. And at the helm of it chef Fariyal Abdullahi. A finalist for 2024 “Emerging Chef” from the James Beard Foundation, chef Abdullahi seems perfectly suited to the role, even sharing key similarities with Samuelsson including their shared origins in Ethiopia down to her knowledge of Scandinavian cuisine thanks to her first kitchen job at Noma. Guided by Abdullahi, Hav & Mar tells the story of fusion and freedom.
Walking past the glass doors, the space is inspired by the ocean. Blonde wood decorates the bar with curtains that mimic foamy waves. Black mermaids with afros and braids swim the walls of the dining room. Velvet booths at the front and back of the restaurant are encased by wooden planks, reminiscent of the curve of a barrel. While the draw of the water is evident, there is a touch of Afrofuturism to it all, with black columned lights and a glossy, black lacquered table.
At the table is where the real story begins, starting with the Hav Bread Basket. From the start, they tell Samuelsson’s story: the cornbread nods to his home base of Harlem, while the teff biscuits to his Ethiopian background. Same story with the shoot of injera bread, sourced from Makina Cafe, which is the best of an already great bunch. Looking like a thin bone, the toasted strip has a solid crunch and retains that memorable fermented tang. If they sell out of the basket, like they did on my first visit, come back and order it then. It is worth it.
Diving into a menu of raw fish is the Swediopian. Berbere-cured salmon lays on a bed of cucumber and avocado, resting over a pool of apple water dotted with amber drops of berbere oil and black drops of ash made from repurposed veggies. With each spoon, a hum of sweetness here, a tinge of heat there, all of it bright. I only wish there was bread to sop up the last bits.
But if raw fish is less of your speed, the cooked fish are some of the finest. My first visit drew me to the Havantini 2.0 with campanelle noodles tossed in a buttery uni sauce, made richer with shrimp and sizeable crab chunks. It’s balanced with a needed helping of red pepper flakes. On my second visit, my dining companion and I both chose from the sea, the Banana Leaf Snapper for him, and the Piri Piri Hake for myself. The snapper came slathered in a bright green salsa verde with a solid square of crispy coconut rice balanced with the right amount of sweetness. The hake came out fiery red, crusted in a chili spice. While the spice of the fish alone was plenty pleasing, the bed of lentils and slices of crunchy fried okra that joins it all comes together as one.
But if you came to love Samuelsson for his fried chicken, you can find it (and then some) in the Doro Wot. This dish features chicken three ways. First, a fried wing coated in a sticky sweet glaze of berbere and honey. It leans on an injera roll that encases doro wat or a spicy Ethiopian chicken stew. All is sprinkled with ayib cheese for a mild and Earthy finish which can help temp down the heat if the chiles inside give you too much trouble. And last but not least, it is all served with an egg, to keep in step with the traditional dish.
All in all, Hav & Mar sets the standard for what a restaurant could be, grounded in a kitchen that values diverse voices, allowing them the ability to finally shine.
Vitals
The vibe: This is a Marcus Samuelsson restaurant after all. Meaning, parties are to be had here. If a vibe is what you seek, book a table at the end of the week or during the weekend. But if a quiet catch-up is needed, the early half of the week is more mild.
The food: Be it raw or cooked, the seafood here is some of the best around. But if you aren’t feeling the fish but still want the fusion of it all, you can find it in the Doro Wat.
The drinks: Berbere spiced sippers and Swedish rum grace the menu here. There is also a full menu of aquavit, a Nordic spirit that is reminiscent of a gin. A single shot is a bit on the pricier side ($10 for one ounce) but we’d recommend sampling before diving in with a highball ($18).