A Toast to Branzino, Smiling Staff, and ‘One of Those Nights’ with PJ Calapa

Marea is an award-winning restaurant with locations in New York, NY and Beverly Hills, CA. The fine-dining restaurant is known for its fresh fish and pasta options, attentive hospitality and — most recently — playing host to One of Those Nights, an evening where Toast took over the restaurant for the ultimate tech test. 

At Toast, we create technology that helps restaurants accomplish a thousand little things so they can find success on their terms. We also know it takes a team of hardworking people from front to back of house to power great hospitality experiences every day. The “Toast to…” series salutes those individuals and gets to the heart of what makes this industry so special. We sat down with Executive Chef of Marea, PJ Calapa, to learn how he leads his team to offer impeccable hospitality worthy of a restaurant at “the best address in the world.”

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? What was your first food service job?

I grew up in South Texas. I went to Texas A&M for undergrad, and didn’t really love school. I told my parents I wanted to be a chef. They were a little bit apprehensive, but my mother told me to get a job at a restaurant, and then let her know if I still loved it. I got a job at a restaurant outside of where Texas A&M is. I loved the systems in the kitchen, the camaraderie, and cooking. After a while, I moved to New York to go to the Culinary Institute of America.

Somewhere along the way, I met Chef David Bouley, who gave me a job at Bouley, where I was thrown into the gauntlet—and fell even more in love. I worked at Bouley and then Eleven Madison Park. 

Wow, those are some impressive names! Where did you go from there?

I went on to open Nobu Fifty Seven, and then I met Michael White. Together we opened Ai Fiori, which is where I got my first Michelin star.

I'd always helped my closest friends with the menus for their bars. I decided to open The Spaniard with some friends. Shortly after, I opened my first restaurant as the owner, Scampi, though unfortunately, it did not make it through the pandemic.

It was a good learning process for me to understand all that’s involved with being an owner. I had to ask myself, “What's going to be next? Do I go to a new group? Where do I start? Do I raise money again?” I connected with Ahmass Fakahany, owner of Altamarea group, who said “You know, Marea needs a new leader.”  

And I've been at Marea for almost two years. We did a whole renovation and reopened last October. It’s been full steam ahead since, and I’ve been having an amazing time there. We just opened a second location in Beverly Hills.

Tell me more about Marea.

Marea is a feeling. My personal opinion is that Marea has the best address in New York City for a restaurant, which potentially means it has the best address in the world for a restaurant. 

The outline for the menu is coastal Italian. We serve lots of raw fish and pasta. I think that we have a timeless combination of food that people will always gravitate towards. Our menu gives us the opportunity to continue to evolve as a restaurant without having to change too much. You don't need to keep reinventing yourself every year, but we are able to be more progressive. Through this, we’ve created a ton of regulars which gives us the opportunity to continue to create new things, which is exciting for our young cooks. 

The most rewarding part is making guests happy and even making my children happy if they are eating at the restaurant. There's no better feeling in the world than making people feel good and making them smile. Maybe they didn't walk in with a smile, but they're walking out with one.

What’s your favorite thing on the menu?

There's a branzino tartare that I've been making that I love and will never come off the menu. It’s diced branzino with our house-made Calabrian crunch. It has Calabrian chiles, crispy shallots and garlic, and a dash of mushroom powder to give it some umami. We add toasted pistachios and chives,  plate it on circles of watermelon radishes, and dress it heavily with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. It’s pretty on the eyes and pretty on the tongue.

We had a table the other night come back after their show to have another portion of it. I asked, “Are you back for dessert?” and they said, “No, no, we came back for more branzino.” That was one of the best compliments I ever received.

Branzino tartare at Marea

What advice do you have for other chefs who might want to be the next PJ Calapa when they grow up?

Work hard and take care of your team. Understand that everyone in the restaurant is a different person, and they're not just a title or a station name or a server or a guest. Obviously everyone should have the same end goal, but there are going to be different paths for us to get to that goal. Leadership is about helping people feel understood and creating the space for everyone to achieve success together. 

What does a thriving restaurant look like to you? And how do you set yourself up to thrive?

This interview was edited for space and clarity.

PJ Calapa is Executive Chef for Marea, a New York City restaurant by the Altamarea Group. You can follow PJ on Instagram. To learn more about the restaurant or to book a table, you can visit their website , or follow them on Instagram.