Everything You Need to Know About Mariscos San Pedro, Now Serving Seafood in Pilsen

They brought in Antonio Incandela (Spiaggia, Le Bouchon, Obélix) as a third partner, who heads up pastry and puts out wondrous dishes like a creamy flan and a single-bite blue corn macaron. Alex Martinez and Andrew Celestino round out the chef team, and general manager Carlos Alferez (Frontera Grill) has created a robust list highlighting Mexican wines. Finally, assistant general manager Cynthia Salazar doubles as beverage director, creating an agave-focused cocktail list (yes, the margarita features mezcal, thank you very much).  

The team brightened up the formerly dark space with lighter blond woods, whitewashed brick, and various chalk art murals by Anna-Michal Paul, who will continue to add more color throughout. They even hung mezcal decanters over the main bar, with one dispensing shots of a drink called the Palabrita — housemade Chartreuse with Boomsma and Dolin Genepy liqueur, mezcal espadín, and Luxardo Maraschino, which Salazar created to reflect the three partners’ heritages.

Expect more hearty dishes like crawfish-lobster quesabirria and warming broths to make it onto the menu as winter takes hold, as well as eventual brunch hours. Here’s what else to expect at Mariscos San Pedro. 

Drinks, dinner … then a show. 

Mariscos San Pedro is just the start of an evening experience at Thalia Hall, which originally opened as a multi-purpose community hall in the late 1800s. It was reopened in its current incarnation in 2013 by the 16 on Center group to rekindle the idea of a neighborhood meeting place. MSP, on the ground level, is your first stop. (Or maybe your second, as you could start your night with cocktails at the subterranean Punch House bar, which highlights various punches.) After dinner, assuming you have tickets or the show hasn’t sold out, head upstairs for a concert at Thalia Hall. The venue hosts an eclectic lineup of music and comedy acts with artists like the Heavy Heavy, Romy, Soccer Mommy, and Reggie Watts. Can’t get into the show? Pop into Tack Room, a piano lounge with live music, craft cocktails, and a select menu of MSP items.

It’s a religious experience. Sort of.  

Wondering where they got the name? It’s inspired by the San Pedro fish (a.k.a. John Dory), a favorite of the kitchen team. The fish has become the restaurant’s mascot and can be found throughout the space, including on the menu as a whole-roasted item and even on the wallpaper in the bathrooms. San Pedro, or St. Peter in English, is the patron saint of fishermen, and MSP sits across the street from St. Procopius Catholic church.

“Most mariscos places have a character or mascot, and we wanted to bring that into the branding,” Poilevey said of their own San Pedro, which was created by local design studio Secco. “We use the Catholic stories as part of our branding in a cheeky way, but not to preach the gospel.”  

Post up at the chef’s counter to see the live fire.

If you want a front-row seat to the action, request a table at the chef’s counter. These prime seats are parked just in front of the two wood-burning ovens, where you can watch the chefs preparing all sorts of seafood for roasting. Whole fish — snapper, dorade, and the namesake San Pedro — are roasted within, each with a different rub or marinade. Head-on prawns, octopus, scallops, and more also get their turns in the fire, which the chefs keep burning all night long. 

Start with raw seafood, then move on to tacos and tortas — or maybe get a platter.

With such a multicultural kitchen team, the mariscos here aren’t exactly traditional—and that’s part of what makes it so exciting.  Start your night with oysters, either chilled and served with a michelada granita, tajin and avocado, or grilled with achiote butter. Then get some ceviche (go traditional with the shrimp, octopus, and mussel cocktail), or an aguachile with Hokkaido scallops and a fiery-sweet juice of pineapple, hibiscus, and serrano, or more refreshing combination of kampachi, watermelon, and crispy miso bits. 

Then move on to the crispy cod Baja taco with creamy aioli and slaw, as well as the brandade dorados with avocado and crema (Poilevey uses the brandade recipe from his late father, Jean-Claude, who opened Le Bouchon). Grab a crunchy tuna tostada (and be sure to ask about the chef’s special that day) before switching to more composed dishes like the wood-fired head-on shrimp; a playful bacon-wrapped octopus “hot dog” topped with pico and salsa macha; or or the mussels and fries in a chipotle sauce with bollilo bread.

If you have a larger group (at least four people), Poilevey recommends sharing one of the platters: La Caribeña or torre de mariscos. Both have ample shellfish and fish that are great either as a starter for the table or a main dish you can all pick at. 

Not into seafood? No problem. 

While MSP focuses on seafood, the restaurant does have options for carnivores — and even those who simply want veggies. The “masa y mas” section of the menu offers a wood-fired chicken with sikil pak (a smoky Mayan pepita dip) and potatoes; a duck tamal with mole; an apple and squash salad; quesadillas, and more. 

And depending on the night, there may also be a secret cocktail. Salazar recently mentioned an aguachile margarita she’d been working on— so naturally we had to order one. Made from green aguachile juice (made of serrano pepper, onion, pineapple, and cilantro) mixed with reposado tequila, it’s served with a salted chapulines rim (that’s dried and roasted grasshoppers, and yes, they’re delicious). Unexpected and refreshing—much like MSP itself. 

Ari Bendersky, a lifestyle journalist specializing in food, wine, spirits, and travel, is the author of Something Glorious with Ari Bendersky on Substack. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter. Follow Resy, too.