Restaurant review: Mahari, a neighborhood home with the cuisine of the African diaspora in Hyde Park

Chicago Tribune

14-07-2025

Mahari brings not just the vibrant cuisines of the African diaspora to Chicago, but chefs tracing their cultures and blazing their own paths.
Executive chef Rahim Muhammad owns the restaurant in Hyde Park, the neighborhood where he was born, with his mother, Shawn Muhammad. Mama Shawn, as everyone calls her, is a chef as well who does all their desserts, he said.
The restaurant's name held meaning in their family long before they opened in January. It can be translated as 'gift' in the Swahili language, Rahim Muhammad said, and it's also his oldest daughter's middle name.
'We wanted to find one word that encompasses the beauty behind it,' he said. 'And it was Mahari.'
The restaurant has become an escape from the everyday, where 'people feel like they're on a retreat somewhere,' Muhammad said.
A woven grass ceiling over the main dining room with warm-hued tiled tables enhances that feeling.
'It's a very homey place,' said the chef, who was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 'Because a lot of us have a strong representation in Southern hospitality.'
It feels very exotic, he added, and communal too.
I felt the power of community during my two visits. I can't tell you how many times I witnessed friends surprised to find one another, from younger groups standing at the back bar at brunch to older diners seated for dinner.
A beautiful Caribbean lamb burger, available for brunch and dinner, has earned a reputation even among those who yearn to visit the restaurant.
'In the Caribbean, lamb and goat are more prevalent than beef,' said Muhammad. 'We use lamb, but there's layers to it.'
They start with a toasted brioche bun baked at La Boulangerie across the courtyard, he said, spread with a hidden layer of mango chutney. A spiced lamb patty, cooked to your preferred doneness, is then topped with smoked Gouda cheese, grilled pineapple and spicy pikliz, the pickled and peppered Haitian condiment.
'One of our chefs, she's from Haiti,' he said. 'So she makes a Haitian pikliz that has lots of complex flavors, sweet and sour and spicy.'
That pikliz may be my favorite component, adding a distinctive kick and crunch. But it's not just one chef dedicated to making it.
'Everyone can make it in the kitchen,' said Muhammad.
A side of golden yuca fries is done perfectly in the style of pommes Pont Neuf, the thick-cut frites arranged in a crosshatch stack. I haven't seen the old-school French fries since culinary school in Paris, which makes sense since Muhammad graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago, before beginning his career under chef Art Smith at Table Fifty-Two.
A spectacular prawn and polenta, offered at dinner only, is his interpretation of shrimp and grits.
Giant river prawns come piled high on an exquisite pan-seared crisp yet creamy polenta cake, set against a canvas of aromatic Jamaican yellow curry, garnished with caramelized cipollini onion petals.
'The polenta cake, I learned that in Louisiana,' said Muhammad. 'It's just a way that my aunt made it.'
That was his mother's sister who taught him how to make those glorious fried grits, the ingenious American Southern cousin to fried rice.
Pineapple wings rival the lamb burger as their bestseller, said the chef, and both dishes are halal. Crackly charred chicken skin gives way to flesh that's tender and deeply seasoned to the bone.
'You can get wings everywhere in Chicago,' said the chef. 'But I wanted these to stand out, so we have a four-step process.'
They start with a pineapple brine marination, a Creole Cajun seasoning, then roast and finally grill. And it's the final grilling, and a pan sauce made by deglazing with pineapple juice, that makes all the difference.
Stunning salmon calas, batter-dipped and deep-fried fritters, are formed with coveted heirloom Carolina Gold rice.
'Those were inspired by New Orleans,' said Muhammad. 'And that's true to my roots.'
But the chef reimagined historic calas, created in this country by enslaved people.
'In the 1800s, women were making a living by selling calas, sweet rice fritters served with a café au lait,' he said. 'But we turned it into something savory, because people love a good salmon croquette.'
His batter dip and deep fry create something more substantial, with a final flourish of roasted salmon skin and a lovely green salad dressed in mandarin segments and vinaigrette.
A French toast flambé transforms pillowy slices of brioche bread into nearly a custard, while maintaining its character through a tableside rum-fueled flame, with caramelized plantains and hot honey too.
'We have something we call Habesha honey that's made with berbere spice, which we get from Demera Ethiopian restaurant, one of our friends,' said Muhammad. 'It's straight from their homeland. Their farmland.'
An intoxicating ruby red nonalcoholic sobolo drink also infuses spice with intention.
Beverage director Lisa Brown was previously at The Promontory. She steeps floral red sorrel leaves with pungent Grains of Paradise, star anise, whole cloves, cinnamon, ginger, orange and clover honey. The resulting delicious cold drink is available with and without alcohol.
Her Afrodisiac Island cocktail sips smooth yet strong with Ten To One rum, the Black-owned brand co-owned by Grammy Award-winning R&B star Ciara. Brown mixes the rum with pomegranate, lime and smoked pineapple juices plus fig honey, finishing with Cavi-art vegan caviar for delightful tiny boba-like pops.
A cazuela de mariscos, however, while abundant with sea scallops and PEI mussels, seemed to substitute prawns for crawfish, which were once served in the shell when the restaurant opened. The chef said they were in the delicate pineapple coconut broth, but I sadly couldn't detect the crustaceans.
The okra étouffée, a wonderful substitution of traditional crawfish with the polarizing pods, had nice flavors, but the basmati rice in the smothered dish was overcooked and broken.
The desserts, including a plantain bread pudding and watermelon cheesecake, were so endearingly homestyle and as soft as an embrace, but not as refined as the rest of the bold menu. If I might say something as a critic that a son might find hard to say to his mother, those desserts can be taken to the next level, as were the fried grits.
The sambusas are an uplifting example. Colorful, hot and crispy, the savory triangular pastries are filled with spicy beef, pulled chicken or fine lentils. As someone who grew up making egg rolls my whole life, I appreciated the many careful folds.
'Those are special,' Muhammad said. 'They're handmade by a good friend of mine.'
Dalya Aderob's family is from Eritrea and Ethiopia, added Muhammad, and they wanted to highlight her family recipe.
A brilliant Haitian epis dipping sauce made with tons of peppers, onions, scallions, a lot of spices and herbs, is a heck of a process to create, said the chef, but the flavor stands out.
What also stands out are the many women leading the restaurant. Nia Nunn, the sous chef, and Christina Mighty, the general manager, keep everything in alignment, said Muhammad.
Mahari has chefs from West Africa, including a line cook from Mauritania, from across the Caribbean and from the American South.
But now, they're all from the neighborhood.
'This is our town,' said Muhammad. 'We just love being here.'
And they love celebrating, evident with birthday drums and a communal toast by the excellent staff and diners alike.
Their drummer, Kavonn Smith, who's from the Bahamas, plays a Bahamian carnival-style drum called a tum tum, said Muhammad.
'We have a community engagement director,' said Muhammad. 'His name is actually Magic Johnson, and he typically heralds every time we have a special occasion.'
When you go, the collective energy of those celebrations will linger like vibrations of fiery spice and resilient joy.
Mahari
1504 E. 55th St. (located in the Hyde Park Shopping Center Courtyard)
312-907-5274
maharirestaurant.com
Open: Dinner from 5 p.m.; Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday until 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday until 10 p.m.; brunch weekends from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m; closed Tuesday
Prices: $24 (Caribbean lamb burger), $18 (salmon calas), $17 (Kutkoota sambusa trio), $44 (prawn and polenta), $13 (sobolo nonalcoholic drink)
Sound: OK (75 to 79 dB) to loud (95 to 97 dB) during birthday drum procession
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible with restrooms on same level
Tribune rating: Excellent, 3 of 4 stars
Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.