Micaela Mar y Leña

MICAELA is stepping through the door and being transported to a paradise of sea and ember, a heaven filled with flavors from a mestizo, creole, Mexican cuisine in a universal mix; a sanctuary built to celebrate good food, the one made with wisdom and love for those who become our family. Micaela Mar y Leña is a unique restaurant, with roots of water and fire. It is a living story that is being written on every detail, on every dish, on the burning wood ready for the next culinary illumination.

We were inspired by a fortuitous encounter that happened in a flea market in Mexico City, where we found a lost letter hidden inside an old family cookbook from 1897. This secret treasure sparked Grupo Parentela de Comal de Pineda to follow a trail of clues that follows the history of Mexico itself to discover the woman behind the letter, an incredible woman, of African and Indigenous descent, with creole and mestizo blood and temperament. It is also the story of a runaway slave that escaped Louisiana to find his freedom and home in the port of Veracruz and also of a singular Mestiza, proud of her indigenous heritage, a unique combination that is the origin of a unique cuisine that would be taken by their daughter through a series of incredible circumstances to a wonderful little town and to the lives of an incredible family that left a deep trace in our history and our tables. A story that starts with that wonderful “Mica”, that warm and brave woman that knew that what is good for the belly is also good for the soul.

The Visual Identity retraces this wondrous story and values turning it into a careful exercise of materiality and warmth, where Micaela’s humane touch and loving spirit guides every line, every element, every shadow. Handwritten messages, cabinets filled with subtle tributes, a unique atmosphere crowned by the lightness of the family table, a design filled with the blueness of a sea that reverberates in waves that connects us all.

Micaela is a unique experience, built around embers and sea, imbued with history but looking into the horizon. It’s a magical space where architecture and interior design take us to an ideal, a classic place, always authentic, alive. It’s the perfect scenario where we can enjoy that special dish, made just for us, served in the best table surrounded by a warm and amicable space, filled with color, textures, aromas, and flavor. A place where there is a place at the table, just for us.