Dining Out in New York, New York

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Restaurant: Mar, littlespain.com 

Architecture and Design: Capella Garcia Arquitectura, capellagarcia.com, with ICrave, icrave.com 

Square feet: 549 

Number of seats: 43 

Chef: Victor Rivera 

 Mercado Little Spain is to Spanish cuisine what Eataly has been to Italian food in New York: a 35,000-square-foot food hall featuring all things Iberian that was conceived by José Andrés and brothers Ferran and Albert Adrià. The restaurant Mar is in a back corner with low ceilings. “This is where the idea of a mural of the Ibiza coastline by Javier Mariscal came about,” says interior designer Juli Capella, “in order to give visual depth and not feel like you’re in a closed space. It’s like you are on a terrace facing the sea, eating delicious fish.” Mar is also a showcase for Spanish design, with tiles from Vives (“It has an excellent catalog that combines tradition and modernity”); wood veneer lighting from LZF Lamps (“like small blue and white clouds over the heads of diners”); surfaces from Cosentino (“like marble fish stalls in the Spanish markets but a lot more resistant”); and comfortable chairs from Sancal.