Inside Pilsen’s New Palace of Mariscos at Thalia Hall

Mariscos San Pedro has arrived inside Thalia Hall.

In 2022, Chicago’s mariscos scene took a turn when Big Star, the taco shop run by the owners of the Publican — One Off Hospitality — opened a West Town restaurant emphasizing Mexican seafood. There were signs before the opening that mariscos were about to burst into the mainstream (the city — for years — has had plenty of options, from El Barco to Mariscos La Playa). But when it caught the attention of Chicago’s most successful restaurant groups, it felt inevitable that ceviche, cóctel de mariscos, and pulpo were about to experience a surge in popularity.

Two years later, Mariscos San Pedro, a different type of mariscos restaurant, opened last week along 18th Street in Pilsen, a neighborhood with a large Mexican community — but without tons of mariscos options. Growing up in neighboring Little Village, chef Marcos Ascensio said he didn’t know of many restaurants that specialized in mariscos. Ascensio is one of the masterminds behind Bucktown’s hit Taqueria Chingon, and with his partners Oliver Poilevey and Antonio Incandela, they’ve set out to create a new neighborhood restaurant in the space where Dusek’s earned a Michelin star in 2020.

They gutted the ground-floor space inside 132-year-old Thalia Hall, the concert venue run by 16” On Center, the group that operates Revival Food Hall and Empty Bottle. The main room that greets customers as they enter is more casual, where they can enjoy tacos and lighter fare as they gear up for a concert. The second room stores a wood-burning oven that pushes out scallops with nduja, whole fish — like snapper — and more. The full menu accommodates everyday diners and special occasions from a variety of price points, including decadent seafood platters, San Pedro’s answer to the seafood tower.

Poilevey, who co-owns Le Bouchon with brother Nicolas, says the restaurant was originally tailored to open in Logan Square, but a real estate deal fell through and his crew, along with 16” On Center’s Bruce Finkelman, pivoted to Thalia Hall where they wanted to inject some energy. San Pedro is Poilevey’s fourth restaurant, as he opened Obelix in 2022.

The mariscos are for the people — fancy or casual.

The desserts are no afterthought — there are even four kinds of paletas.

His restaurants have celebrated Chicago’s diversity with chefs from different backgrounds cooking a variety of food. At San Pedro, Incandela, who’s Italian American, brings over his gourmet choco taco from Chingon, as well as a blue corn macaron and a fire-roasted plantain with piloncillo candied nuts.

San Pedro’s unofficial motto is “fish for the people,” the kind of hospitality that the Poilevys have always exhibited. Walk through the space below. Mariscos San Pedro is now open.

Mariscos San Pedro, 1227 W. 18th Street, now open, reservations via Resy.

Tuna tostada

Quesdailla with huitacolche.

Soft shell crab tacos.

Brandade dorados

Mexican chocolate lava cake