Is this new Middle Eastern restaurant Toronto’s most dramatic dining room?
Mar’aa has landed on the 51st floor of the Manulife Centre
Name: Mar’aa
Contact: 55 Bloor St. W., 51st floor, maraayorkville.com, @maraayorkville
Neighbourhood: Yorkville
Previously: AP
Owners: Beyond Restaurant Group
Chef: Executive chef Rosalin Keshishian (Babel, Auberge du Pommier)
Accessibility: Fully accessible
When AP, chef Antonio Park’s Nikkei kitchen, closed in April of 2025, the room on the 51st floor of the Manulife Centre didn’t sit empty for long. Mar’aa, which means “sight” in Arabic, now calls the sky-high space home.
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Executive chef Rosalin Keshishian leads the kitchen with a menu grounded in the flavours of the Middle East and bolstered by French technique, Japanese-inspired touches and seasonal ingredients. Guests can expect fire-cooked proteins as well as a parade of dips and sharing plates.
But the panoramic view of the city is the amuse bouche. “Our first goal is for our guests to see how beautiful Toronto is from the sky,” says Keshishian.
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The Food
The menu keeps one foot in the Middle East while borrowing techniques from elsewhere in the world. “We wanted Middle Eastern flavours to show up in a modern and international way while still respecting the roots,” says Keshishian. Each dish is meant to form part of a sharing-style spread that emphasizes flame-cooked seafood, richly spiced meats and a rotating selection of small plates.
The Drinks
The cocktails, curated by the Cry Baby Gallery team, incorporate Middle Eastern staples like hibiscus, rose water, pistachio, arak and date syrup. A tight list of mostly European wines, big-label beers and solid non-alcoholic options round out the drink selection.
The Space
Mar’aa’s dining room, designed by Danielle Adams of Block Plan Studios, is a theatrical take on a Middle Eastern aesthetic. The main room is anchored by a fabric canopy in deep red and gold, suspended above velvet banquettes and glowing metal lanterns that cast moody light across the space.
Wood panelling, patterned wallpaper and sculptural banquettes create pockets of intimacy throughout the large room. After dark, the city lights twinkling through the floor-to-ceiling windows do as much work as the lanterns inside. In warmer months, north- and south-facing patios take full advantage of the restaurant’s sky-high perch.
Jessica Huras is a freelance writer and editor with over a decade of experience creating food, travel and lifestyle content. She’s a content editor for the LCBO’s Food & Drink magazine, and her work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Chatelaine, Toronto Life and Elle Canada, among other publications.
