FEBRUARY 3 • 2022 | 45

T

he crustaceans and line-caught fish 
flown daily to Mare Mediterranean in 
Birmingham are so fresh that some of 
the catches “come in with the fishhook still 
in their mouth,” said Jay Feldman. He is part-
ners with his longtime friend, Nino Cutraro, 
and wife, Liz Cutraro, in the distinctive Greek 
seafood restaurant with Italian, Spanish and 
Portuguese influences. 

The Cutraros also operate Bella Piatta, an 
Old World-style Italian eatery in Birmingham. 
Feldman is primarily occupied as chairman/CEO 
of the local Feldman Automotive Group and 
Ohio-based Mark Wahlberg Automotive Group. 
The Feldman family belongs to Temple Shir 
Shalom in West Bloomfield.
“Having the restaurant has been a lot of fun 
so far,” Feldman said, “but maybe more for me 
because Nino is the one toeing the line every 
day.”
When he and Cutraro dined at a Miami restau-
rant known as Milos, they were blown away by its 
Mediterranean food and ambiance. Agreeing that 
“there was nothing like it here,
” Feldman said they 
enticed Milos manager Vladimiro Speranza to join 
their new venture. 
Open since Nov. 9, construction of the Mare 
(MAH-ray, or sea, in Latin) Mediterranean restau-
rant started in mid-July 2021. The 6,800-square-foot 
space replaces the shuttered Cameron’s Steakhouse.
Offering seating for 199 in three dining rooms, a 
lounge and a bar, Mare Mediterranean is a comfort-
ably contemporary restaurant such as found in Los 
Angeles, Manhattan or Miami. Jeff Fontana’s fresh, 

monochromatic decor makes use of quality mate-
rials. Commanding attention at check-in is Nino 
Cutraro’s own creation: projected black-and-white 
footage of his native Sicily and water flowing down 
three vertical screen panels.
Cutraro estimates 90% of guests prefer selecting 
their own fish from the Fish Market area, in front 
of the glass-enclosed open kitchen. I noticed labels 
for Golden Emperor, Wild Dover Sole, Dorado and 
Pink Corgi. The Crudo (Raw) Bar offers seafood 

dishes, like Branzino Ceviche.
I had a light repast accompanied by deli-
cious, house-made focaccia and ciabatta bread 
and fine olive oil. Mare Tower was stacked 
razor-thin and lightly battered slices of egg-
plant and zucchini, with Kasseri cheese and 
tzatziki sauce, best eaten warm. I dived first, 
unaware, into a delightful, finely diced Greek 
salad with fresh oregano. The best part was feta 
cheese cut into large triangles.
Chef Sean Force, formerly with Ocean Prime 
in Troy, offers a Risotto Primavera that can be 
made vegan. For meat eaters, he’s got grilled 
Colorado lamb chops and 30-day-aged Wagyu 
filet mignon and New York strip steak.
Returning to the Fish Market, the treatment 
called Aqua Pazza bakes fish in white wine. For 
an extra $10, Under Salt treatment will make 
fish with scales moister. Salt will not soak in 
as the fish is baked, 15 minutes per pound. I 
enjoyed watching dining room server Katya cut 
away the hard salt layer covering a striped bass, 
roll off the skin and debone the fish. She driz-
zled olive oil and lemon, then added capers, 
over pieces on a communal platter. 

Esther 
Allweiss 
Ingber 
Contributing 
Writer

Mare Mediterranean

MARE MEDITERRANEAN
115 Willits 
Birmingham 
(248) 940-5525 
Maremediterranean.com 
Dinner-only 
$$$½ out of $$$$$

MARE MEDITERRANEAN FACEBOOK 

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DINING IN THE D

