Mo' Mo-Chica

Say Hello to Paiche, Ricardo Zarate’s Under-Construction Cevicheria in Marina del Rey

Paiche, under construction at Stella
Paiche, under construction at Stella Photo: Tatiana Arbogast

In September, we caught wind that Mo-Chica and Picca creator Ricardo Zarate is hatching a new concept in Marina del Rey with his partner, Stephan Bombet. Named Paiche, it will serve as a Peruvian cevicheria offering its namesake, this Amazonian river fish of unusual size, and possibly a Brazilian relative of the piranha known as pacu, among other ceviches and cooked dishes based solely around sea and river swimmers. At the time of the announcement, the specific address was unknown. Today we stumbled across the restaurant’s future home at Stella, the neighborhood’s new mixed-use, Leed Silver-certified apartment and retail complex, in the northeast corner of the building’s ground floor at 13488 Maxella.

Paiche

On the restaurant’s liquor license application, the business is named as Mo-Chica, not Paiche, from the applicant Mo-Chica MDR LLC. Construction appears to just be beginning more or less on the sizable space, which the partners promised would hold 162 guests indoors and another 42 on a patio.

The restaurant marks a major coup for Marina del Rey’s whack-ass restaurant scene, making way for a place food-pervs citywide would actually travel to. Time will tell what eventually rises up in the space, as Paiche looking to an opening early next year. Either way, Zarate’s legions of local, national, and homeland fans will be stuck like glue on any new developments.

Paiche, 13488 Maxella Ave. Marina del Rey.

Say Hello to Paiche, Ricardo Zarate’s Under-Construction Cevicheria in Marina