What’s better than Mexican food in an intimate setting? Try Mexican-inspired dishes highlighting fresh, local ingredients, authentic flavors, and creative execution.

These features will be the focus of acclaimed chef Akhtar Nawab‘s first-ever New Orleans restaurant, set to open within The Standard at South Market in early 2019. While the location’s name is still TBA, the innovative eatery is guaranteed to build on the success of Nawab’s growing restaurant collection across Brooklyn, Birmingham, and Washington, D.C., all specializing in unique concepts that celebrate local food and flavors.

“We’re thrilled to join New Orleans’ incredible culinary scene,” says Nawab. “I’m inspired by the city – the culture, the people, the care and focus on food and the community that comes with it. We’ve seen how a great neighborhood restaurant can help build that community, and that’s what we’re going for with this location.”

Nawab is no stranger to expansion and experimentation. Nawab is a well-known figure in the culinary world, having begun his career under chefs like Tom Colicchio and Loretta Keller. With Nawab as its sous chef, Colicchio’s Craft restaurant in New York City was named “Best New Restaurant” by the James Beard Foundation. Nawab went on to helm the kitchens at several acclaimed restaurants across New York before opening one of his own, receiving recognition and accolades from The New York Times, New York, Food & Wine, Eater, and more. He went on to mentor the likes of David Chang and appeared on Iron Chef America. He is currently the partner at Choza Taqueria in New York and has opened Alta Calidad in Brooklyn, Fero in Birmingham, and Prather’s on the Alley in Washington, D.C. 

“We’re eager to spend time [in South Market] to get to know the community,” Nawab told NOLA.com. “We want to be part of a community that seems very tight with food and very tight with each other.”