Restaurateur Mika Winder opens a second location of seafood spot The Pearl
Roxbury natives Mika Winder and Malik Winder, the restaurateurs behind The Pearl in South Bay, have expanded the acclaimed seafood spot to a second location in Boston Landing where they’ll serve up a whole new menu of ocean-driven fare.
Restaurateur Mika Winder, co-owner of The Pearl restaurants in South Bay and Boston Landing COURTESY PHOTO
When the couple opened The Pearl in South Bay in 2021, Mika had spent years working as a mortgage broker and Malik had retired from a career with the MBTA. Mika decided it was time for a more exciting new chapter.
“I wanted to do something I’m passionate about,” says Mika. “I’m naturally a person who wants to give to people. I love food and I love hosting.”
Recently retired Malik was skeptical, until Mika promised his signature chargrilled oysters could be on the menu. Grilled and adorned with parmesan, spinach and roasted garlic butter, the oyster recipe came straight from the Winder kitchen table to The Pearl menu. This dish is now available at both locations.
The Pearl is Mika’s baby, but it’s run with Mika and Malik as managing partners and co-owner Luther Pinckney as director of operations.
The Pearl’s chef Melissa Garcia serves up creative dishes like Black miso ribs. PHOTO: CELINA COLBY
Mika describes the Boston Landing location as more upscale and elevated than its comfort-food-oriented sister restaurant in South Bay. It’s also double the size.
Here, chef Melissa Garcia is serving up dishes like a hamachi collar with red pepper chimichurri and charred lemon; black miso ribs with charcoal, guava, green onion, asian pear chili crisp; and a fried whole fish with coconut garlic sauce, chili crisp and mixed herbs.
“Seafood is comfort food to me,” said Mika. “There are so many expressions, so many recipes. It’s in every genre of cooking, from West Indian to French and Italian. Everyone uses it differently.”
The Pearl is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Friday and dinner Saturday and Sunday. Brunch launches on March 22 and Mika hopes to have live jazz nights at the restaurant as well.
The Pearls hamachi collar with red pepper chimichurri PHOTO: CELINA COLBY
Mika says she was drawn to the Boston Landing space because the TRACK at new balance at Boston Landing, the multipurpose athletic and commercial complex that houses the restaurant, was trying to make the restaurant spaces accessible to minority business owners. That support allowed The Pearl to expand without the significant financial investment typically required for a new location.
Building the restaurant from the ground up also meant the team was able to design all the details, from the kitchen layout to the tableware, exactly as they wanted.
“The Pearl is a local, family-run business that aligns with our cultivated mix of New England homegrown origins reflected in the rest of our ground-floor operations,” said Dave Downing, managing director of the Graffito SP real estate team. “We are investing in the restaurant space on the ground floor of the TRACK to both enhance our offerings … and also to support The Pearl as best as possible as they expand their Boston presence.”
Family is central to The Pearl’s operation. Mika described going to seafood restaurants in Brookline with her mother, early visits that inspired her love of ocean fare. Her father, still ready to help at a moment’s notice, installed the purse hooks under the bar and can often be found in a corner seat chatting with the staff.
Many family recipes and favorite ingredients have joined Malik’s oysters on the menu and Mika hopes that guests feel like they’re dining at a swanky version of the family table.
“I like to make people happy,” she said. “And doing it with food is easy.”
