One of Milwaukee’s most anticipated new restaurants has announced it will soon welcome its first guests.
Upscale Mediterranean restaurant āya will open on Feb. 23. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the Ascent MKE apartment complex at 700 E. Kilbourn Ave., Suite 100, near Cathedral Square Park. At 25 stories, the Ascent is the largest mass timber structure in the world.
Owners Fatima and Hanish Kumar announced plans for their new restaurant in May 2025.
“Our goal is to create a space where guests can connect over exceptional food and drink, experiencing the rich culture and flavors of the Middle East in a fresh, elevated, and truly celebratory way,” the Kumars said in a statement at the time. “āya will whisk you away to the sun-kissed shores of the Mediterranean, offering a taste of centuries-old recipes, with our signature twist of elegance and flair.”
āya (eye-uh) means ‘miracle’ in Arabic. The Kumars said the name evokes the feeling they hope guests experience at the restaurant, where every dish “brings a little bit of magic to your table.”
Chef Abhishek Patel, who is the chef at sister restaurant Saffron, will lead āya’s culinary direction. A menu has not been posted online, but a sample menu filed with a September license application includes hot and cold starters like stuffed grape leaves, muhammara, grilled octopus, harissa prawns and cheese borek. Entrées include braised short ribs, shish Wagyu strip loin, lamb shank, grilled lobster, grilled sea bass and Wagyu ribeye steak. There also will be fresh salad, raw offerings like tuna tartare and Wagyu beef carpaccio, and caviar. āya’s “experiential” cocktail menu will feature fresh ingredients and artistic, bespoke creations.
Early glimpses on social media show the restaurant’s design as a glamorous, dramatic space with elaborate tiling, glimmering chandeliers and faux trees adding an organic element to the glitzy space.
Reservations for āya are available now on OpenTable. Follow the restaurant on social media atinstagram.com/ayamilwaukee for updates.
Dining and Cooking