Chicago’s Most Exciting New Restaurant Is Cooking From 900-Year-Old Recipes
This excerpt was originally published in Pre Shift, our newsletter for the hospitality industry. Now Open is a yearlong series celebrating some of 2026’s most exciting new restaurants. Throughout the year, we’ll check in with teams in Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C., to hear what […]
Zubair Mohajir, a prolific new chef and restaurateur in Chicago, has created a restaurant that brings history to life through its 900-year-old recipes. The restaurant, Muhājir, is named after Mohajir, which means "one who migrates" in Arabic and Urdu. Mohajir's family last name, Mohajir, originated from a migration of Muslims from India to Pakistan after the partition. This personal connection to the name inspired Mohajir to tell the story of global migration through historical spice routes.
Muhājir is built around live fire, a cooking method Mohajir had never used before. He felt that the story of the restaurant needed to be told through wood fire. One representative dish is a duck inspired by a 927-year-old recipe found in southern Spain, influenced by Roman, Muslim, and Jewish origins. The duck is prepared in a unique manner, with the crown dry-aging for seven days, the wings made into a jus, and the legs made into a confit.
The duck is then cooked over a fire and finished in a brasa before being presented on a Turkish platter.
The restaurant also features a bar called Bobo, which is inspired by Mohajir's partner Jacob Dela Cruz. The two spaces complement each other, as people who visit Bobo may want to dine at Muhājir, and those who visit Muhājir may want to explore what is happening at Bobo. Overall, running Muhājir has been a learning experience for Mohajir, who now approaches challenges with a more methodical mindset.
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