Scarpetta to Land in Rittenhouse Square

Back in September of last year, rumors were floating around regarding the successor to Rittenhouse Square's Smith & Wollensky location. Among them, Scarpetta, the modern-Italian restaurant not of the Scott Conant variety. Philly's Scarpetta at 210 West Rittenhouse Square in The Rittenhouse Hotel will be LDV Hospitality's, with plans to open sometime this summer.

Scarpetta, named after the bread you use to mop up your plate, will be a bi-level space serving lunch and dinner, with menu items similar to that of the company's other locations (Miami, Montauk, Las Vegas). That means fresh pastas and always-seasonal, local products. And for specialized purposes, Rittenhouse's Scarpetta will have some menu items exclusive to our city.

With the shutter of Stephen Starr and Chris Painter's Il Pittore, Rittenhouse's high-brow Italian spirit took a real hit. Scarpetta's arrival may be that void-filler the neighborhood's been looking for.