LDV Hospitality, the folks bringing their Scarpetta brand to The Rittenhouse Hotel (in the old Smith & Wollensky space) just announced the restaurant's official opening date: Tuesday, September 28.
Here's everything you need to know about the new high-end Italian restaurant opening at 210 West Rittenhouse Square:
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7108777/_U7G85072.0.jpg)
Scarpetta is named after the Italian phrase fare la scarpetta, which means to savor a meal to the last bite, a phrase which goes hand-in-hand with bread you use to mop up the leftover sauce on your plate. Its menu (below) will have all of the Scarpetta-staples: house-made spaghetti with tomato and basil (shown on the right), the polenta with truffled mushrooms, the braised short ribs. The kitchen will be headed by executive chefs Jon Oh and Jorge Espinoza, alongside Joe Nocella, who's turning it up a notch after tossing pasta in red-gravy Italian spot, LaScala's.
Of course, there will be an Italian-oriented wine list, plus craft cocktails shaken at the bar in the downstairs lounge.
Inside, LDV went for "minimalist, contemporary design", so look for white oak, marble, and distressed leather in the substantial 7,000 sq. ft., 150-seat dining room.
Check out the menus here, stay tuned for pictures, and make your reservations here.