Chef Sylva Senat Is Taking Over the Kitchen at the Pyramid Club

The Pyramid Club, the members-only venue on the 52nd floor of the Mellon skyscraper at 1735 Market Street, is getting a new executive chef, with Top Chef Season 14 contestant Sylva Senat of Maison 208 replacing Nicholas Cassidy. An announcement went out to Pyramid Club members last week.

Senat, who was born in Haiti, has divided his career between Philadelphia and New York City, working for Marcus Samuelsson, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Stephen Starr. He opened Starr’s Buddakan in New York and later cooked at Buddakan here. Also on his résumé: Senat was the opening chef at Tashan on South Broad Street, an upscale Indian restaurant that left a hole in the Philly food scene when it closed.

Known for its tall windows and expansive city views, the exclusive Pyramid Club includes a dining room, a lounge, a bar, meeting rooms, and ballrooms. Non-members can attend events like weddings and parties.

Senat is also opening Baby Buns, selling sliders, fries, and frosé in the slowly opening Bourse food hall across from the Liberty Bell in Old City. A handful of vendors at the Bourse are already serving, with the rest planning to be up and running ahead of a November 15 grand opening.

Neither project will affect Maison 208, which opened in June 2017 at 13th and Chancellor in the Gayborhood. The bi-level, French-influenced restaurant has a bar and small dining room on street level and a lounge area with additional bars and a retractable roof upstairs.

Senat’s former boss Jean-Georges Vongerichten has been spotted in Philly this week — he’s opening a restaurant at the Four Seasons hotel in the new Comcast tower.