West Philly’s Long-Running Marigold Kitchen to Shutter

Marigold Kitchen, the BYOB on 45th and Larchwood known for its avant garde tasting menu, will close for good this week. The restaurant was open for a decade in its current form, but couldn’t survive the abrupt shutter of sister spot Talk, which lasted only five months at 2121 Walnut Street. Marigold’s final night is Thursday, January 31, Philly Mag reports.

Set in a historic Victorian house, Marigold has been a restaurant since the 1930s, according to Philly.com, though it saw quite a few changes. It was purchased by the Rastelli family in the late 1950s — a Rastelli still owns the building — and went through several incarnations before Steve Cook of the future Zahav, Federal Donuts, Goldie, et al., took over the space in 2004, soon after hiring Mike Solomonov. Robert Halpern bought Marigold Kitchen in 2009 and turned it into the tasting menu-only destination it is today.

Current owners Tim Lanza and Andrew Kochan were the chefs under Halpern; they took over ownership in 2014. Chef Eric Leveille, coming from the now-closed Whetstone Tavern, went to Marigold in May 2018.

This past summer, Lanza and Kochan opened Talk, an art deco-styled eatery with a liquor license on the other side of the river. It didn’t last long, closing in November. Kochan tells Philly Mag the financial loss on Talk led to the end of Marigold.

• All Marigold Kitchen coverage
• Marigold Kitchen to Close Its Doors for Good in West Philly [Philly Mag]
• Marigold Kitchen in West Philadelphia to close [Philly.com]
• 18 Essential BYOBs in Philly