10 Arts at Ritz-Carlton to yield to Latin restaurant Aqimero
Chef Richard Sandoval is behind the new restaurant, due to open in May.
The days of 10 Arts at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel are numbered.
The hotel, undergoing a $24 million redesign, announced in a press release Monday that it has retained the services of globe-trotting chef Richard Sandoval to open a new restaurant beneath the soaring, Pantheon-like dome in the lobby on Broad Street across from City Hall. (Sandoval and his restaurateur-brother, Alfredo, were both rumored to be opening restaurants here two years ago.)
Aqimero, targeting a May 2016 opening, will have a wood-burning grill at the center of what appears to be a "coastal Latin" small-plates menu focusing on sustainable seafood, steaks, ribs, and poultry. There also will be a sushi and ceviche bar. It will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and have a glassed-in kitchen.
The Mexican-born Sandoval has restaurants scattered around the world from his home base of Denver to Dubai, including Raya, at the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point, Calif. He also is rumored to have a deal for a second Center City Philadelphia restaurant in the works.
Aqimero is part of a $24 million redesign at Philly Ritz-Carilton which also includes new rooms and meeting spaces.
The Ritz-Carlton says there will be no disruption in service as Wimberly Interiors does its work.
Chef Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin) fronted 10 Arts at the hotel's 2008 opening. The PR buzz faded shortly after his designated chef de cuisine, Philadelphia-bred Jennifer Carroll, left in October 2011.
Carroll is doing quite well in the D.C.-Northern Virginia area, as she is working with Mike Isabella at a pop-up version of his Requin restaurant.