The completed transformation earlier this summer of the former, in-need-of -TLC Little Pete’s Restaurant & Lounge space on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse neighborhood into the sleek, modern Pearl illustrates the power of simple inspiration.

      

( o )  Pearl is a restaurant and a lounge, with the dominant discipline depending on what time of the day, or night, one visits. The later it is, the more likely that the dark upstairs lounge has overtaken the opulent dining area on the ground level in popularity. It is an Old City vibe, but perhaps it seems so much fresher because it’s not in Old City.

 

( o )   It does both food and drinks very, very well, albeit upscale. Even though Pearl is still relatively new, word has spread: A short wait for both entrance to the lounge or a dinner table is not unusual, especially Wednesdays during Center City Sips season and on weekends.

 

( o )   The food is worth the wait. The pan-Asian cuisine (China, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam) of Chef Ari Weiswasser is nothing short of outstanding fare. From the savory soy-ginger vinaigrette salad dressing served over the fresh greens in the Miso Ginger salad to the crisp, yet tender, Jump Lump Crab Cake dressed with a delicate lemongrass aioli, to the as-good-as-it-gets Cookie Dough Maki desert (vanilla ice cream encrusted in chocolate chip cookie dough, served with a side of decadent peanut miso dipping sauce), each course sampled was sensational and satisfying.

        

( o )   The lounge provides a haven for well dressed drinkers, who enjoy seeing and being seen and prefer liquor-instead-of-beer - understandable, as the cocktail menu stems more from mixology than necessity. Thought goes into the drinks. Proof: No faux mint Mojito here, instead sample a refreshing blend of shochu, ten cane, soho lychee, calpico and shiso.

      

( o )   The DJ booth thumps well above and over the decibel level of any normal casual conversation.

( o )   The pearl serves as the starting point for not only the restaurant’s name, but for its design as well. The dining area’s neutral shades remain ambient and warm thanks to soft lighting, dark-toned wood tables and an occasional bluish-purple hue. One past a sizeable waiting bar, a central aisle of tables is framed by walls of half-boothlike seating divided comfortably into tables by black beaded curtains that provide separation without isolation.

      “The owners, one of whom previously owned Red Sky (in Old City), wanted a space that could do everything: dining, lounge and a bar,” Sharon Fahnestock of DAS Architects, the firm that handled the design and space development of Pearl, said. “Our mission was to lay it out so that all of what they desired could fit into this space.”

       Indeed it does. The downstairs dining space, which seems unusually roomy given the narrow appearance of the building’s exterior, is topped by the full, long second-floor lounge whose dark purple walls and shiny accents emit a night-side aura. Circular booths, dance space and a VIP area also provide reasons why the upstairs bar seems livelier than its downstairs counterpart.

 

( o )   The design is intentionally different to Rittenhouse, if not completely unique to the city. “We weren’t trying to make (Pearl) blend in,” Fahnestock said. With other projects in Las Vegas, New York and Europe, as well as the new Union Trust Steakhouse further down Chestnut Street, DAS knows from different.

 

( o )   Original plans called for the floors to be revealed with a two-story high foyer inside the front doors. In retrospect, Fahnestock is happy that the building’s structure would not allow that to happen. “It seems to work better this way. Each level has its own identity and atmosphere.”

 

 

1904 Chestnut St.

Philadelphia, PA 19103

215.564.9090

 

info@pearlphilly.com