Foodies can take a tour of the Amalfi Coast without leaving Philadelphia, with the opening of a new restaurant in Rittenhouse.
Oltremare, the latest eatery by chef and restaurateur Townsend Wentz, opened Friday at 2121 Walnut Street. The seafood-forward restaurant will serve handmade pastas, crudos, entrées, desserts, as well as wines and cocktails.
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“Oltremare combines my love of Italian food and the sea,” Wentz, who is an avid sailor in addition to his culinary career, said in a release. “The vision for this restaurant is to transport guests to the coast of Italy through not just the interior, but more-so food and drink that you’d commonly find in Positano or Amalfi.”
Highlights of the menu include the bluefin tuna crudo, fluke ceviche, spaghetti alla limone, polpo (charred octopus) and braised lamb pappardelle. On the beverage side, patrons can sip on Italian wines, amaros and Italian-inspired cocktails like the Negroni Spagliatto.
The 2,200 square-foot, bi-level space — which briefly housed Wentz’s signature restaurant Townsend before the pandemic — has been decorated in oceanic shades of blue, with wood and marble accents and lush greenery. Oltremare has a main dining room seating 70, as well as a 12-seat bar area and a mezzanine with additional seating.
Oltremare marks the second restaurant opening of the year for Wentz. He opened The Hayes, a contemporary American gastropub in Midtown Village, in February. The Townsend Wentz Restaurant Group also owns Oloroso, A Mano and Townsend EPX.
Oltremare will open for dinner service Tuesday through Sunday from 4:30-10 p.m.