Chef Konstantinos Pitsillades says May 31 will be the last day of service at Kanella, his Greek Cypriot BYOB at 10th and Spruce Streets, as he's moving to larger quarters - with a liquor license - in Queen Village.
Pitsillades is building out the longtime Frederick's at 757 S. Front St., which most recently was a bar-restaurant called The Village Belle.
Pitsillades will call it Kanella South, and he hopes to open in late June.
Pitsillades opened Kanella in Washington Square West in spring 2008 after returning from his native Cyprus. He had been chef at the short-lived Meze in the Italian Market, but packed up his family in 2006 when the relationship ran sour.
In his 2009 review, Craig LaBan wrote: "We have precious few chefs so devoted to celebrating rustic ethnic cooking with the blend of passion, attention to detail, and culinary skill that Pitsillides has. And he delivers his unique country cooking with the personality and uncompromising conviction of a great folk singer."
Last year, Times of London critic Giles Coren selected Kanella for a "million-dollar review" on his BBC America show. Coren called it a taverna that should be on every corner.
Pitsillades started the Kanella South project last year, but has been unwilling to discuss it in detail.
In an interview Sunday, he said Kanella South's menu will be similar to Kanella's: that is, meze platters, simple fish and seafood, earthy rabbit leg and goat, dips paired with his own bread.
Besides a bar, Kanella South will have a charcoal grill and open kitchen.
Pitsillades is trying to sell the current location, which has eight years left on the lease. If he cannot find a buyer, Pitsillades said, he would establish a different restaurant there - a simple concept that he declined to explain.
This article is from wwwphilly.com
Pitsillades is building out the longtime Frederick's at 757 S. Front St., which most recently was a bar-restaurant called The Village Belle.
Pitsillades will call it Kanella South, and he hopes to open in late June.
Pitsillades opened Kanella in Washington Square West in spring 2008 after returning from his native Cyprus. He had been chef at the short-lived Meze in the Italian Market, but packed up his family in 2006 when the relationship ran sour.
In his 2009 review, Craig LaBan wrote: "We have precious few chefs so devoted to celebrating rustic ethnic cooking with the blend of passion, attention to detail, and culinary skill that Pitsillides has. And he delivers his unique country cooking with the personality and uncompromising conviction of a great folk singer."
Last year, Times of London critic Giles Coren selected Kanella for a "million-dollar review" on his BBC America show. Coren called it a taverna that should be on every corner.
Pitsillades started the Kanella South project last year, but has been unwilling to discuss it in detail.
In an interview Sunday, he said Kanella South's menu will be similar to Kanella's: that is, meze platters, simple fish and seafood, earthy rabbit leg and goat, dips paired with his own bread.
Besides a bar, Kanella South will have a charcoal grill and open kitchen.
Pitsillades is trying to sell the current location, which has eight years left on the lease. If he cannot find a buyer, Pitsillades said, he would establish a different restaurant there - a simple concept that he declined to explain.
This article is from wwwphilly.com