Scarpetta Opening at the Rittenhouse on September 28

A couple days ago, we rolled out our Fall Restaurant Preview. In it, we talked about the opening of Scarpetta–the fancy-pants, double-decker modern Italian restaurant coming to the former Smith & Wollensky space at the Rittenhouse Hotel–and said that it was looking to open “in a couple weeks.”

Turns out, our estimate was right on. Because we just got word today that after some test dinners and a full run of friends and family services, Scarpetta will be opening to the public on September 28.

Scarpetta veterans Jon Oh and Jorge Espinoza will be running the kitchen, along with help from local chef Joe Nocella (ex of LaScala’s and Rocchino’s) and Del Frisco’s alum Drew Carballo, who’ll be running the floor as GM.

And they’ll be busy, because Scarpetta’s is boasting 150 seats upstairs, a 30-seat bar downstairs, plus a lounge. They’re going to start with dinners only, then expand into lunch and brunch service. At the bar, wines will be Italian-focused (natch), but come from a big list of glasses and bottles. There’ll also be a craft cocktail program because I’m pretty sure that’s just some kind of law these days. Can’t have a serious restaurant without a craft cocktail program. But I guess a good gin and tonic is just too simple for some people.

All kidding aside, the menu looks impressive–even for a town as full of high-end modern Italian as Philly already is. You the kind of fella who wants lobster as an appetizer? Scarpetta’s got that–with ceci beans and guanciale. The spaghetti with tomato and basil is what actually made the place famous when it opened its first location in NYC’s Meatpacking District (three stars from the Times? That’s nothing to sneeze at), but I’m more excited for the short rib and bone marrow agnolotti, which seems like just the kind of thing I’d happily eat off others peoples’ plates when they weren’t looking.

Oh, and not for nothing? They’re launching in Philly with an eight-item vegetarian menu, including warm asparagus soup, rosemary braised lentils and, of course, that spaghetti with basil. So they’re gonna fit right in with the Rittenhouse crowd, I’m sure.

You can check out the full menu below.

Scarpetta Dinner Menu (PDF)

Scarpetta [f8b8z]