Helmed by Top Chef winner and James Beard Foundation Award-nominated chef and restaurateur, Nick Elmi, Laurel opens in Philadelphia. The restaurant is retiring its signature tasting menu only format in favor of an entirely new concept.
With an expanded footprint into the cocktail bar Elmi previously operated next door (In the Valley), Laurel is reimagined as a refined, neighborhood restaurant with an a la carte menu plus natural wines and craft cocktails in the heart of South Philly.
Coming out of the pandemic, Laurel entered a period in which it’s commonplace for a la carte restaurants to transition to a tasting menu format to stabilize costs and standardize labor. However, the inverse — from tasting menu to a la carte, like Laurel — is an almost unheard-of reinvention of the restaurant model.
A redesign embracing a more convivial scene ushers in Laurel’s new concept with designs created by Nick Elmi and General Manager Jane Fryer brought to life by Kirk Loubier of Loubier Designs. The result is a sleek, modern aesthetic that features Nordic white wood tables which give a modern nod to the storied history of white tablecloths in fine dining. Earth-tone accents, including a refurbished and engraved mushroom wood “Laurel” sign adorn the dining room along with leather banquets. Following the redesign, Laurel doubled its footprint offering 56 seats (including outdoor), five window seats available for walk-ins, and 10 bar seats.
Laurel’s menu is as refined with dishes on the opening menu ranging from $5 to $32. Chef de Cuisine Kevin McWilliams — who was on the opening team of Elmi’s Lark and also spent time at Lacroix, River Twice, and Kensington Quarters — pulls from French, Japanese, and Mid-Atlantic influences to design a seasonal menu that covers snacks, shareable small plates, pastas and large proteins. Plates include:
- Boquerones and wilted peppers on sourdough brioche
- Beef Tartare with shallot, dijon, and potato chips
- Duck with treviso and elderberry
- Parisian Gnocchi with chicken jus, and pecorino
- Grilled Bass with onion, ramp, and black and tan rice
- Dark Chocolate Cake with miso butterscotch and tonka whipped cream
- Coffee Cremeux with sunchoke ice cream, crispy grains, and raisin vin
Laurel’s wine program is helmed by General Manager and Sommelier, Jane Fryer, who delights in sharing wines from smaller, natural, and organic producers. Fryer designed the entire by-the-glass list, home to 17 selections, to pair with the restaurant’s dishes. The cocktail list, designed by Bar Manager Ann Lucey, pays homage to ITV’s craft cocktail past with culinary-driven creative riffs on classics. Examples include White Lotus, a coconut fat-washed negroni, which adds texture and balances the bitterness of a traditional negroni, and the Keep it Lowkey, a tequila-based espresso martini. Zero-proof cocktails get equal billing at Laurel, which serves Ritual Zero Proof Non Alcoholic Spirits to create NA iterations of nearly half of the cocktail list, alongside some bespoke zero-proof sips like the N/A Cherry Rum & Coke. Laurel also offers red, white, and sparkling non-alcoholic wines.
Laurel is located at 1617 E. Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19148 and is open Wednesday – Saturday 5PM to 10PM.
