firstlook

by A.D. Amorosi

The PSFS Building, now the Loews Hotel, has retained many aspects of its original design. But there have been subtle and not-so-subtle changes, some recent, like The Restaurant at PSFS becoming Sole Food, a seafood restaurant with ties to NBC 10’s morning show, which shoots in the building (hence, the large, lighted peacock). Much of what was previously here, since Loews opened The Restaurant in 2000, is still a part of Sole Food: the smoked glass screen at the entrance, the black-marble-topped deco bar, the gorgeous tile mosaic near the kitchen. "The essentials are the same," says general manager Robert Amar, noting that now the rooms tie together visually in a way that was lacking before. Little details set the scene in the dining area, like the polished sea stones that appear around the room, on each white linen napkin and in oversized decorative silver bowls. The restaurant sits along the windowed side of the room, facing 12th Street, next to a subdued, ’60s-ish lounge with gray couches accented by velvet pillows, cocktail tables and white leather chairs. On one side of the lounge is the NBC morning show booth; on the other, a grand piano. One long banquette wraps behind the bar, with a black and brown color scheme also utilized for the room’s three central booths. The rugs and chairs have changed from the burnt reds and oranges of the kitchen’s mosaic to simple charcoals and blues. But the most obvious change is Sole Food’s dedication to fishiness. In opposition to its previous classic American fare, the menu -- designed by new chef Martin Gagne -- takes familiar foods and gives them a twist, like the shrimp Cobb sandwich, consisting of Cobb salad and shrimp on focaccia bread. "People now come for the food and for the ambiance, apart from the hotel and apart from the morning show," says Amar. "We have an identity." --A.D. Amorosi

Sole Food at Loews Philadelphia Hotel, 1200 Market St., 215-231-7300.