By Dana Eastland. As previously reported on tablehopper, the Café du Nord and Swedish American Hall space on Market has a serious new lineup of partners getting ready to reopen it this winter. Dylan MacNiven and Enrique Landa have paired up with the Ne Timeas Restaurant Group and the Bon Vivants, and they’ve released some details on the new restaurant moving in. It will be headed up by newly minted Ne Timeas partner Ryan Pollnow and called AATXE. It’s inspired by the Basque region of Spain (and pronounced aah-CHAY), with a menu of plates ranging in size from pintxo-small to large and hearty.
To be clear, this is a restaurant component of the project, which will be upstairs on the right when entering the larger, 1907-built building. The downstairs entertainment venue is also coming from Ne Timeas and the Bon Vivants, but isn’t the same restaurant project as Aatxe, which will be more intimate and focused on functioning as a restaurant. Everybody got that? Okay, let’s proceed.
Spanish drinking culture will be celebrated here, with the bar at the center of the restaurant. The Bon Vivants are in charge of the cocktail menu, and you’ll find fun, sophisticated drinks with an eye toward sharing. An aperitivo section of the menu will include a cappelletti aperitivo with dry vermouth, red pepper, and almond bitters, and another section will offer beverages by the carafe, like a gin and tonic on tap. Since Spanish bars have been largely responsible for the resurgence of that particular bevvie, it’s rather fitting. The wine list will be exclusively Spanish, with mostly whites (and a few reds) from small producers.
Stellah De Ville is designing the new space, and will of course take lots of inspiration from Spanish architecture, including Moroccan and Moorish influences. The unique space already has an old-world sensibility to it, which will be respected and enhanced with some modern touches, like a white oak chevron-patterned floor. The dining room will seat 50, with an open kitchen with counter seating for 8. Right now, the plan is to open in late 2014; we’ll keep you updated on their progress. Hours will be Sun-Thu 5:30pm-11pm, Fri-Sat 5:30pm-12am. 2170 Market St. at Sanchez.
Cafe du Nord. Photo from Facebook.
