Caribou Café first opened in 1988 as a French coffee shop in Fitler Square. By the mid-90s, now a full-service French brasserie, Caribou Café was one of the hottest restaurants in town. Today, Caribou Café enters its next era with new ownership under Chef Townsend Wentz and part of the Townsend Wentz Restaurant Group, with a refreshed interior, a revamped kitchen, an all-new menu orchestrated by new Executive Chef — the award-winning Chef Eric Starkman — with GM/fiancé Stephanie Blanc, a Gramercy Tavern alum, helming front-of-the-house operations.
Previously Starkman headed up the kitchen at Wentz’s eponymous Townsend before heading back to his native New York City where he held a Chef de Cuisine title at the Michelin-starred L’abeille in Tribeca under Chef Mitsunobu Nagae. In October of 2023 Starkman took home the Creativity award at the Worldwide Oeufs en Meurette du Monde Championship hosted by Château du Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy, France. Starkman will return to Burgundy this fall as a judge in the competition.
“Our vision is for Caribou Café goal to be one of the country’s top brasseries, a must-visit for everyone who visits or lives in Philadelphia,” said Wentz. “As a neighborhood institution, Caribou is equal parts comfort and exciting.”
To build on his vision, Wentz re-hired the highly talented Chef Eric Starkman to oversee operations, develop a new menu and balance the classic brasserie menu with exciting pops of the unexpected and flawless execution of all dishes. Bolstering Starkman’s new menu is the Plat du Mois, a hyper-seasonal rotating “dish of the month” with upcoming installments including:
- Blanket de Veau – rice pilaf, veal shank, carrot, celery, mushroom (September)
- Choucroute Garnie – smoked sausage, braised bison, pork shoulder, gewurztraminer braised sauerkraut (October)
- Pot au Feu à la Royal – braised short rib, poached foie, truffle, carrot, turnip (November)
- Quenelle Brochet – pike quenelle, sauce nantua (December)
Starkman’s rendition of the Brasserie classic Steak Frites makes the case for how excellent technique can bring a classic and ubiquitous dish to next-level tenderness; paired with fries that snap and beg to be devoured, sopping up the heady rich sauce that’s plated on beautiful mis-matched China.
“I’m thrilled to be back. We’ve been here all summer toiling away — revamping menus, testing dishes, renovating the kitchen, refreshing the interior and overhauling pretty much every aspect of the restaurant,” Starkman said. “And now, we’re ready to share our work with our guests.”
Bruno Pouget, the Bordeaux-born former owner who brought Caribou Café to Walnut Street and owned the restaurant and bar during the height of its popularity recalls a very vibey scene where celebrities mixed with regulars and actors from the nearby theater called Caribou Café their second home.
“One evening, in a snowstorm, Lenny Kravitz’s limousine pulls up out front. Lenny came in and my mom was behind the bar even though she didn’t speak a word of English. She thought he was homeless because of his long vintage fur coat,” recalled Pouget. He added that celebrities were in all the time. “Lily Tomlin loved Caribou,” he said. “And when Les Miserable was in town, the cast would be in before and after the shows, and even pop in during the show’s breaks.”
These days, with a fresh menu that invites exploration as well as comfort, and General Manager and beverage expert Stephanie Blanc manning front-of-the-house, a new era of Caribou Café has begun. The huge front windows that open invitingly onto Walnut Street remain, along with the art deco statuesque lighting at the bar, vintage French prints, and the classic French sidewalk tables for al fresco dining.
Now officially part of the Townsend Wentz Restaurant Group, Caribou Café joins an esteemed lineup of diverse and acclaimed restaurants and bars including Townsend, Oloroso, A Mano, The Hayes, and Oltremare.
Hours of operation at Caribou Café are Tuesday through Sunday from 11:30am – 9pm for lunch followed by dinner service, and Tuesday through Sunday from 4 – 6pm for happy hour service. Reservations can be made via Resy.
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