Butter boards? Try cocktail boards at newly returned Rittenhouse lounge NoChe.
This is NoChe's second round at 19th and Chestnut Streets after a 10-year run that ended in 2014.
You’ve done the charcuterie boards and maybe even the butter boards. Now comes the cocktail board.
The DIY experience, where guests complete the drink-making, is the signature move with certain drinks at NoChe, which soft-opened last weekend on the second floor of 1901 Chestnut St., a corner spot above a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams shop.
This is NoChe’s second round at 19th and Chestnut. Back in 2004, Avram Hornik installed it as a bar-nightclub with a vaguely Argentinean tapas theme above what was then the Snow White Diner.
Hornik was in the bar business then with such establishments as Drinker’s Tavern, Bar Noir, Lucy’s Hat Shop, SoMa, and Loie.
With its slightly different spelling of Noche, the bar-lounge had a 10-year run before Hornik relinquished the space to chef-restaurateurs — first George Sabatino and Jennifer Sabatino (Aldine) and then Michael Griffiths and Kevin D’Egidio (Helm Rittenhouse). Meanwhile, Hornik’s portfolio at FCM Hospitality has grown (and matured) to include such destinations as Harper’s Garden, Lola’s Garden, and the seasonal Morgan’s Pier, Liberty Point, and Parks on Tap.
The 2022 version of NoChe, now in a soft-opening phase, is a cocktail lounge, fitting in with other intimate Rittenhouse Square spots such as Andra Hem, Franklin Mortgage, 1 Tippling Place, and the Ranstead Room. The look: heavy curtains, vintage mirrors, and individually lit tables beneath crystal chandeliers and an original tin ceiling. The soundtrack is inspired by French and Italian disco.
» READ MORE: Restaurateur Avram Hornik is on an expansion streak, particularly in Rittenhouse
Matthew Deutsch, beverage director of Hornik’s FCM Hospitality, oversees the bar, whose cocktails (starting at $18) include classics plus originals and spritzes. Liquid nitrogen is at play, both for chilling stemware and as a tool to muddle herbs and create puffs of smoke while drinks are being made.
NoChe is not intended as a dinner spot — rather for drinks and snacks before or after dinner. The menu includes food boards — charcuterie, cheese, crudités — and small plates such as lamb meatballs, caviar, and tea sandwiches.
It’s open at 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; kitchen closes at 1 a.m., bar at 2 a.m. Reservations are recommended.
Trivia: Thirty years ago, the second-story windows served as the exterior of the law firm in the Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington movie Philadelphia.