Oltremare joins the Italian restaurant lineup in Rittenhouse

Townsend “Tod” Wentz thought he had it all figured out by early 2020. He had moved his high-end East Passyunk restaurant, Townsend, to 2121 Walnut St., a few blocks from Rittenhouse Square, installing a wine bar at the old location. He had bought the Irish Pub location on Walnut Street near 12th, opening it as a bar, The Pearl, to complement his Spanish restaurant, Oloroso, next door. Meanwhile, his Italian restaurant, A Mano, was chugging along at 23rd Street and Fairmount Avenue.

Life was good for the Palmyra native, who worked at the Four Seasons, Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, and Twenty21, before a breakout role more than a decade ago at McCrossen’s Tavern.

The bottom fell out when Philadelphia restaurants were shut down in March 2020. For months, Wentz worked alone at A Mano six days a week, making pasta, sauces, and sheet pans of focaccia. He’d advertise on social media, field and process phone orders, package the food, and set the bags out on a shelf for contact-free pickup. He used the meager income to keep the lights on.

Fast forward to the end of 2023: Townsend is back in its restored townhouse at 1623 E. Passyunk Ave. The Pearl has been upgraded as The Hayes. Oloroso and A Mano are still in business. Early this week, Wentz bought Caribou Cafe, the longtime French restaurant across the street from Oloroso and The Hayes, and on Friday, he opens Oltremare in the Townsend space in Rittenhouse.

Oltremare, whose big windows and open layout (with hues of blue, plus white marble and wood accents) dovetail with his concept of seafood-influenced Italian cooking, joins posh company in the neighborhood; it’s down the street from Vernick Food & Drink.

Oltremare’s 70 seats are well-spaced in a dining room backing up to a 12-seat bar, all overlooked by additional mezzanine seating. It’s a radical change from the one-time photo studio’s first restaurant tenant, TALK, a noirish bar-restaurant that closed after five months in 2018.

Wentz and chefs Ted Manko and Christopher Reid are offering handmade pastas, crudos, and entrées, and the bar is stocked with extensive selection of amari and Italian wines. Figure high teens for antipasti, low $20s for starters, and mid to high $30s for entrees, topping out at $42 for a huge ossobuco on Taleggio polenta.

Oltremare, 2121 Walnut St. Hours: 4:30 to 10 p,m. Tuesday to Sunday. Reservations via Resy. ADA accessible on street level.