PHILADELPHIA—The Rittenhouse, a luxury hotel located here, has introduced a new dining and cocktail experience in its recently redesigned outdoor courtyard, which was conceptualized by landscape design firm, Terrain.
The Courtyard at The Rittenhouse, located on the lobby level of the hotel, is now available to guests and locals alike, seven days a week, weather permitting. Menu highlights start with “Oyster Hour,” featuring $1 oysters and $5 sangria from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. It offers a variety of summer cocktails, wines and beers along with a selection from the raw bar and other refreshing snacks including: octopus with sunflower hummus and apricot, pork rillettes with pickled mustard seed and toast, zucchini chips with crab dip, salmon tartare with lemongrass and radishes, thai garlic sausage with cucumber and peanut, fingerling potato with nori and bonito flake, as well as a selection of artisanal cheeses and house made preserves.
In keeping with the hotel’s commitment to preserving and incorporating the local architecture and character of Philadelphia throughout the property, The Courtyard design maintains many of the space’s existing elements, including arched doorways and windows, faux balustrades and classically detailed sculptures and planters, which cumulatively reference the Beaux-Arts style of the surrounding Rittenhouse Square. This niche now features a variety of new plantings to provide the space with year-round sculptural interest, including three large River Birch trees in simple, modern containers, and three large Honey Locust trees throughout the seating area, which will create shade for guests enjoying their afternoon tea.
Additionally, seasonal floral arrangements fill nine new planters within the archways of the courtyard walls. Rising out of a simple evergreen groundcover, these modern planters offer fresh bursts of color while maintaining the classic Beaux Arts repetition of the space’s archways. Terrain topped off the transformed space with live centerpieces adorning The Courtyard’s furniture.