As Philadelphia continues to grow as a major urban destination, we get the privilege of watching its neighborhoods hone their own unique identities.
Fishtown, a Philly enclave once known as a hub for Irish immigrants working as fishermen on the Delaware River, is now widely acknowledged as one of the city’s hippest areas. Gastropubs, coffee shops, galleries, indie shops, and community gardens all have a major presence in Fishtown, but while this neighborhood just north of Downtown Philadelphia is in the midst of a renaissance, plenty of restaurateurs and hoteliers seek to honor its storied history by revamping Fishtown buildings dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries.
That’s the challenge that Foyer Project, a Philly-based real estate development group helmed by the husband-and-wife team of Galli Arbel and Dor Berkovitz, eagerly accepted when they came up with the idea for the Hotel Anna & Bel, a 50-room boutique hotel located in a three-story brick building that once housed the Penn Asylum for Indigent Widows and Single Women. The name of this 1858 operation may bring “American Horror Story” vibes to mind, but the Penn Asylum wasn’t an old-school “madhouse.” Rather, the building provided homey lodgings and benefits to women in need.
Foyer Project worked to channel some of that positive feminine energy into the hotel’s decor scheme. Rattan and velvet accents are prevalent, cozy neutrals and softer angles and arches show up prominently, and much of the original art displayed is created by female artists.
When it came to selecting a restaurant concept to partner with the Hotel Anna & Bel, Foyer Project liked the idea of creating a dining space “to complement Anna & Bel but [that] also stands on its own, both in terms of offerings and in terms of interior design,” says co-owner and Foyer Project brand and marketing director Galli Arbel. Choosing a skilled chef to devise a menu that could appeal to Fishtown’s trend-savvy population while also appealing to hotel guests was imperative, and Foyer Project found the ideal fit in chef-partner Tyler Akin.
Chef Akin’s previous kitchen experience includes serving as the chef/partner of Le Cavalier in Wilmington, Delaware and as the owner of the beloved and now-shuttered Res Ipsa in Philadelphia. Akin’s interest in opening a restaurant at the Hotel Anna & Bel happened in no small part because he himself is a resident of Fishtown. “I live here in Fishtown, my friends come to the restaurant, and it's critical that we are giving hotel guests a genuine slice of the Philadelphia restaurant experience first and foremost. We are locals [who are] accountable to friends and colleagues with whom we have deep relationships, so this isn't a hotel helicopter job. We want to make our peers proud to join us on their days and nights off from work,” Akin tells us.
Launching a restaurant at the Hotel Anna & Bel gave Akin the opportunity to collaborate closely with the hotel’s ownership and management to make sure that his ideas would fit nicely with the overall concept of the space. Akin acknowledges that it can prove challenging for a restaurant group to get into the hotel F&B groove, as the service goals often differ considerably. “In a hotel context, the disposition of any food and beverage team needs to lean towards ‘yes’ whenever possible, whereas true standalone independent restaurants have the ability to say ‘no’ and set their own terms. There are expectations around all-day F&B activations to accommodate guests' continuing needs throughout the day,” Akin says, adding that “as a 50-room property, we need to walk the line between offering our hotel guests what they need and expect [and to also get] genuine buy-in from the neighborhood and the city in general. So it's really important to look, feel, and act like an independent spot that happens to be inside a hotel, as opposed to a ‘hotel restaurant,’ which can carry some stigma among the native population.”
According to Akin, the menu at Bastia, the all-day café and coastal Mediterranean restaurant now open at the Hotel Anna & Bel, was inspired by a planned collaboration with a chef friend: “A couple of years ago, I was planning a collaborative dinner with my good friend and former boss Jon Sybert from Tail Up Goat in DC that was going to be Corsica-inspired. We ultimately had to cancel the dinner, but I was way down the rabbit hole already and continued to deep-dive.”
Akin felt excited and intrigued by Corsican cuisine and how it relates to other Mediterranean dining traditions, especially given his experience working with French cuisine at Le Cavalier and Sicilian cuisine at Res Ipsa. He grew curious about the similarities between Corsican food and Sardinian food, explaining that, “Sardinian cuisine shares some essential characteristics with Sicilian food. So it felt like given these islands' proximity to one another, and my own journey as a chef, it would allow an opportunity to play with some novel French-influenced traditions from Corsica alongside Sardinia's own brand of Italian dishes. The two work well together also because, for a long time, malaria led Corsicans to live in its mountainous interior, which has led to an Alpine cuisine profile, whereas Sardinia is lighter, brighter, and more coastal-feeling. This gives me some versatility to handle our own movement through the Mid-Atlantic's growing seasons.”
Galli Arbel also tells us that as Foyer Project and Chef Akin were hammering out the details of Bastia’s concept and menu, “Tyler Akin, our chef-partner, traveled to Corsica and Sardinia to deepen his understanding of Mediterranean cuisine. His expertly curated menu showcases the unique flavors of these region.”
Bastia’s focus on bright flavors, seasonal variety, and regional ingredients carries through its dinner menu, brunch menu, and cocktail list. Dinner highlights include grass-fed entrecôte steak with borlotti beans and sweet pepper salad; skate cheeks with corn and beurre blanc infused with bonito; and Sardinian suckling pig with flatbread and new potatoes. For brunch, guests can enjoy plates like green shakshuka with tomatillo and wilted greens and a Niçoise sandwich with tuna, tapenade, ratatouille, arugula, and harissa.
As for the drinks, Beverage Director Benjamin Kirk created a menu based on classic cocktails and aperitivos, but with whimsical twists that reflect Bastia’s Corsican and Sardinian inspirations. Currently, the menu features drinks like Isle of Beauty (Calvados, rye whiskey, local chestnuts–chestnuts are a crucial ingredient in Corsican cuisine–amari, golden raisin, and orange) and the Saint Nick’s Staycation (mezcal, Sicilian orange liqueur, Italicus, citron, and Vecchio Magazzino Bitter).
In addition to traditional dinner service, Bastia will function as “a counter-service all-day café Monday-Friday to complement its seven-day dinner offering and brunches on Saturday and Sunday. We are also introducing a sister concept, the cocktail-driven lounge Caletta, which will offer snacky Italian bites alongside a more progressive beverage menu than Bastia's,” says Akin.
The visual concept of Bastia is meant to feel like an extension of the Hotel Anna & Bel’s aesthetic, but with several distinct characteristics that give it a unique identity. Arbel says that the team’s goal was to “create a cohesive brand between the two entities.” She goes on to say that “when we started conceptualizing Bastia, we wanted it to complement Anna & Bel but also stand on its own, both in terms of offerings and in terms of interior design.” They accomplished this “through warm earthy color palettes, Mediterranean design elements and a shared overall vibe of timeless sophistication.”
Hotel Anna & Bel’s design focuses heavily on “maintaining the building’s historic integrity,” and Arbel continued that pursuit at Bastia by “preserving original features such as the entry doors, window frames, and vaulted ceilings. These elements served as a foundation for our design, ensuring that the restaurant complemented the hotel's overall aesthetic.” She also “incorporated design elements that complemented yet stood out from the overall aesthetic of the hotel. The bar's unique design, vaulted ceilings, and distinctive color palette set the restaurant apart while maintaining a cohesive atmosphere.”
Bastia at the Hotel Anna & Bel in Philadelphia preserves the historic integrity of Fishtown while also bringing in plenty of modern flair. It also features an engaging Mediterranean-accented menu crafted by neighborhood locals determined to provide an experience that’s both accessible and exciting.
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