At South Street’s new Banshee, Cheu alums find they’re ‘all grown up’

The door of Banshee at 16th and South Streets will be unlocked Thursday, welcoming patrons for crispy onion tarts, chicory salad, and a saucy Spanish mackerel dish you can mop up with house-made sourdough, then polish off with a sip of draft wine or a sesame- and pineapple-laced whiskey sour.

The cozy, modern American bistro is a refined addition to the Graduate Hospital neighborhood. And although two of its backers will be familiar to followers of Philly’s restaurant scene, Banshee marks a clear break from the Asian-inspired street food and graffitied airs that defined their earlier work.

Shawn Darragh and Ben Puchowitz, who founded Cheu Noodle Bar (2013), Cheu Fishtown (2017), Bing Bing Dim Sum (2015), and Nunu (2018), have brought on two key former employees as partners: twin brothers Kyle and Bryan Donovan, 34.

Kyle Donovan — who started at the original Cheu near 10th and Locust and later managed Bing Bing on East Passyunk until it closed in 2024 — is Banshee’s general manager, overseeing 12 walk-in-only bar seats and about three dozen seats in the dining room.

Banshee executive chef Bryan Donovan was opening sous chef under Puchowitz at Cheu Fishtown before he went on to cook at Sqirl in Los Angeles and Contra, Wildair, and the Four Horsemen in New York City.

Darragh and Puchowitz, now in their early 40s, have moved on from the day-to-day of restaurant work. Darragh, the front-of-the-house/marketing guy, runs a construction company. Puchowitz — who as a 23-year-old ran the kitchen at the late, great Rittenhouse BYOB Matyson — works in real estate.

“It’s fair to say we’re all grown up now,” Darragh told me. “We’re trying to carry over that neighborhood spirit but take it a step further — maybe a little more refined but still fun.”

The visual shift, not only from their former restaurants but also from the building’s previous occupant, Tio Flores, is obvious. Stokes Architecture + Design created a warm, Scandinavian-inspired space with natural woods, curtains, table lamps, pendant lights, and a mushroom-wood accent wall. The up-lit bar anchors the room.

Banshee was originally planned for the former Bing Bing space on East Passyunk Avenue at 12th Street, but that deal fell through. Chefs Biff Gottehrer and Kenjiro Omori are renovating it for a new restaurant called Tako Taco.

Don’t expect ramens or dumplings at Banshee. The menu leans Mediterranean/Basque — chef-driven but not inaccessible. Premium ingredients include Berkshire pork collar ($25) and Lady Edison ham ($17) with persimmon and fromage blanc. The center-of-the-table dish is a half chicken ($39) with pickled peppers and buttery Marcona almonds.

Vegetables take center stage: braised leeks with boquerones, pepitas, and Comté ($14); grilled Kyoto carrot with txakoli sabayon ($15); and a chicory salad with dijonnaise, pear, and nutty, creamy Midnight Moon cheese ($15). Fermentation-driven umami shows up in red kuri rice with koji butter and nori, as well as a winter citrus salad finished with brown butter, pine nuts, and umeboshi. About half the menu is vegetarian, and five dishes are vegan or easily made vegan.

The tarte flambée ($15) is one of the most distinctive dishes on the menu. It starts with a yeasted semolina dough that’s rolled through a pasta sheeter, cut into squares, and baked on olive oil-lined sheet trays. It’s topped with smoked crème fraîche, caramelized onions, raw onions, maitake mushrooms, chives, and hot honey, and finished with a leek-and-parsley powder made from dehydrated leek scraps. Crispy and bold, “it’s layered onion flavor all the way through,” Bryan Donovan said.

A dill mignonette brightens the Barnstable oysters ($22). Hamachi crudo ($18) is sliced thick to highlight the fish’s natural fat and paired with a bright, acidic sauce made from minced peppers, passion fruit puree, shio koji, and white verjus. “The sauce actually came first, and then we tailored the fish to it,” Donovan said.

A larger plate of Spanish mackerel ($24) is served over grilled Brussels sprout leaves tossed in a smoked clam emulsion with thyme and tamari, finished with olive oil tapenade and pickled golden raisins.

“We’ll change vegetables seasonally and add more snacky, fried, and skewer-style items as we settle in,” Donovan said. “Spontaneity and experimentation are part of the spirit of the place.”

There’s a baked Alaska (not done tableside) and a butterscotch Krimpet filled with boysenberry jam for dessert.

Check average is projected at $70 to $75 per person for two to three dishes and one drink.

The Banshee partners brought in lead bartender Mary Wood to build the cocktail program, working alongside assistant manager Madeline Anneli. “None of us are professional bartenders, so we wanted real expertise on cocktails,” Kyle Donovan said.

Wood’s list draws from home-cooking influences and ingredients already used in the kitchen. The Dirty Banshee ($16) — olive oil-infused vodka, garlic fino, and blue cheese olive — leans deeply savory. Beet imbues the Crowd Work ($15), a sparkling gin cocktail with lemon and quinine. The bar also offers low-ABV drinks, nonalcoholic options, fermentation elements such as tepache, and an accessible beer lineup.

Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday through Monday. Reservations are available on Resy on a rolling 30-day basis.

Banshee, 1600 South St., 267-876-8346, bansheephl.com