Savú, a two-level restaurant-bar in Washington Square West, aims for dining and nightlife under one roof
Entrepreneur Kevin Dolce wanted an all-in-one space with echoes of N.Y. and Miami.
Savú opened earlier this month in Washington Square West with a clear pitch: dinner and nightlife under one roof — and a retractable one, at that.
“The concept is really about bringing a little bit of Miami and New York to Philadelphia,” said owner Kevin Dolce, the restaurant’s managing partner and founder of Hi-Def Hospitality. “There are places that do dinner and places that do nightlife. We want both in the same space, consistently.”
Savú occupies the two-level space that last housed Cockatoo, an LGBTQ-friendly bar-restaurant. Dolce said Savú is aimed at everyone. The first floor is anchored by an enormous rectangular bar for walk-ins at the center of the room, with seating wrapped around it. Lounge seating lines the fling-open front windows at 13th and Chancellor Streets, where DJs spin Thursday through Sunday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., shifting the mood from dinner to late-night. Cocktails stick to standards — espresso martinis, French 75s — alongside Champagne and bottle service.
Upstairs, two additional bars designated for customers with reservations serve a dining room outfitted with banquettes and low lighting. When weather allows, the retractable roof will open, creating an indoor-outdoor feel rare among Center City restaurants.
Savú’s address — along the restaurant row that includes Barbuzzo, Double Knot, and El Vez — has turned over in recent decades. A midcentury diner called Dewey’s once stood there, followed later by Letto Deli. The building was razed in the mid-2010s and replaced with a modern structure that reopened in 2017 as Maison 208. That concept gave way in late 2020 to Cockatoo.
Chef Maulana Muhammad’s dinner menu signals a push toward a higher-end night out: caviar bumps paired with fries and champagne, lamb chops, grilled branzino, lobster pasta, and ribeyes.
Muhammad, a graduate of the Restaurant School, has been around the block. She interned at the old Striped Bass and spent 12 years at the Four Seasons on Logan Square under chef Jean-Marie Lacroix and his team. Through the 2010s, she ran her own restaurant, Maulana’s Café, in the Philadelphia Design & Distribution Center in Wissahickon, and then worked for Constellation Catering just before the pandemic.
After handling production that had her and colleagues cranking out 50,000 meals a day, she stepped away from the kitchen to help operate her family’s home healthcare agency.
Muhammad joined Savú a year ago to build the menu, after her brother, who knows Dolce, mentioned plans for the restaurant. “I like simple, good food,” Muhammad said. “I love creativity, but I want people to feel full and satisfied. I don’t want them leaving and stopping somewhere else to eat.”
Dolce has brought in chef Dominique Shields, founder and former owner of North Philly’s Pretty Girls Cook, to oversee weekend brunch, which starts Feb. 28 with such offerings as seafood grits with fried flounder and shrimp, pancakes with fried chicken wings and honey butter, and oxtail hash along with made-to-order omelets and classic egg plates with beef or turkey bacon. In addition to the 11 a.m.-to-3 p.m. brunches, there will be a Sunday Champagne brunch from 4 to 8 p.m. that will be a ticketed, entertainment-focused event upstairs. General admission will include a drink and booths will be reservable.
Dolce, whose background is in financial consulting, got a taste for nightlife in September 2023 when he opened Taste Cheesesteak Bar on the ground floor of the Sterling, an apartment building at 1809 JFK Blvd. It was, and still is, one of the city’s few cheesesteak shops offering DJs and a full bar.
Dolce has been on a tear of lease-signing. In 2024, he announced plans for Enigma Sky, a three-story Thai-fusion restaurant and lounge in the former Golf & Social at 1080 N. Delaware Ave., as well as Taste Taco Bar, under the Larry Fine mural at Third and South Streets, at the former Jon’s Bar & Grille. Last year, Dolce said he was also converting the former 7-Eleven store at 1084 N. Delaware Ave., next to Enigma Sky, into Finish Your Champagne, a brunch-driven concept. Citing delays with permitting and approvals, Dolce said Taste Taco Bar is expected to open for Cinco de Mayo, with Enigma Sky and Finish Your Champagne opening by the end of the year.
“Philadelphia is about to have a huge few years: the World Cup, the city’s 250th anniversary, the MLB All-Star Game, NCAA tournaments, PGA events,” Dolce said. “Millions of people are coming, and we want to grow alongside the city and be part of that story.”
Savú, 208 S. 13th St., 445-223-4865, savuphl.com. Initial dinner hours: 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday to Saturday. Brunch (starting Feb. 28): 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Champagne brunch: 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday.