Bar Ferdinand Brings Spanish Flair To NoLibs
Posted by Foobooz on July 3rd, 2006
Owen Kamihira is stepping beyond designing bars and restaurants and is opening his own spot. Opening this month Bar Ferdinand will feature Spanish tapas at 1030 N 2nd Street in Liberties Walk. Designed to be an affordable, casual neighborhood spot offering guests traditional tapas prepared at the bar, an all-Spanish wine list and an atmosphere with vibrant, floor-to-ceiling mosaic murals and other hand-crafted details.
For years Ive been working on restaurant designs for my clients, and now I am creating my own vision, a neighborhood spot serving Spanish bar food and drink, says Kamihira of his new restaurant that he and several area artists constructed, largely by hand.
Like the traditional tapas bars in Spain, Bar Ferdinand will feature a chef stationed at the bar preparing a daily selection of hot and cold small plate specialties. To create an authentic Spanish menu, Kamihira hired Blake Joffe, a classically trained chef who apprenticed with Chef Pedro Subijana at the Michelin two-star Akellare restaurant and La Cuchara de San Telmo, a tapas bar, both in San Sebastian, Spain. Upon returning to the United States, Joffe worked in kitchens at Alma de Cuba, El Vez and Continental Restaurant & Martini Bar.
Joffes menu, which will range in price from $3 to $9, features an exciting array of small dishes, including: Almejas en Caldo de Azafran, steamed cockles, fennel salad and saffron broth; Flan de Congrejo y Esparragus, savory crab and white asparagus flan; Sandia Camado, charred watermelon, Serrano ham, tarragon; Pixin con Panceta Pinchos, monkfish, pork belly and rosemary, marinated, skewered and seared; Cerdo Frito con Mustaza y Mahon, slowly fried pork, Mahon cheese, mustard, roasted peppers and onions; and Brandada de Trucha Relleno, smoked trout, potato, chive, piquillo peppers and shallots.
A long wrap-around bar with imported tiles set in a Moorish pattern and topped with deep-red slabs of scagliola, a man-made compound that simulates marble will provide seating for up to 20 guests. Behind the bar more than 50 bottles of choice Spanish varietals will be on view in a large wine display that Kamihira designed and fabricated. Bar Ferdinand will regularly offer more than 25 wines by the glass.
An extensive beer list with more than 35 selections will feature a rotating assortment of 10 beers on tap, local and craft brews and Spanish imports including Alhambra, a premium lager from Spain, exclusive to Bar Ferdinand. The bar will regularly feature a special $1 draft beer and a $2 wine of the week.
For guests who prefer a more formal meal, Bar Ferdinand will offer an equally magnificent dining room with a gorgeous antique gold leaf vaulted ceiling. Overhead a 4-foot, round iron chandelier, lit entirely with candles, will cast a mellow glow over the room. The walls will be covered with ornate mosaic murals created by Joe Brenman and inspired by celebrated matador Manolete and other legendary bullfighters. Weather permitting, Bar Ferdinand will also offer an off-street outdoor cafe along Liberties Walk for up to 50 guests.
Bar Ferdinand [Official Site]
Related Tags: Bar-Ferdinand, Northern-Liberties, Spanish
July 5th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
ooh…i’m a sucker for anything spanish. i’d be happy to volunteer myself as guinea pig!
July 9th, 2006 at 6:36 pm
i wish i could be there for the opening…………..good luck owen and i love you! xo
July 11th, 2006 at 3:46 pm
Good Luck you two!! I know it will be great.. We love you blake:)
July 17th, 2006 at 10:11 am
This past Saturday night, my wife and I found ourselves at a very unique restaurant, Bar Ferdinand, that just opened in Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia. The mosaics, the artwork, the dcor were stunning and the staff was incredible. My wife and I ordered several dishes, including desserts, sharing each dish. It was fantastic and fun. We really enjoyed the variety of dishes, and were phenomenal down to the homemade almond ice cream for dessert. I want to thank Bar Ferdinand for a wonderful time. To all those married couples, this place makes a great start to a Date Night with out the kids, of course.
January 6th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
I took my family to Bar Ferdinand over the holidays. While the ambience was lovely and the food excellent, the service left something to be desired. The server was extremely snooty about our requests for bread, even to the point of telling my mother-in-law that the restaurant might have run out of bread! We were very surprised by this attitude, especially as many of us have lived in Spain and know that authentic tapas restaurants serve ample bread with their dishes. It was a shame to mar such an enjoyable evening with this kind of attitude — and additionally, they should hire servers who can at least pronounce the Spanish names of dishes.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I had the misfortune of going to Bar Ferdinand with a large group. the service was unbelievably rude and snotty. When I got up from the table to order a beer at the bar (because the waitress was taking a long time), they didn’t want to sell me a beer and said “uuuhhhmmm you can get that from your sever.” when I insisted they looked less than pleased. They refused to give any seperate checks (or even checks by table; they would only give one check for the entire group), and would only take two credit cards. This left the birthday girl with an extra $200 she had to put in. The food was mediocre, at best, and overpriced for what we got. Quite possibly the snobbiest, snootiest place in town.
May 25th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
I just have to say for the record that the food was top notch. I mean there were a few things wrong (sandy greens, urned paella). But that is to be expected, things happen. I was not expecting that there was going to be such a poor attitude from the manager/wait staff. When you go to a new restaurant you expect a staff that will go out of their way to make you comfortable and happy. We were greeted by the host with a curt, “excuse me”. No smile or “someone will be with you shortly”. Our server’s manners were not not up to par with what other Kamihira owned restaurants service staff. when we told him that the paella was burned on the bottom. His reply was, “that is the way it’s prepared. That’s called caramelized”. I know what burned is. Also, feeling like I had a case of “server abandonment”. Where does the wait staff go?
The best part was when the manager on duty was snotty and rude. Rolling her eyes asking, “what would you like me to do”? YOU’RE THE MANAGER! IT’S YOUR JOB TO MAKE THINGS BETTER NOT MY JOB TO TELL YOU HOW TO MANAGE.
I would really be upset to see such a cute new restaurant, with great potential, suffer at the fact that the wait staff lacks customer service skills.
May 27th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Paella should be burned on the bottom–in many parts of Spain, people fight for the burned rice. thinking about that just made my mouth water, in fact.