Borromini, Stephen Starr’s massive new Italian restaurant, is expected to open in Rittenhouse Square by the end of August, writes Jason Sheehan for Philadelphia Magazine.

The new restaurant will take over the former Barnes & Noble space on Walnut Street, which shut down and relocated to Chestnut Street in 2023.

A Borromini preview party is being planned for August 21, while a public opening is planned for shortly after.

The restaurant will take up two stories, with multiple first-floor dining rooms, upstairs seating, and a patio that will provide views of Rittenhouse. There will be seating available for upwards of 200 people.

Determined to provide customers with authentic Italian cuisine, the Starr team traveled to Italy to come up with the menu.

Options will include calamarata tossed with fresh tomato and calamari, rigatoni carbonara, malfaldine in lemon sauce, bucatini amatriciana, and several others.

Borromini will be Starr’s first original restaurant concept in Philadelphia since 2021, when LMNO opened in Fishtown.

It will also be Philly’s first new restaurant dedicated to Italian cuisine in several years.

Initially, Borromini will be open for dinner seven nights a week, while lunch and brunch services will be added as things are up and running.

Read more about what to expect after the long-awaited opening of Borromini in Rittenhouse in Philadelphia Magazine.

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