Princeton’s favorite culinary team is breaking into the Philadelphia market with a new seafood-centric restaurant concept: aether. Mistral Princeton, elements Princeton and Mistral King of Prussia’s Fia Berisha and Stephen Distler are opening aether and bringing fresh seafood, fish and bespoke cocktails to Fishtown in late summer 2018.
Philly’s hottest neighborhood, Fishtown, is about to get even hotter with the additon of aether. This will be the group’s first restaurant within Philadelphia’s city limits, located at 1832 Frankford Avenue.
Leveraging the group’s established reputation for fantastic service and creative profiles, aether will seek to captivate neighborhood residents and visitors, alike, with an accessible, yet forward-thinking, menu of fresh seafood and inventive cocktails. The restaurant’s menu will emphasize fresh, local ingredients, just like its sister restaurants, sourcing menu items day-of and striving to extract each ingredient’s purest flavor. A raw bar at aether will offer seafood delicacies, including oysters, live scallops and razor clams. A progressive wine and cocktail program will be designed to appeal to both the novice and the enthusiast.
“We’ll be curating aether’s bar menu with spirits and wines inspired by my travels both in and out of the country,” explains Fia Berisha, operating partner. “I am the most excited about the variety of Mezcal and natural, bio-dynamic wine selections we will have, all at affordable price points.”
Additional menu items include lobster rolls, shrimp ‘po boys, crab linguine and a local catch of the day. The menu will also boast a variety of vegetarian options, including, but not limited to, spinach and mushroom cavatelli and a fried green tomato sandwich.
Berisha’s role as co-owner at aether will be vastly different from her previous roles at Mistral and elements. In addition to managing the restaurant’s day-to-day operations, Fia will assist Executive Chef Scott Anderson and elements’ Chef de Cuisine Mike Ryan with menu and recipe development. Diners can expect to see Fia behind the kitchen multiple nights a week, alongside aether’s Chef de Cuisine Chris Boyce, whose current role is Chef De Cuisine at Mistral King of Prussia. Additionally, Fia will train and oversee both front and back of the house staff and collaborate with local Fishtown artists to design the restaurant’s interior.
“We want the restaurant to feel like home for locals, and a neighborhood destination for visitors,” says Berisha. “That’s why we’re keeping as much as we can local, including everything from the food to all aspects of the interior design.”
Most notably, banquets, tables and shelving are being created by woodworker and designer Kirk Loubier, and Remark Glass is glass-blowing custom light fixtures using refurbished wine bottles partly from Berisha’s collection.
aether will serve dinner Tuesday–Sunday starting at 4 p.m.
Once open, you can find aether at 1832 Frankford Ave. in Philadelphia.
- Photos: Ed Williams
