Green Room to become neo-brasserie Le Cavalier

Stokes Architecture & Design created this concept for Le Cavalier at the Green Room in downtown Wilmington. | PHOTO COURTESY OF STOKES

WILMINGTON – The Hotel Du Pont’s famed Green Room restaurant will become a new French brasserie named Le Cavalier at the Green Room this spring, officials announced Jan. 15.

The project is a joint venture by Buccini/Pollin Group (BPG), PM Hotel Group and chef-partner Tyler Akin, of Stock and Res Ipsa Café fame in Philadelphia.

Pronounced “luh-KAH-vuhl-YAY,” the name translates from French as “The Horseman.” That honors the equestrian heritage of the Brandywine River Valley, according to officials who say they drew inspiration from the statue of Caesar Rodney, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and President of Delaware during the Revolutionary War, that sits adjacent to the hotel in Rodney Square, as well as the du Pont family’s long equestrian history.

Chef Tyler Akin. | PHOTO COURTESY OF BPG

The ownership team chose to retain “at the Green Room” in the formal name “in reverence for the storied dining room’s history,” but noted that Le Cavalier is a new concept and “not a renovation of the existing concept.”

“It is important to us to honor the Green Room’s unparalleled legacy,” said Dave Pollin, co-founder and president of BPG and chairman of PM Hotel Group, in a statement. “That said, we are actively talking to the community and are thrilled to deliver on meeting the demand for a more casual, chef-driven restaurant. We believe Le Cavalier at the Green Room will marry reverence and progress and hit those notes for our guests.”

A brasserie, which translates to “brewery” in French, is a professional-service restaurant in a relaxed setting. Le Cavalier will be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch seven days a week, 365 days a year, and pull influences from the Provençe and North Africa regions’ cuisines.

Steak frites with bone marrow salsa verde is one of the dishes chef Tyler Akin plans to bring to Le Cavalier at the Green Room. | PHOTO COURTESY OF BPG

Akin, a Wilmington native, will design menus that showcase innovative riffs on French classics, from steak frites with bone marrow salsa verde to bouillabaisse with scallops, octopus, monkfish and head-on shrimp with handmade Moroccan couscous. Guests can expect entreÌes like swordfish aÌ€ la Grecque, expertly roasted heritage chickens, gnocchi Parisienne with jumbo lump crab, and large-format options like the rougette de veau, a red wine-braised cut of veal shoulder glazed and served with roasted maitake mushrooms. Locally roasted coffees, natural wines and craft cocktails will thoughtfully complement the offerings.

Fans of Green Room classics like the almond macaroons, high tea service and holiday menus can rest assured that they will endure though, according to officials.

The new restaurant, designed by Stokes Architecture & Design, boasts 125 seats with a 14-seat bar, private dining room and seasonal outdoor patio. The fumed oak paneling, ornate plaster ceiling, gilded chandeliers and wall sconces will remain intact, while the addition of oak-framed stained glass window screens, an expansive bar, intricate mosaic tile, and new banquette seating upholstered in classic brasserie materials like leather and velvet.

By Jacob Owens

jowens@delawarebusinesstimes.com