Inside the Newly Renovated Liberté at Sofitel in Center City

A popular hotel restaurant in Center City is getting a major menu and architectural upgrade that’s both French-forward and Philly-centric.

Cody Aldrich Photography

This weekend, Liberté Restaurant at Sofitel Philadelphia (120 S. 17th Street) will soft-launch its newly renovated space and brand new menu at Sofitel Philadelphia in Rittenhouse Square (120 S. 17th Street). The 108-seat restaurant has new lighting, art, sculptures, marble and tile floor in the lobby of the hotel and a redesign of the front desk.

Such aesthetic changes at Liberté is also met with new leadership at the helm of Sofitel Philadelphia — with new general manager Pierre Jotterand and a new executive chef.

Cody Aldrich Photography

Cody Aldrich Photography

The new menu at Liberté is fusion of American cuisine/Philly favorites paired with traditional French fare. This approach is being led by Liberté’s new executive chef Seth Fannin, a longtime professional in the industry who has previously worked at the Paris, Bally’s and Wynn resorts in Las Vegas, along with luxury and boutique hotels such as the Intercontinental and Millennium Hotels as well.

“Philadelphia is such a great food town,” Fannin says on his interest in now cooking in the city. “My goal to connect Philadelphia to our France. I created this menu to make sure our local guests would enjoy Philadelphia favorites with some French zest.”

”That’s why I created the Croque Monsieur, Philadelphia,” Fannin adds. “It is a combination of a traditional French favorite, Croque Monsieur, and a Philadelphia favorite, cheesesteak, and merging the two favorites to create a truly unique dining experience.”

Cody Aldrich Photography

Cody Aldrich Photography

Cody Aldrich Photography

Diners can expect to try their signature North Atlantic salmon, onion soup gratinée, double smash burger, pasta verte, fromage, a vegan peach mango cake for dessert, and more. The Philly Croque — a bold French take on the Philly cheesesteak (made with shaved ribeye, sharp provolone, and caramelized onions) is sure to be a topic of discussion. Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free dining options are also available.

Cody Aldrich Photography

Cody Aldrich Photography

Cody Aldrich Photography

Cody Aldrich Photography

Liberté has a full-service bar that’s a festive mix of classic cocktails, French-forward spirits and ingredients (such as Rinquinquin, Chartreuse, Suze, and Calvados) along with modern approaches to bartending. For example, their beverage program will be crafting signature cocktails tableside, partnering with several local brands (such as Philadelphia Craft Ice, Rittenhouse Rye, Four Walls Whiskey, and KLYR Spirits), and showcasing a Nitro cocktails draft system — the only restaurant in the area doing such.

There’s several seasonal and fun cocktails such as their Muffy (that includes Tito’s vodka, blackberry reduction, lemon, basil), Clarence (Four Walls Whiskey, green chartreuse, carpano, velvet falernum), Louis (Bombay Gin, calvados, suze, velvet falernum), Ophelia (Bluecoat gin, butterfly tea, lemon, edible flower), and more. They currently have 26 wines by the glass, several are exclusive French selections.

Cody Aldrich Photography

Liberté’s soft-launch is this weekend at 12 pm, with regular service on Mondays to Thursdays at 12 pm to 11 pm (happy hour 4 pm to 6 pm every day except Saturdays and Sunday), Fridays and Saturdays at 12 pm to 12 am, Sundays at 12 pm to 10 pm. Reservations can now be made on OpenTable. A grand opening ribbon cutting is scheduled later this month to also help kickoff Sofitel’s Worldwide Diamond Jubilee that’s celebrating their 60th anniversary.