Hotel designers should design hotels; restaurant designers should design restaurants.  That’s what Sofitel learned after the debut of Chez Colette, the braissiere tucked away in its lobby.  Colette, just over a year old, is getting a new face, courtesy of design firm Kurt H. Fischer & Associates, and a refocused menu under new executive chef Dennis Soriano. 

This is 1930’s France in Technicolor: Fischer has taken this black-and-white Parisian braissiere and moved it to Marseilles, with warm Mediterranean colors stretching from the brightly printed valances to the lapis-blue carpet.  The eatery has been rendered more intimate; the white tablecloths and butcher’s paper are gone, leaving gleaming blond-wood tables lit by starry spotlights. 

And the menu has shifted from traditional French (cassoulet and bouillabaisse) to Philadelphia French.  That means local ingredients and regional specialties-Maine lobster and Maryland crab-cakes. 

Chef Soriano, born in Lyons and schooled in kitchens throughout Europe and the U.S., revamped the menu completely, creating an extensive array of elaborately plated dishes such as cured salmon carpaccio, and praline soufflé glacé.  His favorites: the duck confit, served with sweet potato salad and pear dressing, and the rich polenta soufflé, with wild mushroom ragout.