Knife & Spoon, a steak and seafood restaurant headed by Dallas chef John Tesar, will move into the space that was formerly home to Norman’s at the Ritz-Carlton. Schoos Design of West Hollywood, Calif., is doing the renovation.
Tesar’s Dallas restaurant, Knife, was named one of Esquire magazine’s Best New Restaurants in 2014, the same year Orlando’s Cask & Larder made the list. Knife specializes in dry-aged prime steaks and specialty cuts of meat.
The Spoon of the name is a reference to the spoon-shaped fishing lure, a nod to the seafood side of the menu.
The new restaurant will feature an expanded lounge area that takes over a private dining area and the hallway that previously led to Norman’s. The lounge will be decorated with Persian rugs that drape over low walls and flow to the floor and burled wood cocktail tables.
The dining room will feature a Pantheonic dome resembling a cave opening to the sky. Renderings of the space show it to be less formal and not as stereotypically steakhouse-masculine.
The restaurant space is currently gutted. The critically-acclaimed Norman’s closed in August after its lease was not renewed. It plans to relocate next year to the former Bravo restaurant space in Dellagio Plaza on Restaurant Row.
In addition to the new restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton, Primo, the Italian restaurant headed by Melissa Kelly at the J.W. Marriott, will undergo a complete renovation next year, according to area general manager Jon McGavin. Kelly will continue to oversee the restaurant and is involved in the redesign, McGavin said.
Also, the resort’s onsite produce source, Whisper Creek Farms, will be relocated closer to the hotels so that guests can more easily access it.