Bar Reverie has new Philly chef, brings refined food and wine experience to Greenville

Steve Taplin is excited about his new, seasonal dinner menu special at Bar Reverie in Greenville.

In the kitchen of the restaurant in the Greenville Shopping Center, Taplin has wrapped a grass-fed venison saddle, a lean and mild-tasting cut of New Zealand-bred game from high-end meat producer D'Artagnan, in strips of bacon. Cooking it sous vide tender, he plans to serve it with roasted chestnuts, Brussels sprouts and cranberry jam.

The dish screams fall and winter flavors, and, on a chilly autumn morning, that's exactly the kind of upscale comfortable food Taplin wants to serve.

Will it be a hit with customers? Taplin will soon see.

"I run an item on repeat and what sticks goes on the menu," says the new executive chef who comes to the Greenville restaurant with more than 20 years of experience.

Taplin, a classically trained chef whose dishes feature modern and global influences, has spent the past few years at The Union League of Philadelphia. The tony private club, founded in 1862 as a patriotic society to support the Union and the policies of President Abraham Lincoln, was named the No. 1 City Club in the country six consecutive times.

The Hockessin native, who graduated from Salesianum School in 2000, began working at Bar Reverie in late September. He is excited to bring “simple food that’s delicious" to Delaware diners and put his signature stamp on the restaurant's menu.

Taplin already has seen success at Bar Reverie with his seared scallops, $40, served with sweet potato puree, cranberry, and king trumpet mushrooms. The dish is currently the 74-seat restaurant's best-seller.

Bar Reverie is the latest project from Dave Dietz who, since 1994, has run the popular BBC Tavern and Grill, first founded as the Brandywine Brewing Company Restaurant and Brewery. His new restaurant at 4017 Kennett Pike, which opened this past summer, is next door to the BBC.

Dietz said he isn't worried about cannibalizing or competing for customers with BBC Tavern because his restaurants have two completely different concepts.

BBC, which has a devoted following, is a casual dining experience for those looking to relax over burgers, soft pretzels, nachos, wings and beer. TVs are frequently tuned to sports events.

Bar Reverie, opened for breakfast through dinner and later, has a more refined approach. The restaurant, with its dark, moody, sultry green-black-white-and-gold decor, has a robust wine program and its menu items include Maison Petrossian’s Royal Ossetra Caviar, $76, served with housemade potato chips and shared bites such as grilled lamb lollipops (two or four), house-made de los Andes style chimichurri sauce.

In the morning, the restaurant is closer to a cafe and opens at 8 a.m. Pastry chef Gretchen Sianni, who co-owned and ran the former De La Coeur Café et Pâtisserie cafes in Wilmington and Fairfax, produces a wide array of sweet and savory pastries, scones, breads like apple cider cranberry walnut and breakfast sandwiches on housemade croissants. It's either a dine-in or to grab-and-go experience. Coffee comes from New York's Felix Roasting Co.

By 11 a.m., the lunch crowd is ushered in and dinner service begins at 5 p.m. Brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Since opening this past summer, Dietz has tweaked a few things at Bar Reverie — the white tablecloths, which seemed a little too stuffy in hindsight and screamed special-occasion-only restaurant, are gone. He also has changed chefs.

When the restaurant was first opened it was French-inspired, but now Dietz said the cuisine is modern American with "travel-inspired" influences reminiscent of cafes and restaurants in New York, Paris, London, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

Dietz said he feels he has tapped a need in the area for what he is offering. "I know what works here. I've been doing business here for 30 years," he said.

Still, it took some convincing before Dietz even considered taking on the Bar Reverie project at all.

When the space that housed the former Ellie boutique next to BBC Tavern became vacant in the Kennett Pike shopping center, Lauren Golt, who does the restaurant's marketing and serves as its creative director, approached Dietz with the idea of opening another restaurant.

"Absolutely not," Dietz said was his answer. "I'm doing alright here [at BBC] and I didn't want to take on the challenge of a new restaurant."

But Golt continued to push the project. "She wore me down," Dietz said, chuckling.

The next step was persuading Sianni to move back to Delaware, join the team, and bring back the buttery pastries and crusty baguettes that drew many admiring customers to her previous businesses.

The pandemic in 2020 had hit Sianni's De La Coeur Café et Pâtisserie cafes hard. She and her husband, Alex, were forced to close both sites and later relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia. Sianni said she got the call about working at Bar Reverie while she was enjoying the mountains in Virginia, as well as a slower-paced lifestyle.

"It took some convincing," she admits.

Sianni said Dietz told her she could make the baked goods that she loved and apply some new techniques and ideas she learned while working in Charlottesville. It was a winning proposal. She also is now making custom-made cakes for customers. as well as gift cookie boxes.

Tom Austin, a Philadelphia restaurant industry veteran who also worked at The Quoin in Wilmington, joined the team as general manager and works the room helping diners choose wines from the more than 100 bottles available.

Golt, who helped with the restaurant's interior design, said she continues to bring personal touches to the restaurant so guests can have a more enjoyable experience.

She added purse stools for diners' handbags and created a signature Bar Reverie scent that is used in diffusers, hand lotion and hand soap in both the men's and women's restrooms. The lotion and soap, made by Houppette, a Greenville luxury cosmetics boutique, are both for sale in the restaurant and at Houppette, also in the Greenville Shopping Center.

One Monday each month, Golt said the restaurant shows movies in the dining room.

Guests who sign up are emailed a list of items to choose from and staff creates personalized grazing boards. Offerings include cheeses, meats, crackers, bread, fruit, chocolate and sandwiches. Movie night attendees also receive popcorn, Champagne, a take-home treat and a voucher for a free cup of coffee.

On Monday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m., the Christmas-themed, 2003 movie "Love Actually" will be screened. The cost, open to guests who are 21 years and older, is $55 per person. Gratuity and additional beverages are not included. Tickets can be purchased at barreverie.com/events.

Contact Patricia Talorico at ptalorico@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2861 and follow her on X (Twitter) @pattytalorico Sign up for her  Delaware Eats newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: BBC Tavern owner brings refined food to Greenville at new Bar Reverie