Fans of the recently closed Dear on Hyde Park square have something to rejoice about: Turns out the closing earlier this year was simply a rebrand. Happily, the space hasn’t changed much. It still has the vaulted ceilings as well as the actual bank vault turned private dining room (this was a bank before Teller’s, Dear, and Al-Posto).
The front door has been painted bright blue, and lemon trees grow out of the top of the two-story wine rack. Neon hands touch above the entrance to the vault in a contemporary nod to Italy’s famed Sistine Chapel. But that’s it. You won’t hear Sinatra or see countless black-and-white photos of Rome or Little Italy. The food is transportive enough.
