đ«EXCLUSIVE: SOLEVO RESTAURATEUR RONNIE SOLEVO TEASES NEW SARATOGA PROJECT, âTHE PEARLâ
INTEL: After a long hunt for the right space, chef-restaurateur Ronnie Solevo has taken over Scallions in Saratoga where he will unveil The Pearl this fall. We dropped in for the inspo behind the menu + design.
Story: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: KDO Photography/The Dishing
May 2026
The windows are papered over, the front door covered in QR codes that lead to Angelica Lansbury belting out Broadway, Disneyâs âStory of the Curious Oysters,â and Jessie Wareâs retro-eighties track âPearlsâ telling you to âshake it til the pearls fall off.â Soon, a peep hole in the paper will provide a new view. (I wonât say of what. Why spoil the surprise?) But peek through for Solevoâs vision of a coastal Connecticut seafood restaurant with a hidden twist. Oysters, pearls, crustaceans + secrets? Iâm in.
Last summer , I knew Ronnie Solevo was scouting spaces from Saratoga to Hudson for a potential seafood restaurant. We were chatting about what was missing in Saratoga and he shared he was hoping to move behind Italian and âtap into the other part of [his] culinary heritage: being a New England boy from the Connecticut coastline.â He thought an oyster bar or New England-focused seafood restaurant might hit the spot. âMaybe even camp it up a bit: Captain Cookes in Newport RI meets the Mermaid Inn.â
Nine months later, the idea is a reality. Solevo has bought the Scallionâs business and furnishings, although he doesnât own the building. Solevoâs current pastry chef is making good use of the expansive (and empty) Scallionâs kitchen to produce cakes and desserts while plans are finalized for the interior reno.
For those who remember inside, the existing bar will be replaced by a raw bar, a new custom bar will be built into the far wall, a bathroom that opened (strangely) onto the dining room will be relocated an area where a sloping floor gently slides patrons to a slightly lower level dining area facing Henry Street that Solevo is re-imagining as a cozy, unhurried, sultry little late night cocktail lounge with a spicy little name... like Mignonette? Something for the grown folks when the kids are tearing it up downtown. (In the UK, there are bars that voluntarily implement an over-25 or 30+ entry code and Iâm here for it.)
