Radnor natives Pearl and Paul Somboonsong, the sister-brother team behind WIN Hospitality, at their seventh and newest restaurant, Maison Lotus. The two spent nine months transforming the former home of Margaret Kuo’s into a sophisticated French-Vietnamese concept with bars on three levels and a daytime café.
Has there ever been a more serendipitous restaurant launch than Maison Lotus?
Just as Season 3 of the hit TV show heats up, Wayne’s newest hotspot debuts with sultry, swanky “White Lotus” vibes.
Lush fronds and ferns, intriguing imagery and exotic finishes conjure a posh hideaway in Southeast Asia – minus the show’s weird couplings, mind-numbing chemicals and creepy monkeys.
Indeed, not since the 2004 debut of Berwyn mainstay Nectar has an Asian restaurant landed on the Main Line with such a splash.
The sleek, jade-green bar at Maison Lotus is lined with curvy Italian tile and seats 18.
The place was so flooded with opening-weekend reservations, management wisely delayed daytime service until this Wednesday. You only get one chance to make a first impression, after all.
Its stylish evocation of must-see TV isn’t the only reason the Main Line already seems mad for Maison Lotus. We’re also intrigued by the iconic building that houses it.
For nearly a quarter century, this Asian temple has presided over Wayne’s 20th-century storefronts, a culinary behemoth that rose from rubble and the fertile dreams of restauranteurs Warren and Margaret Kuo.
Maison Lotus by day and by night. The Kuos purchased the site at 175 Lancaster Ave. for $350,000 in 1999, took three years to build, and opened the groundbreaking Margaret Kuo’s in 2002. WIN Hospitality paid $2,950,000 for the property last year..
“It was our pride and joy,” Warren Kuo told us at the grand opening party for Maison Lotus, excited to show us flourishes retained by the new owners: antique carved-wood panels from a Chinese temple in the vestibule, a statement mirror off the main bar, intricate millwork on the second floor, the same wooden booths throughout, albeit freshly upholstered.
Kuo embraced the changes and was even OK with the removal of the signature water fountain in the stairwell. It’s now clad with another wow: gilded bronze wallpaper hammered to mimic the movement of water.
The building’s original owners, Warren and Margaret Kuo, at the Maison Lotus grand opening party. Warren Kuo would pop in periodically to check on renovations and was the first to congratulate the new owners with flowers.
Kuo revealed that the building had “three suitors” when he and his wife listed it for sale: the “Amada people” (José Garces Group), the “Polpo people” (the Daku family behind Bryn Mawr’s Otto by Polpo and Bala Cynwyd’s La Collina) and “Pearl.”
Along with her brother Paul, Pearl Somboonsong is the second-generation owner/operator of WIN Hospitality, a restaurant group that includes The Blue Elephant on North Wayne Ave., Mikado Thai Pepper in Ardmore, Teikoku in Newtown Square and Mama-San Sushi, a new fast-casual concept near Estia in Radnor.
The Kuos refused to see their beloved building gutted for a Spanish or Italian concept so they sold to the Somboonsongs last April. Price tag: a tick below $3 million.
“Warren wanted the place honored and respected,” Pearl tells SAVVY. “This was his baby. You’d call here on a Friday night and he would answer the phone. This was his heart and soul.”
As Wayne natives and Radnor High School alums, Pearl and Paul had vivid memories of iconic Margaret Kuo’s from sweet sixteens, mitzvahs and childhood walks around Wayne.
The siblings are hands-on owners. A graduate of Cornell’s vaunted hospitality school, Pearl was the project’s creative lead and interior designer. Paul, a Wharton alum, handled operations. He was fixing equipment a few hours before the restaurant’s debut last Friday afternoon. Although their parents, Sutida and Win, are technically retired, they still lend a hand as needed, the siblings say.
While Maison Lotus exudes a lost-in-time sophistication, it’s powered by 21st-century technology. Dumb waiters transport food; 12 walkie-talkies coordinate service.
When it’s fully operational, the complex will have three distinct floors and two names.
Anchored by a sleek bar, the ground floor is a quick-serve café and bakery by day, a buzzy watering hole and restaurant by night.
The first floor of Maison Lotus on opening night. Owner Pearl Somboonsong asked Fishtown artist Tara Jacoby to paint the centerpiece mural. It shows stylish Asian women lounging with cocktails beside a lotus pond.
The second floor is decidedly sexier.
The Somboonsongs added a second bar and adjacent cocktail lounge (below). Cranes on the wallpaper symbolize longevity and good fortune.
There’s an intimate dining room with rattan chairs and a smattering of semi-private booths. The entire restaurant seats about 190.
Margaret Kuo’s sunken, semi-private rear tatami rooms have been replaced with higher, more conventional seating.
Still under construction and expected to open later this spring: Jade Rabbit, the Main Line’s first subterranean speakeasy.
“Cocktails will be amazing – unlike anything the Main Line has seen,” enthuses Pearl. Think creative, culinary-inspired concoctions, more than a few finished with a flourish of smoke and fire. The current plan to for guests to reserve tickets for seats at Jade Rabbit’s intimate bar and high tops. Both Somboonsongs have lived in Chicago; they tell us Jade Rabbit was inspired by that city’s signature speakeasy below The Aviary.
A 100+ seat private party room adjacent to Jade Rabbit is also under construction.
While the tropical décor at Maison Lotus doesn’t connote a specific country, the menu focuses on refined Vietnamese fare with French influences, a new culinary category for downtown Wayne and the Somboonsongs. Their other Wayne spot, The Blue Elephant, is Italian-Japanese. The Somboonsongs’ personal heritage is Thai.
“We’re excited about the menu,” Pearl offer. “So much of these items were our comfort foods growing up,” Indeed it was Sutida Somboonsong’s standout cooking that inspired Pearl and Paul’s parents to open their first restaurant, Thai Pepper, in 1991.
At Pearl and Paul’s suggestion, we ordered two “Lotus Specialties”: Shaking Beef – filet mignon chunks caramelized in a wok with bell peppers and onions ($29) – and Chilean Sea Bass with glass noodles and shiitake mushrooms ($36). Both were exceptional.
We also tried and enjoyed the fried-dough Pillow Bread ($8), piquant Steamed Vegetable Dumplings ($9) and a Summer Roll with tofu and edible flowers ($11). Vegans and gluten-free folks have plenty of choices here.
We skipped dessert but Pearl and Paul assured us their pastry chef is a superstar. The bakery occupies the first-floor kitchen; the bulk of Maison Lotus’ food is prepared in an upstairs kitchen.
During our visit, staff was plentiful and service was friendly and surprisingly swift, considering it was opening night.
What’s next for Pearl and Paul?
TBD but their vision board includes a refresh of Teikoku, their largest location on Rte. 3 in Edgemont, and another outpost of fast-casual Mama-San Sushi.
It’s also possible they’ll take a well-earned breather. In two years, WIN Hospitality has opened three restaurants, Paul joined his sister in the family business, and Pearl had two babies.
Whatever they decide, the siblings can be assured their latest creation has honored the legacy of Warren and Margaret Kuo.
“We love what they did with our building,” enthuses Warren Kuo. “We know it’s in very good hands.”
ON THE MENU:
Daytime bakery/café 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Pastries and breakfast fare $3 – $11; full children’s breakfast $10; Lunch starters, soups and salads $8 – $19; Banh mi $11; Rice & noodle bowls $15 – $23.
Dinner: Starters, soups and salads $8 – $22; Rice & noodle bowls $16 – $23; “Signature” vermicelli noodle bowls $22; Entrées $21 – $36. Multiple GF and vegan options.
Maison Lotus, 175 Lancaster Ave., Wayne, is open daily from 7 a.m. (Daytime café/bakery hours begin Wed. March 26.) Dinner from 4 p.m. Reserve dinner tables on Resy or call 610-688-7200. Happy Hour and online takeout ordering coming soon.
