The Vinoy Resort and Golf Club in early 2025 will become home to a new restaurant called Elliott Aster. It will be led by Michelin-Starred Chef Lee Wolen and the Boka Restaurant Group, the hospitality company this week announced.
“I am truly honored to be opening a restaurant in St. Pete, a place that holds a special place in my heart,” Wolen said in a prepared statement. “Having stayed at The Vinoy with my family and experiencing its rich history and charm, it feels like the perfect setting to create something truly special.”
Elliott Aster will take the place of Marchand’s Bar & Grill, at 501 5th Ave NE. Marchand’s closed its doors in 2020.
While details surrounding the incoming eatery are scarce, highlights of the Elliott Aster menu include a 45-day dry-aged prime bone-in ribeye, king crab tagliatelle, and a whole-roasted blue prawns fra diavolo, alongside an antipasti bar breaming with vegetables and Italian meats.
Wolen joined Boka Restaurant in 2014 as Executive Chef/Partner, where he was named “2014 Chef of the Year” by Chicago Tribune and Eater Chicago, one of Plate Magazine’s “30 Chefs to Watch,” and was nominated as a finalist for a James Beard Award for “Best Chef: Great Lakes” in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, according to the restaurant group’s website. Boka was named semifinalist in the 2020 James Beard Award for “Outstanding Restaurant.” Boka has maintained a Michelin star from 2011 to 2022.
The Vinoy, a St. Petersburg “icon,” is now part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection Hotel. “From the time it opened at the dawn of 1926 to its current incarnation as one of St. Petersburg’s most spectacular waterfront resorts, The Vinoy has been – and always will be – a place to relax, play, and indulge,” according to the hotel’s website.
