Ce Soir Naples plans to launch in early November with modern French and coastal Mediterranean cuisine in a large, renovated space at Bayfront.
Ce Soir — French for “this evening” or “tonight” and pronounced “suh SWAH” — will feature a variety of seafood and meat dishes accompanied by a global wine selection and signature cocktails. The upscale venture is a sister restaurant to Ce Soir Brasserie + Bar, which opened in spring 2023 in Oakville, Ontario, an affluent lakeshore suburb of Toronto. In Naples, Canada-based Aidan Hospitality has extensively renovated a more than 7,000-square-foot space that most recently was home to Southern Style Kitchen & Raw Bar near the intersection of Goodlette-Frank Road and U.S. 41 East.
“We took it down to the studs, concrete floors and renovated the whole space,” said George Gill, Aidan Hospitality partner and marketing director. “We had to put in new hood systems and everything. It was a little bigger than what we expected to take on, but it’s coming together just beautifully. We’re super excited for it.”
The new Ce Soir restaurant is opening this fall at Naples Bayfront with a view of the Gordon River and Naples Bay.
MHK Architecture
When Southern Style closed two years ago, initial plans for an Italian restaurant and market didn’t transpire at that southwest corner of Bayfront, but the large space has hosted a parade of local restaurants for more than 20 years, including Il Bellagio, The Grill Club, Bianchi’s at Bayfront, Alto Jazz Kitchen, Mereday’s Brasserie and Stoney’s Stone Crab.
Gill describes Ce Soir’s approach as a semi-casual fine-dining restaurant with an elevated ambiance. The chic aesthetic of the space is influenced by its Southwest Florida location.
“We’re going with kind of like a coastal elegant feel to it,” he said. “We’ve done mosaic tiles throughout. We’ve got floor-to-ceiling windows that obviously came with the space. We’re trying to get that cozy but elevated vibe to it.”
Every element is designed to create a luxe, sophisticated atmosphere, Aidan Hospitality promises. The color scheme includes jewel-toned greens, sandy beiges and driftwood grays to reflect a coastal elegance with a modern, moody edge. Custom banquettes, sleek chairs and stained oak booths invite stylish comfort, while mosaic details, golden lighting, flowing drapery, and lime-washed walls add warmth and texture, the company reports.
Ce Soir Naples will include a 24-seat bar displaying 560 bottles of wine.
MHK Architecture
The open concept restaurant features a large, 24-seat U-shaped bar of Cristallo natural stone on its western end with lava stone facades, mirrored ceilings and a stunning display of 560 bottles of wine. A semi-private, climate-controlled wine cellar elevates the experience with glass-front cabinets and custom lighting.
An extensive raw bar on the eastern end of the restaurant will feature fresh seafood from the Gulf and beyond. “There’s so much fresh seafood and options there that we can get that the quality is far superior than what we have here [in Toronto],” Gill said. “We’ll have a 14-foot raw bar that will feature things like ceviche, lobster, oysters. We’ll do tartares and everything out of there, as well.”
The main dining area will be located in the center between the full bar and the raw bar. The restaurant also has been approved for 24 tables and 48 seats for outdoor dining with a view of the Gordon River and Naples Bay.
Ce Soir Naples will include outdoor seating with a view of the Gordon River and Naples Bay.
MHK Architecture
“We’re doing a coastal French Mediterranean-style cuisine with a focus on our Josper grill and oven. That’s an oven from Spain that we had to order directly from Spain. It’s a charcoal wood-fired oven, so that’s going to bring out a lot of flavors that we’re trying to go for — big, bold tastes for each dish.”
The Toronto location is not using a Josper oven to grill its meats and seafood, so that will be something new for its Naples expansion, infusing seafood and prime meats with a smoky richness that’s both rustic and refined. “I’m very excited to have those flavors coming off the Josper grill,” Gill said.
Anticipate signature dishes such as a Wagyu porterhouse steak from Snake River Farms; duck confit with bean cassoulet, pancetta, pork ragout, sausage and pangrattato; and oxtail agnolotti served with artichoke barigoule, confit cherry tomato and black garlic powder. The Ce Soir Burger features Creekstone USDA prime chuck and short rib, white cheddar, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato and pickle.
With a nod to local, coastal dining, the menu features selections such as snapper ceviche made with passion fruit emulsion, micro cilantro, kumquat, coconut gelee and tapioca cracker. Also expect littleneck clams, prawns, whole lobster and ice-chilled oysters. One of Gill’s favorites is Ce Soir’s lobster spaghetti, which features lobster tail, lobster meat, cherry tomatoes, Calabrian chili peppers and sage butter sauce.
Alex Malinowski is the executive chef of Ce Soir Naples.
Aidan Hospitality
Alex Malinowski will be the executive chef for Ce Soir Naples. He formerly was executive chef for The Ritz-Carlton and sous chef for Café Boulud in Palm Beach.
Look for Ce Soir’s cocktail program to complement its cuisine, of course. “We want to be known for having great cocktails,” Gill said.
To achieve that ambitious goal, the hospitality group hired Jacob Martin, the World Class Global Bartender of the Year for 2023. The award-winning Canadian mixologist created Ce Soir’s contemporary cocktail menu. “Just trying to bring a new level of elevation to the Naples area,” Gill said.
Ce Soir Naples will include a full bar and a raw bar.
MHK Architecture
Martin created the beverage menu with a focus on highlighting the best of Florida produce treated simply on the charcoal grill. Cocktails include a Grilled Avocado Passionfruit Sour made with Plantation white rum, passion fruit curd and avocado leaf tincture; Grapefruit Brulee, which is a mixture of milk punch, Fever-Tree soda, Altos Tequila, Mezcal Amores, burnt grapefruit mix, lime juice, sugar, salt and Green Chartreuse; and a Toasted Coconut Espresso Martini prepared with coconut vanilla-infused vodka, Dark Rhum, coffee liqueur, espresso, stout syrup and egg white garnished with a gold espresso bean.
The new restaurant will open daily at 3 p.m. for dinner and late night, as well as brunch on the weekend, Gill said. “Every Friday and Saturday we’ll have a DJ there,” he said. “That will start for early dinner and then go all the way through the evening until 2 a.m.”
Ce Soir Naples is Aidan Hospitality’s first of its seven concepts to venture out of Canada.
Because CEO John Pirathap and his family have a condominium in North Naples, they found Naples to be the perfect spot to make the leap, Gill said.
“It’s a beautiful area, similar to Oakville, what we have here,” he said. “We’re just really excited to be a part of the Naples food and beverage scene. We’re just over the moon with excitement to get open. It’s been a long time coming for us. We took over the place over a year ago now. Renovations have been extensive and stressful at times, so we’re excited to get to the finish line.”
Dining and Cooking