Famed restaurateur Seth Greenberg opens Monteverdi, an elevated Italian restaurant in the Royal Sonesta Hotel.
Seth Greenberg’s name is synonymous with entertaining evenings, so when he has plans to open a new restaurant, the city listens. His presence can be felt all over in Boston with seminal restaurants Mooo, Mistral and Sorellina, to name a few. But this spring he finally crossed the bridge to Cambridge and opened an elevated Italian restaurant called MonteVerdi inside the Royal Sonesta Hotel (sonesta.com).
The name comes from his childhood. His father and grandfather manufactured women’s clothing and they would spend months each year visiting their factory in Italy about 15 minutes from Venice. His mom, Sandy Greenberg, would often accompany them, and while they worked on patterns and designs, she attended the Italian language school in Venice. She earned the nickname Signora Monte Verdi roughly because monte translates to mountains, the Italian Alps or the Bergs.
Seth Greenberg
Greenberg worked with longtime collaborator, interior designer Petra Hausberger who designed his own apartment over Mistral as well as Mooo and Serafina in the Seaport. “We see eye-to-eye on things, so it’s very easy to work together because I can just tell her this is the inspiration and this is the floor plan and she hits it right every time,” says Greenberg. For MonteVerdi, the aesthetic is classic and elegant. It has a modern edge, but is simple and sophisticated. The decor includes natural materials and a color palette of olive greens, earth tones, terracotta, antique brass and white marble. “It will be ‘Petrafied.’ She has an ability to look at a space and put her own touches on things to make them look and feel special,” says Greenberg.
Renderings of the new space showcase the simple yet sophisticated interior design by Petra Hausberger.
The unique location of the space right on the Charles River with views of the skyline comes equipped with its own built-in allure. There’s a large patio to take advantage of the scenery which was transformed into an outdoor garden. And the food is the other draw with longtime Boston chef Christian Ellis at the helm. For now, MonteVerdi is serving dinner with plans to ease into lunch once it and Greenberg get their footing on this side of the river. “I’ve never done a project in Cambridge before. Even though it’s just minutes from downtown Boston, it’s like a different world in a way,” he says.
Truffles dot a creamy risotto.
But Greenberg is excited for the challenge. The Royal Sonesta approached him to become a hospitality partner as they embarked on a trajectory to improve and reposition their portfolio of properties. If this flagship does well, the idea is to expand and open more MonteVerdis at Royal Sonestas around the world. For now though, Greenberg is excited to be working on a new project here. Although he’s relocated to Miami, he comes back to Boston several times a month. “I’m very bullish on Boston right now. The Seaport just doesn’t stop and Cambridge is growing tremendously. I see a lot of opportunity and success here.”
Photography by: KRISTIN TEIG; COURTESY OF THE BRAND
