First Look: Fahrenheit, Opening in Downtown Cleveland Friday, July 14

Fahrenheit in Downtown Cleveland opens July 14. Credit: Douglas Trattner

Twenty-one years after opening Fahrenheit in Tremont and 10 years after exporting that brand to Charlotte, Rocco Whalen is opening the doors to his most impressive restaurant to date. Slated to welcome its first public guests on Friday, July 14, Fahrenheit (55 Public Square) is destined to become the culinary epicenter of downtown Cleveland.

Located across the street from the rising Sherwin-Williams headquarters, Whalen’s new restaurant more closely resembles the stylish Fahrenheit down south than it does the modest-by-comparison Tremont original. Guests are greeted by a sleek three-sided bar and lounge with oversize booths. Just beyond is a spacious dining room with tables, booths and banquettes.

At the far end of the dining room is a wall of glass that offers views into the shimmering commercial kitchen. An even better view is enjoyed by diners seated at the chef’s table, a three-sided counter that immerses guests in the kitchen-stadium environment. There, the sights, smells and sounds – “Yes, chef! – combine to create a drama-filled experience.

A flight of stairs lands guests at the rooftop bar and patio overlooking all the action on Public Square.

“Lexi and I put this together as a hospitality venue,” Whalen explains. “Entertainment and theatrics aren’t what we called for but you know, ever since that little bitty kitchen in Tremont 21 years ago – it was 16-by-16, and a quarter of it was the pizza oven – where we’re at today as to what we did, I think is a great story to tell.”

The former John Q’s Steakhouse, which closed a decade ago this month, is no longer recognizable, but there are a few lingering artifacts. The broiler long used to sear steaks and chops at John Q’s will do the same at Fahrenheit. And guests inside the private dining room can belly up to the same handsome bar that John Q’s diners long enjoyed.

To eat there will be favorites old and new, with updated standards like ahi poke nachos, Vietnamese chicken spring rolls and wagyu short ribs with lo mein alongside new creations like King crab tempura with watermelon, dan dan-style dumplings and a 20-ounce bone-in ribeye. In a nod to John Q’s, a grilled and sliced wagyu strip is finished at the table with a decadent Diane sauce, a favorite from that classic eatery.

“We’ve always done Asian, we’ve always done Mediterranean, but now with the kitchen equipped with live-fire power and these chefs, we’re in such a better place,” adds Whalen.

Designed to stop diners in their tracks is the arresting raw bar, which sits just behind glass in the rear of the dining room. It is from that chilly corner of the kitchen that seafood towers will flow, stacked with oysters, poached shrimp, crab claws, split lobster tails, King crab legs, ahi poke and accompaniments.

“We’re trying to bring a show with lights and height,” says corporate executive chef Justin Loo. “Big crab legs, lobster, oysters – the whole deal. We want people to come in and see all this: the meats hanging, the cheeses, the charcuterie… all that.”

In addition to the rooftop lounge, there will be outdoor dining on the main floor patio.

Fahrenheit will be dinner only to start, but lunch and brunch will be added down the road.

More pictures of what to look forward to below.