The Market Cafe
Michael Anthony’s introduces more than just a sister restaurant. This is an entirely new concept in Italian dining. BY BARRY KAUFMAN
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PHOTOS BY ROB KAUFMAN
To fully understand the dynamic between Michael Anthony’s and The Market Cafe, you have to look at the dynamic between siblings.
Seen through this lens, Michael Anthony’s is the more established, older sibling. Its reputation for fine Italian dining spans the globe, with a hungry and loyal clientele going back decades. On the strength of its refined menu and its legendary cooking school it has set the bar for the dining experience on Hilton Head Island and established itself as a true icon of our island’s culinary scene. The Market Cafe, opened just this year next door, is the rebellious younger sibling in this metaphor. Possessed of the same passion for authentic Italian ingredients and the same drive to lend each dish the highest quality possible, the DNA it shares with its more storied sister restaurant is clear. Where it differs is in its intriguing maverick concept – part wine bar, part restaurant and part gourmet Italian market, it’s clear that the difference in experience is deliberate. “It’s a little more non-traditional over here,” said GM Ian Mason. “We wanted this common thread of high-end ingredients, high quality food and topnotch service to run through all of our concepts, but we wanted this very different from next door.” Let’s start with the market, the initial facet of the concept rolled out earlier this year. As The Market 12
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