Saddle up—High Horse is back. Slated to open this month at Horseshoe at Hub RTP, the bold, boundary-pushing concept from Top Chef alum Katsuji Tanabe—which made a splash in City Market during its short-lived 2019–2020 run—is getting a new lease on life with the help of Raleigh restaurateur Anthony Rapillo.
The fourth collab between Tanabe and Rapillo—following Flour & Barrel, La Taqueria and Katsushi—High Horse 2.0 brings back the spirit of the OG while going bigger in a brand-new standalone building.
Built from the ground up, the space gave Tanabe and Rapillo room to dream big. “The building is just so cool,” says Rapillo, pointing to an abundance of natural light that gives way to a moodier vibe after dark.
A place you could picture Jay Gatsby and Henry Hill waltzing into for a highball, High Horse channels sexy supper club swagger with plum-colored tabletops, custom-made burnt-red booths, textured wallpaper and wood accents. And for a more intimate escape, a private dining room with a custom wine display sets the stage for a more exclusive experience.
At the center of it all sits a show kitchen, elevated on a stage to showcase what’s cooking behind the scenes. A chef’s counter puts diners eye level with the open kitchen, while an indoor/outdoor bar serves both the expansive patio—decked out with fans and heaters—and dining room.
RIDE ON: Dynamic duo Katsuji Tanabe and Anthony Rapillo are teaming up for the fourth time to revive High Horse. Photo By Sean Junqueira
While High Horse 2.0 will have its own look, its signature energy will remain: louder music, people dancing in their seats and drinks flowing, says Rapillo—not quite a nightclub, but not your typical dinner out, either. “We just have to figure out what that looks like in RTP,” he adds.
The pair served up a sneak peek of what’s to come at Flour & Barrel’s two-year anniversary party in October, including the return of OG High Horse’s locally famous cornbread with honey truffle butter—which will share the menu with vaca vieja steak, fresh pasta and cotton candy.
And the spirits? Cocktails from Beverage Director Duke Campbell (of The Willard and Dram & Draught fame) will share the spotlight with a robust wine program. And that signature “ring the bell” ice shot glass will be back.
But it’s not just dinner and drinks—it’s entertainment. “Everything has to be an experience—from the way you walk in to how the food’s prepared to interactions with the servers,” says Tanabe.
Joining Cheeni Indian Food Emporium, Drift Coffee & Kitchen, and Nanny Goat—with Di Fara Pizza Tavern and Prime STQ on deck—High Horse adds another draw to Horseshoe’s dining scene. “There’s a ton of people in that area—I don’t see why they wouldn’t want to hang out there,” says Rapillo. So whether you’re a High Horse devotee from the way back or a first-timer, consider this your cue to get back on the (high) horse.
What’s going down beneath the Sir Walter Apartments on Fayetteville Street has been on the hush-hush—but something spirited is about to surface. Local restaurateur Anthony Rapillo (of Layla’s Son Hospitality—think Flour & Barrel, V Pizza, Flask Cocktail Bar and The SideDoor) and Chopped champ Katsuji Tanabe are breathing new life into the long-dormant speakeasy under the former famed Sir Walter Hotel, with an opening slated for this summer.
Brantlee Nettles Nicks
The concept will debut as The Third House, nodding to its “North Carolina’s Third House of Government” nickname and legacy as a hub for political activity. True to its covert roots, the new 25-plus-only digs keep things tightly under wraps: no signage, a nondescript alleyway entrance, zero Google or GPS presence—and even photography will be highly discouraged, with a strict dress code to match.
Honoring the dust-covered den’s bones while adding a mod spin, the duo is resurrecting the space’s OG character—from red leather booths and wood paneling to the vintage Subway tile, original bar and dance floor. To boot, expect an Asian-inspired restaurant on the other side of the space—separated by a wall—where Tanabe will dish out sushi and nigiri. (Fun fact: Eventually, the pair will also take over the upstairs with a coffee shop that’ll offer the op to serve hot food.)
On the bar side, Rapillo has tapped local mixologist Duke Campbell (formerly of Dram & Draught and The Willard) as beverage director across all of Layla’s Son ventures, crafting cocktails at The Third House that complement Tanabe’s fare.
Expect a lively energy to match: “The music’s gonna be louder than most other restaurants,” says Rapillo of the culmination of the two concepts. “You have to pass through the dance floor—hopefully setting the vibe of a fun place you see in New York… or a supper club.”
Beyond dining, dancing and drinking, Rapillo teases monthly experiential events a la Flour & Barrel—think fire throwers, murder-mystery nights, Top Chef dinners and live music four to five nights a week.
Grown, lively and unpretentious, “this will be a place adults can go, let loose and have a really good time—and not feel super-restricted,” says Rapillo. Aka where the music’s pulsing, the vibe’s loose and the secret’s worth keeping. @third.house.dtr
When one door closes, another opens—literally. Five years after Top Chef alum Katsuji Tanabe’s High Horse bowed at City Market, the bold, boundary-pushing concept is riding back in—this time as a standalone stunner in a brand-new building set to bow next summer at Horseshoe at Hub RTP in partnership with Raleigh restaurateur Anthony Rapillo.
The serendipitous revival comes after the pair was approached by RTP to open a concept there—marking their third joint venture, following DTR’s Flour & Barrel and La Taqueria at Boxyard, with the restored speakeasy underneath Sir Walter Apartments also in the works. “Anthony and I have been blessed for putting in the hard work and people reaching out to us, believing in our product and standards,” muses Tanabe.
Nancy Granados
While the OG High Horse’s historic digs lent a lived-in charm, the new ~5K-square-foot space promises an entirely fresh feel. Think a standalone show kitchen anchoring the room; soaring steeple-style ceilings with exposed piping; an indoor-outdoor-service cocktail bar slinging throwbacks like cosmos, lemon drops and scratchmade G&Ts—plus a sizable patio overlooking the Horseshoe courtyard.
And, yes, the signature live-fire cooking will remain the star, spanning lunch, dinner and brunch, with a focus on food that’s simple, fun and elegant—sans any gimmicks. Expect returning stars like skillet cornbread and cotton candy, alongside newcomers like a houseground burger; NC grouper finished with a country ham vinaigrette; warm tableside spinach salad; and a seafood platter that trades raw selects for charcoal-cooked mussels, clams and crab legs served swimming in juices ready for sopping with Japanese rice or fresh pasta.
At its core, Tanabe and Rapillo’s aim is to deliver entertainment through food—pulling diners in for, say, an hour, only to keep them for two or three to revel in the sexy atmosphere, soulful hospitality and Tanabe’s playful cross-utilization of local ingredients.
“I’m not there to feed you, per se—I’m there to entertain you,” emphasizes Tanabe. “Everything has to be an experience—from the way you walk in to how the food’s prepared to interactions with the servers.” Time to saddle up again—the bar is set high.highhorsertp.com
A long-vacant ground-floor retail space at Bloc[83] is finally getting a tenant. Set to fill just over 6,000 square feet of the development that now houses Dram & Draught, Incendiary Brewing Co., and First Watch is 83 SOUTH, a brand-new “night on the town” experience from locals G. Brooks Splawn, Banks Sinclair and Luke Hanson.
The trio came together in 2023 with the idea of curating the reimagined restaurant and bar—since tapping local restaurateur Anthony Rapillo and Top Chef alum Katsuji Tanabe to consult on the concept after spending many a business meeting at the duo’s DTR restaurant Flour & Barrel.
So dubbed for its location at Bloc[83], 83 SOUTH technically combines two commercial properties into one—setting the stage of a “thought-provoking, grown and sexy atmosphere,” says Rapillo, with varying elevated spaces upping the cool factor. He teases two huge bars, private dining and a wine room.
A bona fide day-to-night destination, the hot spot will feature lunch, a vibey DJ weekend brunch, and an upscale dinner menu dishing American-inspired small plates—plus craft cocktails, beer and wine. Come 10:30/11pm, tables and chairs will give way to a sophisticated adults-centric lit (literally) late-night lounge till 2am.
“83 SOUTH hopes to bring an elevated environment and atmosphere—the likes of which Raleigh has been craving,” muses Rapillo, “where burgeoning ideas can manifest, grow and build.” Fitting for the new kid on the “bloc.”
Local restaurateur is filling one of City Plaza’s empty jewel boxes.
Raleigh has long been working to bring people back Downtown, especially in a postpandemic primarily hybrid- or remote-based world—and V Pizza’sAnthony Rapillo thinks pizza is part of the answer. Come mid-November, the former Happy + Hale jewel box in City Plaza gets a glow-up via Veloce Italian Market, a V Pizza sister spot designed to lure back the 9-to-5 and event crowd.
But for owner Anthony Rapillo—also of Flour & Barrel, La Taqueria and The Side Door fame—the concept is just as much about driving Raleigh’s thriving future as it is harkening back to his youth.
From left: Ryan Parker, Anthony Rapillo, William Yagasits | Photo by Sean Junqueira, courtesy of Veloce
“I grew up with a market in Queens called Ragtime,” he recalls. “It was incredible. The smell when you walked in the door… I always imagined that was what Italy smelled like—olives, salads, breads, canned goods, cannoli, etc. That place was everything an Italian market is and should be, and I want that smell and that atmosphere to live in Veloce.”
Taking inspo from that mainstay memory, Veloce will specialize in 10- and 13-inch pizzas, crafted from V Pizza’s recipe and fired from the same oven—plus paninis, wings and provisions (think: pizza kits, housemade vodka sauce, dry pasta, fried chicken cutlets and more), with a grab-and-go section of sandos and salads rounding out the offerings.
Photo courtesy of Veloce
“My favorite place in the world is Eataly,” says Rapillo of his muse. “It feels like back home in New York.” To wit, he intentionally chose a high-frequency spot—ideal for nearby office workers to pop in twice a day or a few times a week for lunch or a take-home pie or pizza kit.
And like Ragtime, the space’ll be compact—no chairs, just flavor, plus a full liquor bar spinning simple ’tails. Think Aperol spritzes and nice wines out of plastic Sip n’ Stroll cups, ready for roaming the plaza, fueling the wait or even while catching a Hopscotch set—when Veloce will keep the lights on late.
“I think it’s gonna do really well,” he muses. “Everything I do starts with pizza—and I really do believe we make the best Neapolitan pizza in the Triangle. Pizza is going to be what drives people Downtown to come into Veloce.” And while it might sound cheesy, it’s something Raleigh can certainly bet on. velocemarketnc.com
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