Chef Akos Szabo to Head Up Match Kitchen and Cocktails at FOUND: RE Hotel

Last year developers Habitat Metro and Bond Partners announced details about plans to renovate the former Lexington Hotel in central Phoenix and transform the building into a boutique art hotel. At the time of the announcement last October, they mentioned plans for a restaurant concept — and now we know the...

By Lauren Saria

February 17, 2016

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

Last year developers Habitat Metro and Bond Partners announced details about plans to renovate the former Lexington Hotel in central Phoenix and transform the building into a boutique art hotel. At the time of the announcement last October, they mentioned plans for a restaurant concept — and now we know the restaurant's name and who its chef will be.

Match Cuisine & Cocktails is expected to open at the FOUND: RE Hotel later this spring. The hotel restaurant, located at 1100 North Central Avenue, will be headed up by chef Akos Szabo, a chef who's name might be familiar to Valley diners.

Szabo graduated from Scottsdale Culinary Institute and started his career at the Mary Elaine's at the Phoenician, the resort's famed but now defunct fine dining restaurant. He then went on to work in kitchens including the 5-star STUDIO in Laguna Beach, Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, and Brasserie Jo at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston. Back in 2011, he took a job as chef de cuisine at Top of the Rock restaurant at The Buttes in Tempe alongside Executive Chef Gregory Wiener.

We'll have more details about the restaurant soon, but in the meantime you can check out the Match Phoenix and FOUND: RE Phoenix Facebook pages for more information.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.