Murphy’s team to open Morningside Kitchen in the old Rosebud space in April

Design your own meals with rotisserie-grilled meats, chicken, and fish, and fresh sides
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0316MorningsideKitchenTom Murphy of Murphy’s in Virginia-Highland has transformed the old Rosebud space into a new brunch and dinner restaurant called Morningside Kitchen. With the help of culinary director Ian Winslade and former executive chef Tom Harvey, Murphy hopes to open by early April. The focus of the menu will be the wood-fired grill and charcoal rotisserie. “It’s the hospitality that makes Murphy’s such a perennial favorite, and guests can feel confident that they’ll find that here as well,” says Harvey, who served as Murphy’s executive chef in 2011. “The way the menu is laid out will be a completely fresh experience. We want to give people another type of cuisine.”

Together Winslade and chef de cuisine Bhavesh Patel designed a menu featuring a rotating selection of fish, chicken, and meat with seasonal sides like quinoa salad, greens, and hand-cut fries, ranging from $18 to about $25. Bar snacks include roasted peanuts with olives, and roasted eggplant and white bean hummus served with grilled pita. For dessert, there will be a butterscotch brownie with caramel popcorn.

Morningside Kitchen will also serve brunch. “Murphy’s brunch is a legendary thing. In this neighborhood, it’s a big part of the fabric of how people like to spend their weekends,” Harvey says. “Cage-free eggs will be the cornerstone of the menu, along with Pine Street bacon, Delia’s chicken sausage, and Batdorf & Bronson espresso.”

Beverage director Dan Givens is working on a cocktail menu, including two drinks on tap, likely a Southern sweet tea sangria and a batch-produced old fashioned. There will be seven draft beers, mostly local varieties, and about two dozen wines, the majority of which will be available by the glass.

The team has been busy revamping the space with new lighting, upholstery, and kitchen equipment. Expect cream-colored leather, exposed brick walls, and mirrored décor. “It was about having the right team of people to expand here in the neighborhood,” Harvey says. “The space was available and things fell into place very well.”

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