First Look: Hotel Mockingbird’s Verse Kitchen Plays a Familiar Tune

The hotel formerly known as The Beeman, located at 6070 North Central Expressway near SMU Boulevard, is often confused with its neighbor to the south, The Highland, at Mockingbird Lane. Today we’ll be talking about the former, just to be clear. The nine-story building dates back to 1972; it was originally a Radisson, later a Holiday Inn, then a couple more names came and went before it changed hands (again) last year.

Cut to 2026, and the newly renovated and rebranded Hotel Mockingbird opened on April 1, now under the Marriott Bonvoy umbrella. Managed locally by Dallas-based Coury Hospitality, it comprises 296 refreshed guest rooms, an indoor pool, a fitness center, meeting space, and two food-and-beverage venues. We popped in last weekend for a peek at Verse Kitchen & Bar. (The hotel’s second spot is not yet open; more on that later.)

Standard With a Couple of Surprises

Perhaps a bit oversold as a “distinct dining venue,” we instead experienced a mostly standard hotel eatery. Open for breakfast, happy hour and dinner (no lunch), Verse’s morning menu offers all the familiar hits: bagels, Benedict, hot and cold cereals, and omelets. One in our party tried the avocado toast and eggs ($16). It’s basic, no frills. On this day, however, the avocado was underripe, firm, and served sliced rather than smashed. Is there anything so disappointing as an underripe avocado?

And so, the envy was real when another guest’s Asagohan tray ($25) arrived, which is a tray of traditional Japanese breakfast. It’s one of two unexpected Japanese-style breakfast items on Verse’s menu. The tray held an artful array of steamed rice, miso soup, grilled salmon, and pickled veggies. The other Japanese-accented dish is something called Tokyo chicken and waffles ($21), a savory combination with karaage-style chicken, black pepper syrup, and miso butter. Sounds … interesting, but we were nursing a bit of a hangover (sorry, not sorry), so we kept our choices tame for the first meal of the day.

Dinner brings more of this crowd-friendly, if pricey, fare, such as the Verse burger ($22), “velvet” shrimp and rice ($31), and steaks (from $41). The evening menu has a few more Asian twists, as well, like Thai corn fritters ($16) and gochujang-seasoned pork tenderloin ($31). Though we did not partake of happy hour (see previous note re: hangover), “bar bite” happy hour specials for $10 may be a more affordable way to sample Verse’s offerings.

Speak Easier

Speaking of drinks, the hotel’s “speakeasy-style lounge,” Raven, will officially open on April 23. We sneaked a peek at the space on our visit, and it’s every bit the “Velveteen Hollow” as promised. Tucked away behind an unassuming keypad-locked door behind Verse, Raven will be accessible via secret code on Thursday through Saturday nights. Food options will reflect a condensed list of those currently available at Verse; specialty cocktails will ring in at $20.