After well-received stints at two Dallas institutions and her currently-airing appearance on Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen, Rosanne "Roe" DiLeo is seemingly up for anything. This time, Chef Roe won't be dodging pans slung by a cursing Englishman or setting a new standard for bar food at The Libertine. Instead, she'll be working on creating a "new oasis for Dallas' diners and drinkers" in Uptown.
Tonight, Chef Roe will debut her fancy-but-approachable new dinner menu at Henry's Majestic on McKinney Ave. The restaurant is the brainchild of the owners of another highly successful Uptown institution, Bread Winners. Henry's Majestic won't focus on making baked goods and brunch like its sister restaurant, but there will be brunch, and while mostly traditional, it does not look disappointing. Even a simple avocado toast, pictured below, is enough to make you want to sleep until Saturday.
After a soft opening over the weekend, DiLeo and her culinary team are still finalizing a few dishes, but there is much to look forward to. On the dinner menu, a "Texas pho," made with Texas brisket, Akayushi flank steak and a soft-boiled farm egg is particularly interesting. Mostly, though, there are elevated comfort food dishes. The obligatory Dallas burger also gets kicked up a notch thanks to an infusion of bone marrow, and a rotisserie chicken dish is served with "drippings potatoes," a simple but stellar-sounding side.
Longtime Dallas bar star Alex Fletcher, formerly of Victor Tango's and The People's Last Stand, has also created an impressive cocktail program. Fletcher is known for his showy and complex cocktails, and this menu looks like a bartender's playground. In addition to a few cocktails served on tap, Fletcher and his crew will be shaking up sophisticated sips like The Scarlet Begonia, made with rose, Lillet Blanc and pink peppercorn syrup.
Outside of the strong menu and interesting cocktail program, Henry's will have to contend with an address that has a pretty abysmal history as a home for restaurants. Previously, 4900 McKinney Ave has been home to Acme F+B, Acme Social Club, a Cretia's location and an ill-fated Mexican restaurant called Tijuana Sports Bar & Grill.
Here's hoping that Roe DiLeo and the brains behind Bread Winners can finally give this space a great restaurant that will last.