Brasserie Melrose is not easy to categorize, and that is exactly the point. Walk in before noon and you will find a quiet bakery and café, glass cases full of croissants, and an espresso machine working overtime. Pop by for dinner and the same building transforms into an intimate French bistro, with low lighting, a dedicated wine wall, and a menu built around classic brasserie cooking. This Melrose District spot has quickly turned into a true neighborhood fixture, one that works just as well at 8 a.m. as it does at 8 p.m.
What Is Brasserie Melrose?
Founded in 2025 by Tory Johnson and James Lenhart, Brasserie Melrose grew out of the couple’s repeated trips to France and years spent running a private cheffing company together. After nearly a year searching for the right space, they found it in the former Belly Restaurant building, a spot in a neighborhood already known for good food and a good night out. Together with Tory’s brother, Chef Pâtissier Kyle Johnson, the three built a restaurant meant to feel like a neighborhood fixture rather than an occasional indulgence. The goal, according to Lenhart, was to make French cuisine approachable rather than intimidating. The menu changes seasonally, pulling from fresh ingredients suited to the time of year. Fall and winter bring heartier dishes like onion soup, beef bourguignon, and coq au vin, while spring and summer shift toward lighter fare such as sole meunière, ravioles du Dauphiné, and seared sea scallops.
Brasserie Melrose: Design & Details
The layout mirrors the restaurant’s split personality. Downstairs is a small, grab-and-go coffee shop, where guests can watch Chef Pâtissier Johnson at work behind the counter while picking up croissants and espresso on their way out the door. Upstairs is a different experience entirely: a small, intimate dining room paired with a bar, designed for slower, sit-down meals. Grey exposed brick, wood tables, black marble, and low lighting set a moody tone, with a dedicated wine wall anchoring the space. Vintage French art lines the walls, including work by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen and a reproduction of his 1896 poster for the Chat Noir cabaret, alongside art incorporating Bauhaus lyrics. Off the dining room, a balcony patio strung with lights and filled with plants gives the space an unexpected garden-like feel, well above the street noise below.
What to Order at Brasserie Melrose
Dinner draws from a menu of brasserie staples executed with care. The steak tartare is hand-cut beef served with a hazelnut tart shell, fromage blanc, and a fines herbes salad, while the escargot comes prepared in the traditional style with Burgundy snails, garlic-herb butter, and baguette. The lobster salad pairs cold-water lobster with celery, lemon mayo, and herbs, and the caviar d’aubergine offers a roasted eggplant dip with crudités and crostini for something lighter to start.
Among the brasserie classics, the moules frites feature steamed mussels in a white wine butter sauce served with crispy fries and lemon aioli, and the steak frites serves an 8-oz. New York strip cooked medium-rare with Café de Paris sauce and a side of fries.
Guests looking for something more involved can opt into the Seasonal Summer Prix Fixe Menu, a multi-course meal that requires the full table to participate. It opens with a starter sampler of foie gras mousse, fried squash blossom, and tomato tartare, followed by a choice of entrée among ravioles du Dauphiné, steak frites, or seared duck breast, and finishes with a dessert sampler featuring rotating French cheese, canelé, and a Valrhona chocolate cookie. Wine pairings are included with each course.
Mornings belong to the bakery, where house-made pastries are baked fully in-house using Isigny Sainte-Mère butter and Central Milling Company flour. The butter croissant is the foundation, with a pain au chocolat made using two Valrhona chocolate batons, an almond croissant finished with frangipane and powdered sugar, and a chocolate hazelnut croissant rounding out the lineup. A full espresso bar runs alongside the pastry case, including a Café Viennois, a double shot of espresso topped with whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa. Each of these delicacies are baked fresh each morning and can be enjoyed during dinner too.
What Are the Best Drinks at Brasserie Melrose?
The bar focuses almost entirely on French spirits and classic French cocktails, and the wine list is 100 percent French. The Evening in Paris combines Fair Juniper gin, violette liqueur, black tea verjus cordial, and egg white for something layered and aromatic. The French 75 keeps things classic with sparkling wine, Fair Juniper gin, and lemon juice, lightly sweetened. The Mazagran Martini leans into the café influence, blending FAIR Quinoa vodka, Giffard coffee liqueur, lemon, mint, and espresso into something closer to dessert than cocktail…