The Diplomat restaurant opens Tuesday on Brady St.
The Diplomat, the restaurant by former Bartolotta group and SURG group chef Dane Baldwin, opens Tuesday on Brady St.
The restaurant is at 815 E. Brady St., the former site of Bosley on Brady, the longtime Key West-themed restaurant. Bosley closed about a year ago, after the building’s sale to developer Joshua Jeffers.
The menu is small plates and focuses on American regional fare. Baldwin is keeping the menu brief — the opening menu has 10 savory plates and three sweet — with plans to change the lineup frequently.
The opening menu has dishes such as corn bruschetta ($7) with cherry tomato, bell pepper and shallot; trout ($11) with dilly beans, romesco, radish and tonnato sauce; and New York strip steak with potato puree and cured egg yolk ($17). The Diplomat french fries ($6) are triple fried for crispness and served with aioli.
Desserts are cherry pie ($7), buttermilk panna cotta ($6) and chocolate mousse with caramel whipped cream ($6).
The bar will have a separate food menu, and happy hour is expected to launch soon.
The Diplomat can seat about 70 in the dining room and 30 customers in the bar, where it will serve cocktails and wine by the glass and bottle. It will have three beers on tap.
Baldwin has wide experience in Milwaukee restaurants. Before working to open the Diplomat, he last was executive chef at Mr. B’s Steakhouse in Brookfield, He’s worked at Carnevor, Bacchus and the late Dancing Ganesha and Gil’s Cafe, among other restaurants.
The restaurant’s opening announcement notes that Baldwin met his wife, Anna, at Carnevor; she has been working with him to open the Diplomat.
Hours will be 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, and 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The Diplomat isn’t taking reservations.
The restaurant’s number is (414) 800-5816; the website is under development at thediplomatmke.com.