Rosemary restaurant brings a stylish vibe to little Ridley Park

In search of more space for their growing family, veteran restaurant manager Philip Breen and his wife, Livia, moved from Secane to Ridley Park in March 2020.

Days after they settled on their new house, he went back to work at Condesa, near Rittenhouse Square. Then came the news. “They said, ‘All right. We’re closing everything down now,’” he said. “And I said, ‘Oh, I get to be a dad, though.’”

With little else to do, Breen, 39, and his son, now 5, walked the streets of Ridley Park, passing the shuttered Burgundy Lounge, a late ‘70s bar/pool hall on the commercial strip of Hinckley Avenue. The couple’s second son came along two years ago, and now Breen has returned to the restaurant business — as an owner.

He bought the Burgundy.

Ten months and $2 million later, it’s now a stylish destination called Rosemary, with a 12-seat bar, sidewalk seating, a dining room, a greenhouse room for additional dining, and outdoor dining in a landscaped back yard. The name was inspired by his grandmother, Rosemarie.

Eight cocktails, including the signature Rosemary (El Jimador, Solerno, grapefruit soda), are on the bar list, which at $13 to $16 carries suburban prices.

Executive chef Elijah Milligan — who a decade ago landed the executive chef’s job at South Philadelphia’s Stateside and went on to consult — mixes small and large plates on his modern-American menu.

The smalls include raw and broiled oysters, broiled octopus with honey glaze and sun-dried tomatoes, and grilled steak skewers on Turkish-style flatbread, priced at $14 to $21. Milligan has gone with four pastas including crab and nduja ravioli ($25), and five large plates, from a burger with truffle aioli and aged Cheddar for $19 to pork ribeye with farro, kale, and huckleberry ($32) and scallops with lobster risotto and sauce americaine and asparagus ($36).

There also are more splurge-worthy dishes, such as a New York strip starting at $40.

Although Rosemary works as a date-night destination, Breen and Milligan know that families with small ones will stop in. They maintain kid-friendly dishes such as a small burger and bowl of pasta available.

It’s also open daily, unlike many new sit-down restaurants that keep to a four- or five-day schedule; Breen said he wants to serve as many customers as he can, whenever they are available. (Hence the late-night happy hour from 10 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, to supplement the happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays.)

Breen, 39, was born in Colwyn and raised in Northeast Philadelphia and Bucks County before he moved to Delaware County, where his wife is from. His resume includes Frankford Hall and The Dandelion for Starr Restaurant Group/ as well as Dock Street Brewery.

Rosemary, 25 E. Hinckley Ave., Ridley Park. Hours: 4 to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday, 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday.