Aftermath sibling Rosewood makes debut in downtown Gilbert

🍔 Downtown Gilbert has a new dinner destination. Rosewood opened its doors over the weekend, marking the latest project from the team behind Aftermath Bar & Kitchen and Born & Bred.

If the name sounds new, that’s because it is. The concept was originally announced as a second location of Aftermath, slated to move into the space near the northwest corner of Gilbert and Vaughn formerly occupied by The Bar, which closed in February 2024.

Plans change

Somewhere along the way, plans shifted: instead of taking over The Bar‘s old footprint, the team pivoted next door into the space previously home to Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles – and along with the new address came a new identity. Aftermath Gilbert became Rosewood.

Whatever the name, the mission sounds familiar to fans of the group’s other spots. Per Rosewood’s own description, it’s an ‘‘upscale-casual New American restaurant built around great food, thoughtful drinks, and an atmosphere that feels elevated without ever feeling pretentious.’’

The scratch kitchen draws on influences from across the country and beyond, reworking familiar comfort dishes with quality ingredients and bold flavor combinations – and the bar program is built to be just as much of a draw as the dinner menu, with handcrafted cocktails, wine, and a curated spirits list.

What’s on the menu

Rosewood’s opening menu leans into shareable snacks, elevated apps, and wood-fired mains. A few highlights:

• Crispy Chickpeas ($8) with Parmesan, lemon, and thyme.
• Gameballs ($18): a bison-venison-boar blend with ricotta, herbs, and bourbon blueberry BBQ sauce (pictured).
• Whipped Ricotta ($13) with warm marinated olives and toasted bread crostini.
• The Wood section headlines the mains, including a Beer Can’t Chicken ($28), King Salmon ($32) with molasses lime glaze, and a Lobster Linguini ($42) loaded with knuckle and claw meat.
• A namesake Rosewood burger ($24): a 6-ounce grass-fed patty with tomato jam, smoked bacon, arugula, Havarti, and red wine aioli.
• For the splurge-worthy occasion, a 32-ounce bone-in mole ribeye ($180) with cilantro pesto, mole, buttermilk mash, and creamed corn.

Dessert leans comforting, too, with a Mason Mousse espresso soft-top and a coconut cake finished with fresh whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Rosewood is open 4-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 4 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday.