Chef Rob Newton Opens Plant-Inspired Restaurant Yellow Magnolia Cafe at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The cherry trees are blooming, and just in time for the new season, a restaurant spotlighting vegetables has opened at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

The Yellow Magnolia Cafe, which opened Tuesday, focuses on sustainably grown food from local farmers, with the input of horticulturists at the garden. Currently on the menu are fava bean falafel, candy cane beets, and chicken with ramp dumplings.

Well-known Brooklyn chef Rob Newton heads the kitchen. The Seersucker founder runs several other Brooklyn eateries, including southern-inspired Wilma Jean in Carroll Gardens and Asian-fusion Black Walnut in Boerum Hill’s recently opened Hilton.

The Yellow Magnolia Cafe is adjacent to the recently refurbished Palm House, and both have views of the garden’s Lily Pool Terrace. The eatery’s name is derived from the first flower grown at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, according to the restaurant’s website.

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Newton’s menu will rotate with the seasons and use locally sourced ingredients from nearby farms, and dishes will be created with input from horticulturists at the garden. The new cafe will be open every day the garden is open, and will have a full-service brunch on the weekends.

To dine at the Yellow Magnolia Cafe, visitors will have to pay admission to the garden. (Members get a 10 percent dining discount.)

The new restaurant will join the garden’s other eatery, Yellow Magnolia Canteen, a snack bar offering options such as soups and salads.

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