Jordan Anthony-Brown

The Climb

Since 2024, chef and owner Jordan Anthony-Brown has run The Aperture as a single authorship project, with the room, menu, and concept moving under one hand. The restaurant is built as a working conversation rather than a fixed statement, and Anthony-Brown keeps that exchange active as the place continues to evolve. The ambition is structural here: it sits in the pacing of the dining room as much as on the plate.

Today

At The Aperture in Cincinnati, the dual role of Chef and Owner gives Jordan Anthony-Brown direct control over the restaurant’s voice. The menu moves across seafood, vegetables, and barbecue without forcing them into a narrow category, which keeps the line broad but disciplined. That range is the point: the food is composed to hold freshness, smoke, richness, and restraint in the same frame. The dishes most associated with the restaurant show how that frame works in practice. Pacifico Striped Bass from Baja California brings a coastal register centered on freshness and balance. Hamachi collar adds richness without losing control. Charred carrots are treated with the same attention as the more prominent items, which keeps the vegetable work in the conversation. Brisket anchors the barbecue side of the menu with smoke and depth. Pimento cheese, which Anthony-Brown names as part of the restaurant’s memory of backyard barbecue, folds familiarity into a more composed setting. Taken together, those plates show a chef working across traditions rather than inside a single category. Seafood stays clean, vegetables stay deliberate, and barbecue brings char and recall. In that mix, The Aperture reads as a restaurant where Jordan Anthony-Brown’s point of view is visible in the structure of the menu itself.

Signature

Jordan's signature dishes include Pacifico Striped Bass, Hamachi collar, charred carrots, brisket, and pimento cheese.

In Their Words “As I get older, my perception of what I want out of a meal has changed.” “The freshness and balance of seafood is more my speed.”

Recognition

Jordan's honors include James Beard Award nomination for Best Emerging Chef.