The “World’s Smartest Horse” Inspired Brunswick’s New Daytime Eatery

Chef Josh Murphy and partner Priyam Chovhan (who own West Footscray’s Harley & Rose) had a name for their new daytime venue long before they had a site. In the early 1900s, Beautiful Jim Key was dubbed “the world’s smartest horse”. He was owned and trained by a former slave and self-taught veterinarian Dr William Preston Key. Key is said to have taught the horse the alphabet, how to count to 30 and solve equations, and answer questions by writing responses in chalk or by using letter blocks. The pair toured across the United States, appearing on Broadway and at the 1904 St Louis World’s Fair.

“It’s one of the most fantastical, heartwarming stories,” Chovhan tells Broadsheet. “It was just about finding the venue and setting the scene to fit in with the story.”

Last week, the pair opened Beautiful Jim Key on Wilson Avenue in Brunswick, right by Iris the Bakery. It’s a light-filled space that’s full of character, thanks largely to the couple’s focus on incorporating art, including colourful and whimsical glass balloons by artist Ruth Allen, and a gallery wall that currently features a slightly psychedelic work by Melbourne artist Matilda Davis.

But it’s also a place with excellent breakfast and lunch options, the work of Murphy, Chovhan and head chef Catriona Freeman, who was sous chef for two years apiece at Bistro Elba and Patsy’s.

“We wanted to create a space that leaned into classic breakfast offerings done well, special ingredients on a plate that sing, and a bold lunch offering that’s a real star,” Chovhan says.

Two simple standouts from the breakfast menu are the scrambled eggs and the brown rice congee. The eggs, in Chovhan’s words, are “really rich and creamy and decadent” scrambled eggs served on toast with a slow-roasted tomato on the side. And Murphy perfected the congee, which comes with a jar of Lao Gan Ma chilli oil on the side, with help from Moon Mart chef Eun Hee An.

Come midday, the team adds on larger lunch plates including lamb schnitzel with fennel salad; casarecce pasta with an albacore tuna and ’nduja ragu; and vegetable dal with cucumber salad and rice.

The venue is licensed, and the team serves cocktails, beer, wine and digestifs. Chovhan hopes people will “lean into having a Bloody Mary or Mimosa” at lunch but recognises demand for later hours. “Everyone wants us to be open in the evenings,” she says. Beautiful Jim Key will host its first apero evening tomorrow night and aims to open nights come November.

“We see Beautiful Jim Key as something that will grow with the neighbourhood,” says Chovhan. “The area is always changing, and so will we evolve the menu and the space to reflect what the community truly wants and needs.”

Additional reporting by Sebastian Pasinetti.

Beautiful Jim Key
7 Wilson Avenue,
Brunswick
0400 124 414

Hours
Tue to Sun 8am–3pm

beautifuljimkey.com.au
@beautifuljimkey