Best Patios

The best Fort Worth patios for eating and drinking al fresco

This year's mild winter conveniently put patio activities in full swing by the end of February, and you won't find us complaining. With the cold — and hopefully most of the rain — behind us, it's time to find your favorite patio and enjoy the sunshine.

Lucky for us, Fort Worth has an abundance of wonderful establishments to drink and dine outdoors. Here are some of the patios on our radar for the foreseeable weekends.

Woodshed Smokehouse
Tim Love's Smokehouse has been a success since it hit the Fort Worth dining scene in 2012, and it continues to impress. With the doors rolled up, almost the entire restaurant opens to the Trinity River. The back patio seats tables of guests for brunch, lunch, and dinner but also features plenty of space for those here for the drinks, live music, and a relaxed vibe. Oh, and did we mention it's dog-friendly too? Bring man's best friend on your next visit and you can even order a treat off the "Pup Menu."

Flying Saucer
The Flying Saucer really upped its patio game when it moved into the old 8.0 space in Sundance Square. With a full view of Sundance Square, a stage for live music, and one of the largest patios around, the beer garden is a must-visit on a beautiful day. Known for its extensive rotating beer selection, this Flying Saucer also serves mixed drinks and wine alongside an excellent food menu.

Mash'd
Sitting across from FW Market + Table and Thirteen Pies, this restaurant and bar offers a prime patio spot for the best people-watching. Moonshine is the name of the game at Mash'd — there's an extensive selection of moonshine, moonshine based-cocktails, and frozen drinks. These will definitely cool you off in that Texas heat, but beware: they aren't for the faint-hearted.

Joe T. Garcia's
Joe T's has been a Mexican food staple in Fort Worth forever, and it would be blasphemy not to mention it on a best patios list. The outdoor seating space has expanded over the years to accommodate the faithful crowds that flock here on warm sunny days for the famous enchiladas and margaritas.

Bar Louie
On a clear night, you can't beat the view of the West 7th District from the rooftop of Bar Louie. The menu features an extensive selection of martinis, cocktails, and wine to drink while you enjoy the music, crowds, and dancing.

Rodeo Goat
Rodeo Goat stands out among Fort Worth's competitive burger scene. The finger-lickin' good burger selection is complemented by the impressive cocktail and beer menu, all of which can be enjoyed on a large patio. The colorful lights, picnic tables, and games make this an awesome place to eat and drink under the sun or stars.

Capital Bar
Live music, a dance floor, and happy hour specials? It's a no-brainer that Capital Bar's outdoor patio, the Backyard, is a popular destination for locals. Check the calendar for music acts ranging from popular Texas country artists to DJs, then put on your dancing shoes for some outdoor grooves.

The Social House
The Social House is a go-to destination for patio drinking and dining all across DFW. The Fort Worth outpost sits at the corner of Currie and Crocket streets in the bustling West 7th District.

Ellerbe Fine Foods
Who says a good patio can't be accompanied by a charming atmosphere and upscale dining? Ellerbe's patio on Magnolia Avenue is a quaint spot to sit back, relax, enjoy a glass of wine (or two) and experience the seasonal fare for which the restaurant is known.

The Live Oak
The Live Oak is home to a large downstairs patio and a rooftop bar featuring free live music most nights of the week. Grab a beer from the well-curated selection, then people-watch from a picnic table on the patio or soak in the Fort Worth skyline from the rooftop.

Another highly anticipated patio scheduled to hit Fort Worth in 2016 is Truck Yard, to be located in the old Crystal Springs Dance Pavilion on White Settlement Road. A runaway success off Greenville Avenue in Dallas, Truck Yard has a wide selection of booze and brews served up alongside a rotating selection of food trucks.

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Joe T. Garcia's is a patio staple in Fort Worth.

Joe T. Garcia's/Facebook

Joe T. Garcia's is a patio staple in Fort Worth.

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Chef News

Fort Worth's Will Rogers Memorial Center welcomes bright new chef

FortWorthtx.gov

Will Rogers Memorial Center

There's a new chef in town: Waylon Cornelius, named executive chef of catering and concessions for Craft Culinary Concepts, the food and beverage provider at Will Rogers Memorial Center.

Will Rogers Memorial Center is the 120-acre entertainment complex anchoring Fort Worth’s Cultural District, owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth. Cornelius will oversee menus for trade shows and other events at the center which bring in more than 2 million visitors a year.

Craft Culinary Concepts is headquartered in Glendale, Arizona, and manages food and beverage programs for entertainment, sports and cultural facilities.

Chef Waylon Corneliusfortworthtx.gov

According to a release, Cornelius joined the team this summer and is already shifting the expectations of guests from a typical “BBQ and beans” menu to a bill of fare satisfying every kind of palate.

“We always have fajitas ready to go, but we also make a beautiful Beef Wellington or baked salmon with a pink salt crust,” Cornelius says in a statement.

For consumer trade shows, Craft and its partners Caribou and Taco Heads offer more choices for the thousands of guests who attend events at WRMC annually.

“Some of our equestrian guests are away from home and here for several days, and they need more than popcorn and hot dogs,” Cornelius says. “Our concessions offer biscuits and gravy, burritos made in-house, strawberry salad, fruit and yogurt cups.”

A native of Mansfield, Cornelius grew up helping in a farm-to-table kitchen. He was raised on a farm with his mother, grandmother, and grandfather -- a Vietnam veteran who enjoyed vegetable gardens and raising hogs and chickens. He studied computer science after high school and holds an associate's degree in Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis from Tarrant County College.

He's a 2003 graduate of AIMS Academy of Culinary Arts in Dallas where he was mentored by a number of great chefs. While training as assistant executive sous chef at the AAA four-diamond Grand Hyatt DFW, he worked with Executive Chef Sutti Sripolpa, chef Eric Dreyer (who went on to be Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef), and Chef Jean-Claude Plihon, under whom he honed his French cooking skills.

As executive sous chef at the opening of Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille in Southlake, Cornelius gained expertise with volume. While at HG Sply Co., he learned about gluten-free items and other food allergies.

HG Sply is also where he crossed paths with Chef James R. Schell III, Craft’s general manager at WRMC, who recruited Cornelius to the complex.

"James said he needed someone who can hit moving targets, push the culinary team to be more avant-garde and use locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, so here I am," Cornelius says. "Culinary is a small world."

“I want people to say, ‘When we were in Fort Worth, you won’t believe what we got at Will Rogers!’” Schell says. “Even the celebrities who perform [in the auditorium] are surprised. When Chicago played here recently and we served dinner backstage, they said they felt treated like the Rolling Stones.”

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