Where to Eat Now

Where to eat in Fort Worth right now: 10 hottest new restaurants

Hopdoddy Burger Bar hamburger Jackalope special April 2016

Burgers are happening in Fort Worth right now.

Photo by Jane Baudouin

If you love to try new restaurants, now's your time. In Fort Worth, new restaurants are opening at a breakneck pace. In this list, we have burgers, barbecue, taco, and Thai, all newly opened.

Here are the 10 hottest new openings for August:

BurgerFI
After a location in Garland came and went, BurgerFI tries again to break into North Texas' burger scene, this time with a location in Arlington's new Champion Park development at 1807 N. Collins St. The Florida-based chain is inspired by New York's Shake Shack, and offers similar thin, all-natural Angus patties, dressed with toppings such as fried eggs, barbecue sauce, and onion rings; the veggie burger is made with a quinoa patty. Like Shake Shack, BurgerFI also serves hand-cut fries, hot dogs, and a variety of custards and shakes.

Honey Smoke Pit
Another restaurant takes a stab at the seemingly jinxed spot at Montgomery Plaza, at 2600 W. 7th St., where six others have risen and fallen. This time, it's a BBQ joint. Pitmaster Rodney Lambert, fresh from a stint at also-new Smoky Mae's Pit BBQ in Mansfield, uses an indoor rotisserie smoker to cook brisket, ribs, bologna, and other 'cue staples, served by the pound, on plates, or in sandwiches. There are burgers, too, and lots of sides, including bacon jalapeño mac and cheese. Unlike most 'cue joints, it's table service — female servers are clad, barely, in cut-off shorts and tank tops — and there's a full bar.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar
After opening three stores in the Dallas area, Austin's popular "better burger" chain finally makes its way to Fort Worth, where it'll go head to head against many of the burger joints it has inspired, including nearby Rodeo Goat. Located on an end cap spot in the new Left Bank development, at 2300 W. 7th St., Hopdoddy offers burgers made with Angus beef, Akaushi beef, chicken, sushi-grade tuna, turkey, lamb, and black beans. Above average toppings include arugula, brie, and avocado; sauces such as chipotle mayo and honey wasabi are made in-house. Fries are a big deal here; they're of the hand-cut, Kennebec variety and come with sides of truffle aioli or green chile queso. Gotta get a milkshake, too, in a cool flavor like strawberry balsamic or Nutella pretzel.

Los Jimadores Restaurant & Tequila Factory
Second location of this excellent Mexican restaurant — the original is in Bedford — takes over the old Bonanza building in River Oaks, at 4335 River Oaks Blvd. Lunch and dinner options include obligatory enchiladas and fajitas, along with several surprises, like pollo xochitl, comprised of two pan-fried chicken breasts topped with tequila cream sauce and served on a bed of spinach and chipotle mashed potatoes. Weekend breakfast includes tacos made on your choice of corn or flour tortillas, both housemade — a nice touch.

Mason & Dixie
Having outgrown her original spot at the Grapevine Antique Market, Beth Newman recently uprooted her cafe to new digs at 603 S. Main St., in Grapevine's Westwood Center. The menu includes tearoom fare with a bit of flair: a fig panini, a brie grilled cheese sandwich, a Reuben with housemade Sriracha sauce. Weekend brunch brings heavier dishes like chicken and dumplings.

Pandan Thai Street Food
Old Town Burleson gets its first Thai restaurant courtesy of this recently opened spot at 114 S. Main St. An offshoot of the original Pandan Thai in nearby Crowley, this location features a cool build-your-own-noodle bar. Choose a noodle (egg, enoki mushroom, flat, rice, glass or vermicelli), then a broth (curry, clear vegetable, beef or tom kha/tom yum) and a protein (veggie, chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp). The don't-miss dish: loaded basil fries, topped with chicken, onions, Thai basil, and streaks of Sriracha mayo.

Ristorante Mulino
Cozy new Italian restaurant at 1125 Davis Blvd. in Southlake comes from New York transplant Nino Rata, who managed restaurants in New York's Little Italy before moving to North Texas. Pizzas are cooked in a wood-fired oven from Naples and come topped with ingredients such as arugula, zucchini puree, salami, and chili oil. Entrees include housemade pastas; soups and salads; and a handful of seafood dishes, including char-grilled octopus.

Salsa Limon
The latest branch of the Fort Worth-bred taqueria is now open at 5012 White Settlement Rd. in the up-and-coming River District, where a second location of Heim BBQ will soon rise. The restaurant’s historic Streamline Moderne building was transported last year by truck from its original perch on University Drive. Plans include adding a patio bar, reflecting pool, outdoor stage, and kiddo-friendly activities.

Taste Afrik
Mom-and-pop spot in Arlington at 1201 W. Arbrook Blvd. is one of the few restaurants in Tarrant County to serve African cuisine. Opened in May by Lola and Malcolm Fajemirokun, the tiny restaurant specializes in dishes closely tied to the couple’s Nigerian homeland: jollof rice (a rice dish made with tomatoes, onions, and cumin); egusi, pounded yam with dried plant seeds; various meat pies; and “puff-puff” — fried, sweet dough balls akin to doughnuts.

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where to eat

Where to eat in Fort Worth: 9 restaurants to take your holiday guests

Manny Rodriguez

Chumley House

The holidays draw near and for many of us, that means one thing: family’s coming to town. Cook your heart out for them, yes, but take advantage of Fort Worth’s thriving restaurant scene and show off some of our city’s finest places to eat.

For our annual December edition of our monthly Where to Eat feature, we offer suggestions for where to take the family, with a list that accommodates every type of eater — from the Tex Mex lover to vegans to big splurges.

Here's Where to eat in Fort Worth right now:

Best barbecue: Goldee’s Barbecue
Lauded by The New York Times, recently high-fived by Michelin, and ranked No. 1 on Texas Monthly’s best barbecue list, Goldee’s remains the top ‘cue choice for many in Texas and beyond. Part of the experience of eating here is the wait. Chances are, you’ll stand in line (or sit; you can bring chairs) for a good two or three hours, but with the wait comes a sense of community - and isn’t that what the holidays are all about? Maybe? You can’t go wrong with the expertly smoked brisket, huge beef ribs, or housemade Lao sausage. Be sure to get a couple slices of bread; it’s made in-house.

Best Tex Mex:Fiesta Restaurant
Fort Worth of course is well known for its Mexican cuisine, and zeroing in on one spot for all to try can be difficult. Open for more than four decades, this charming, uncomplicated restaurant on the south side is a good choice: Its menu is more expansive than others, offering dozens of varieties of enchiladas, nachos, chimichangas, and other Tex Mex staples. It’s one of the few restaurants in the area to offer parrillada, sizzling platters of chicken thighs, steak, pork, and veggies that are perfect for sharing. On weekends, there’s an all-day breakfast menu with items such as menudo, chilaquiles, migas, and breakfast tacos.

Best Hot New Spot: The Chumley House
This exquisite new European-inspired steakhouse in the museum district is definitely one of the toughest tables to get right now. A spinoff of the original location in Dallas, The Chumley House offers a variety of European-inspired dishes, chef-inspired takes on American classics, and homages to global cuisine, in a handsomely designed space. Dishes include butter chicken pie with coriander-glazed roots and ginger yorgurt, herb popovers with salted butter, the signature Beef Wellington, a center-cut tenderloin and spinach crepe hidden in a puff pastry, and a halibut “porterhouse” with chimichurri. Steaks include a NY strip and bone-in ribeye. For dessert, there’s salted caramel Biscoff trifle with sweet mascarpone and icebox pie with blackberry cobbler crumble.

Best Outdoor Space: La Cabrona
Patios may definitely be an option for Christmastime dining - remember, this is Texas and typically it’s nice this time of year. This new high-end Mexican restaurant in the W. 7th area has a real beauty for a patio - it’s festively decorated and overlooks all the W. 7th activity. The Monterrey-inspired menu includes dishes such as mole chicken enchiladas, pan-roasted cactus tacos, and carne asada, as well as lighter options such as shrimp cocktail, ceviche, and aguachile, a dish comprised of shrimp cured in a lime and serrano pepper marinade. Great selection of margaritas, cocktails, and beers, too.

Best for a Large Group:Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall
With a spacious dining area that spans three rooms and a bar area, Tim Love’s restaurant/music venue combo in the Stockyards is a good option for large groups. As if it were made for indecisive diners, the menu is incredibly varied, with an emphasis on classic American cuisine. Appetizers include grilled fish tacos, raw oysters, smoked crab and green chili dip, and tuna tostadas. Main dishes feature a dry-aged beef double cheeseburger, smoked baby back pork ribs, brisket enchiladas, beef stroganoff, and smoked chicken. A kids menu includes a cheese quesadillas and chicken tenders with fries. The restaurant and music venue are in separate areas, so there’s an additional cost to see the concerts.

Best Late Night:Pho 95
Late-night dining is becoming a thing of the past in Fort Worth - thankfully, Ol’ South is still around. But in Arlington, after-hours grub is still easy to find. Pho 95’s east Arlington location, at 2525 E. Arkansas Ln., is a good option for night owls craving Vietnamese classics, like bowls of piping hot pho, beef stew and other hearty soups. It’s a fun, no-frills atmosphere in which the tables and chairs are pushed so closely together, you’re bound to make a friend or two.

Best splurge:Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine
With some dishes hovering in the $60-$70 range, Fort Worth chef Jon Bonnell’s namesake restaurant is definitely on the upper end of the splurge scale. But this southwest Fort Worth restaurant is a truly unique experience, in that your guests may never eat food quite like this again. Among the entrees: pepper-crusted buffalo with whiskey cream, ancho chile-rubbed elk backstrap, made from a premium cut of meat that runs along the spine, and a larger-than-life tomahawk pork chop, rubbed with a special barbecue seasoning, with mascarpone whipped sweet potatoes. Appetizers include crispy quail legs and elk tacos - only in Texas.

Best on a budget: Sunny’s Cafe
Opened earlier this year in the space once occupied by Bavarian Bakery & Cafe, this second location of the Sycamore School Road staple offers breakfast and lunch essentials, made to order and priced inexpensively. For breakfast, try the excellent pancakes - pillow-y on the inside, with nicely browned edges on the outside. Home fries - cubed fried potatoes cooked with onions and peppers - are a must. Rotating lunch specials include chicken-fried steak, pork chops, Shepherd’s pie, and chopped steak, and come with your choice of two sides, usually for less than $12.

Best quintessential Texas: Dayne’s Craft BBQ
Though just a year old, Dayne’s Craft Barbecue has all the hallmarks of a quintessential Texas restaurant: It’s located in a small town (Aledo, about 20 minutes west of Fort Worth), it’s housed in a historic building that’s nearly a century old, and the dining room looks out onto railroad tracks. You can enjoy your terrific brisket sandwich or excellent smashburger while watching the trains chug by; that’s about as Texas as you can get.

bests holidays where to eat