Where to Eat

Where to eat in Fort Worth right now: 8 hottest new restaurants

Fish and chips were made to go together.

Photo courtesy of Tricky Fish

Fort Worth's restaurant scene is sizzling hot, with new openings that keep on coming. This August version of Where to Eat is particularly varied: from a soda shop to BBQ to coffee, it's a rich and robust group of newbies.

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

Boulevard Scoops
Old-timey soda shop recently moved from a tiny space in River Oaks to a roomier building at 5426 Jacksboro Hwy., in the spot last occupied by Maverick BBQ. Run by husband-and-wife duo Jay and Tina Winnett, the sweet treat shop specializes in cobblers, funnel cakes, banana splits, and unusual items such as ice cream nachos, made with pieces of waffle cones and three scoops of your choice of ice cream. With a bigger space comes a bigger menu: New items include a half-dozen varieties of burgers, along with cheese curds, hot dogs, and other soda shop staples.

Doc B's Fresh Kitchen
The posh Fort Worth location of this Chicago-based we-do-it-all chain opened on August 15 in The Shops at Clearfork. The smallish menu touches on all the major food groups. There are gourmet-inspired burgers with toppings such as giardiniera slaw and habanero honey; pastas like a rigatoni punctuated with a larger-than-life meatball; barbecue ribs; a veggie plate with kale slaw and grilled artichoke; and several seafood and salad options.

Dough Boy Donuts
The latest gourmet doughnut shop to rise in Fort Worth is the brick-and-mortar version of Melvin Roberson's popular food truck, located on the west side at 4910 Camp Bowie Blvd., in the space last occupied by Leah's Sweet Treats. Doughnuts are made throughout the day, in rotating flavors such as pistachio lime, cookies and cream, cinnamon crunch, and sriracha-maple bacon. Right now, the shop is offering yeast doughnuts, with plans to eventually add cake doughnuts, as well.

Hatsuyuki Handroll Bar
Opened in July in the West Seventh area, this small, quaint spot is the first sushi bar in Fort Worth to specialize in hand rolls, or temaki — cylindrical-shaped sushi rolls enclosing rice, fish, and vegetables. Rolls are made on the spot, while you watch, and are handed to you by the sushi chef who made them. You can order as many or as few as you want. Fillings include salmon, tuna, scallops, yellowtail, crab, eel, toro, and lobster. There’s also edamame, sake, miso soup, and sashimi.

Jube's Smokehouse
At this new east side barbecue joint, pitmaster Patrick "Jube" Joubert specializes in 'cue essentials like brisket, sausage, and pork ribs. But he keeps things interesting by rotating in other items, including dirty rice and jambalaya. Jube's is one of the few restaurants in Fort Worth to use social media smartly: Joubert announces the day's menu via entertaining Facebook Live videos and posts again when he sells out. The tiny space has historical significance for local 'cue aficionados: It dates back to 1944, when it opened as Floyd's BBQ.

Tipsy Oak
New Arlington gastropub comes from couple Kevin and Julia Cary von Ehrenfried, onetime owners of Near Southside spot Pouring Glory, best known for burgers and beer. Tipsy Oak doesn't fall too far from the Pouring Glory tree; there are dozens of craft beers and several burgers, including one made with Pouring Glory's beloved fried bacon. Elsewhere on the menu, there are pork belly quesadillas, beer-infused fish and chips, and a grilled cheese sandwich made with smoked brisket, roasted jalapeños, and American and gouda cheese. The restaurant, built from the ground up in the style of a Craftsman home, features a wraparound porch dotted with picnic tables, and there's live music on the weekends.

Tricky Fish
The younger sibling of Razoo's has opened its first Fort Worth store at the Waterside development across from Whole Foods (the original opened in Richardson in 2016). The menu is split between Gulf- and Cajun-inspired seafood staples, from Gulf oysters to blackened salmon to crawfish étouffée to muffaletta. Specialty dishes include a basic fish and chips, lemon pepper shrimp tacos, banana pudding with marscapone and rum, and a fried oyster BLT. Brunch features a build-your-own-mimosa bar. There are also seasonal craft cocktails and an impressive selection of craft beers.

Vaquero Coffee Company
Housed inside the historic Joe Daiches building at 109 Houston St., Vaquero Coffee Company is the latest coffeehouse to open downtown, following the arrival of Sons of Liberty Coffee earlier this year. Owners Jonathan Heath and Christopher Rushing have made the most of a tiny space, wiping away time and dirt to expose the building's original tin ceiling and tile floor. Beans are sourced from Buon Giorno (which also has a downtown location) and Craftwork Coffee Co., and kolaches come from Pearl Snap Kolaches. There's a worthy off-the-menu special, a mesquite-smoked espresso drink named after the nearby Sid Richardson Museum.

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Fresh Pasta News

Where to eat in Fort Worth right now: 6 hottest new restaurants

Bocca Osteria Romana

Twirling the pasta at Bocca Osteria Romana

Restaurants seemingly open and close in waves, and right now, they’re opening. Over the past few weeks, there’s been an influx of new restaurants in and around Fort Worth, from a cool new Italian spot to high-end Tex Mex to Texas’ favorite cuisine, barbecue.

For this month’s Where to Eat, we take a look at six of the area’s latest restaurants.

225 BBQ
This beloved craft barbecue food truck has finally opened its first brick-and-mortar, at 601 E. Main St. near downtown Arlington. 225 fans will recognize the new restaurant's location: It was where owner/pitmaster Rene Ramirez operated temporarily last year, sharing the space with a bar. After the bar moved out, Ramirez took over the building, transforming it into a full-fledged barbecue restaurant. Ramirez’s menu includes ‘cue essentials such as moist brisket and meaty pork ribs, along with several Mexi-cue-inspired dishes that have become his calling cards, like excellent birria ramen, brisket elote, chipotle chicken nachos, and brisket quesadillas. His burgers are great, too.

Bocca Osteria Romana
New Italian restaurant in the South Main area, at 411 S. Main St. #104, specializes in housemade pastas, freshly made focaccia, and beautiful salads filled with seasonal ingredients. The restaurant comes from a trio of Texans - brothers Alfonso and Alessandro Salvatore and their cousin Eduardo Mariel - who have lived and cooked all over the world, including Puerto Rico, where they opened the original Bocca Osteria Romana. Pasta is their thing, and it comes in several forms, from spaghetti alla carbonara, made with guanciale, percorino romano cheese, and crushed black pepper, to the bacon-studded bucatini all’amatriciana, to a plate of classic cacio e pepe. Entrees include lamb chops, osso bucco, and gorgeous seasonal salads.

Los Guapos Mexican Street Food
Newly opened at 2708 West 7th St., Los Guapos Mexican Street Food is the latest concept from Angel Fuentes, the well-known Fort Worth chef who made a name for himself at the original location of Mariachi’s Dine In and Guapo Tacos, two Mexican restaurants born inside an east side gas station. Los Guapos is Fuentes’ first full-on brick-and-mortar. His menu includes many of the dishes he’s known for, like superb birria tacos, pozole, huge burritos, and a wide range of veggie dishes. New to his menu are street food-inspired items like huaraches, oblong-shaped pieces of fried masa dough topped with smashed pinto beans, vegetables, and proteins, and alambre, a traditional Mexican dish comprised of chopped meats and vegetables, held together with melted cheese, and served with tortillas.

Juicy Dumplings
The handmade Chinese dumpling trend hits the Fort Worth suburb of Euless, courtesy of this sleek new spot, originally called Home of Juicy Dumplings, in the Glade Parks shopping center. It’s a state-of-the-art restaurant where robots help deliver your food and the immersive decor is designed to make you feel like you’re under the ocean. There’ll be lots of oohing and ahing. But it’s not all show: Hong Kong natives, owner Rixin “Jimmy” Zheng and head chef Bosco Seung, offer a vast selection of Chinese dishes, including nearly a dozen variations of Chinese dumplings, including pan-fried pork buns, har gow (shrimp dumplings), Sichuan-inspired spicy wontons, vegetable dumplings, and soup dumplings. Elsewhere on the menu, there’s peking duck, Mongolian chicken, several noodle dishes, and cool desserts such as mango pancakes, made with razor-thin crepes layered with a mango-infused cream.

La Cabrona Cocina Mexicana
Long-awaited, high-end Mexican restaurant from Adam Shanaa and Jalal Chanaa, owners of the soon-to-reopen Terra Mediterranean, takes over the West 7th-area space originally occupied by Tillman’s Roadhouse at 2973 Crockett St. It’s a family-run spot whose kitchen is led by Rosario Ortega, a chef from Monterrey, Mexico, who’s using recipes passed down through generations. His menu includes dishes such as carne asada, camarones a la diabla, chile relleno, and whole fried snapper. There are plenty of tacos, made with your choice of skirt steak, slow-cooked pork, pan-seared tilapia, or grilled shrimp, and appetizers such as shrimp cocktail and ceviche. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with hand-painted murals and colorful furniture; there’s also a nice patio.

Tokyo Mizu
New sushi spot in North Arlington, at 2390 E. Lamar Blvd., in the space previously occupied by Take a Bao, puts a unique spin on the all-you-can-eat concept. Instead of going through a buffet-style line and loading up your plate, your server brings you five items at a time, all freshly made. When you finish those, you can order five more, and so on. Selections include a vast array of cooked and raw sushi, nigiri, tonkotsu ramen, pork dumplings, bulgogi bao buns, calamari, soup dumplings, and various fried rice dishes. The prices are a steal: $19.99 per person for lunch, $29.99 for dinner.

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