restaurant stars

Only one Fort Worth restaurant makes inaugural OpenTable Icons list

Reata Restaurant made the list.

Reata

There's no denying Fort Worth is full of high-quality restaurants and talented chefs, but only one was included on a new list by restaurant reservation site OpenTable.

Called OpenTable Icons, it's a new set of ratings the site launched in July 2024, highlighting local eateries in 25 cities across the U.S. and Canada, from award-winners to trendy hotspots and all types of cuisine. Chosen restaurants must have recently earned Michelin stars, James Beard Awards or nominations, positive reviews from diners and critics, and more.

Dallas-Fort Worth was lumped together (as usual) with 13 restaurants on the list, comprising a combination of fine dining establishments and international culinary experiences, with a majority located in Dallas.

Out of the 13, the lone Fort Worth restaurant that earned a spot: Reata Restaurant, which they said was a must-try dining destination known for its "quintessentially Texan cowboy meal."

"Hearty Tex-Mex plates include chicken-fried steak with cracked-pepper cream gravy and tacos stuffed with caramelized bananas and chocolate 'gravy,'" OpenTable's editors wrote. "A pitch-perfect wine list focused on small producers makes every meal here feel like a special occasion."

Notably absent are classic Fort Worth restaurants such as Paloma Suerte, 97 West Kitchen and Bar, or Quince — all of which are also OpenTable clients.

Here is the full list of DFW Icons:

Al Biernat's, a steakhouse in Dallas' Turtle Creek/Oak Lawn neighborhood
José, a contemporary Mexican restaurant in Park Cities
Mister Charles, a luxurious American restaurant on Knox Street
The Mansion Restaurant at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, a historic contemporary American restaurant
Bob's Steak & Chop House, a classic steakhouse in Dallas' Turtle Creek/Oak Lawn neighborhood
Roots Southern Table, a Southern restaurant in Farmers Branch
Nick & Sam's Steakhouse, a Japanese steak and seafood-focused steakhouse in Uptown Dallas
Town Hearth, a fine dining steakhouse in Dallas' Design District
Fearing's, an innovative Southwestern restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas in Uptown
Quarter Acre, globally-inspired restaurant in Dallas' Greenville Avenue neighborhood
Restaurant Beatrice, a Creole-Cajun restaurant in Dallas' Oak Cliff/Bishop Arts neighborhood
Tei-An, Japanese omakase restaurant in Dallas' Arts District
Reata, a quintessential Southwestern restaurant in downtown Fort Worth

Steakhouses were the most represented on the list, with four out of 13 establishments focused on world-class steak dinners and extensive wine programs.

More information about OpenTable's Dallas Icons list can be found on OpenTable. Texas travelers can also find OpenTable icons in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston.

restaurants cocktail bars awards fort worth

Doughnut News

Luscious doughnut shop Duck Donuts makes Fort Worth debut

Photo courtesy of Visit Addison

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A decadent new doughnut shop is coming to Fort Worth: Duck Donuts, a North Carolina-based chain known for serving doughnuts made to order, will open a shop at 6387 Camp Bowie Blvd. #A within the Ridglea Plaza Shopping Center in Fort Worth.

According to a release, the shop will open on Saturday December 21 at 7 am.

Duck Donuts opened its first locations in 2007 in the beach resort towns of Duck and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with the intention to create an oasis for vacationers. They're now headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and began franchising in 2013, with more than 150 locally owned and operated shops across 26 states and international locations. There was previously a DFW location in Addison on Belt Line Road that opened in 2020 but it did not survive the pandemic.

The Fort Worth shop is owned and operated by husband-and-wife Justin and Morgan Thomas.

“We are delighted to be opening in Fort Worth,” Justin says in a statement. “The community has been patiently waiting for us to open our doors, and now we cannot wait to sprinkle happiness to all with our warm, delicious and made-to-order doubhnuts.”

The 1,035-square-foot shop reflects the franchise’s reimagined design which gives a modern twist on their iconic beach theme and family-friendly atmosphere. Upon entering the store, customers are greeted by the aroma of warm, light vanilla cake doughnuts.

Customers can create their own combination by choosing from coatings, toppings, and drizzles, including traditional favorites such as chocolate icing with sprinkles and more adventurous creations such as maple icing with bacon.

Key to their appeal is the viewing area where children and adults alike can watch their doughnuts being made.

Many of their flavors have a beachy theme such as the Beach, a cake doughnut with vanilla icing dusted with cinnamon sugar; the Sunrise with lemon icing and raspberry drizzle; and the Beach Ball with vanilla icing, rainbow sprinkles, and chocolate drizzle.

They rotate in seasonal offerings such as the current lineup of mint-flavored flavors including chocolate icing with mint buttercream. The doughnuts themselves are limited to vanilla and chocolate cake; the flavors come primarily from icing.

In addition to doughnuts, the Fort Worth location will serve coffee, doughnut breakfast sandwiches, doughnut sundaes — in which a doughnut is topped with ice cream and syrup — plus frozen beverages and milkshakes.

doughnuts openings