Valentine’s Day is the one night when everything about dinner has to be perfect.
Restaurants know the drill:
▪ Replace larger tables with smaller seatings for two,
▪ Order all the red wine you can get.
▪ Order all the chocolate you can get.
▪ Be ready for the onslaught of late reservations, the begging callers pleading for a prime 8 p.m. table, and then the no-shows by couples who came down sick, broke up or never quite made it to the restaurant but weren’t considerate enough to cancel.
Honestly, Valentine’s is a minefield for restaurants. It’s a night when they can create a special event and make a regular customer forever.
But it’s also a night when one stale dinner roll or a missed twist of the pepper grinder can turn into hostile online reviews and declarations that “we’ll never go there again!”
So, this Valentine’s Day, above all else, please:
Lighten up.
The servers know there’s pressure to make everything just right. Don’t make it worse.
If your dinner isn’t the way you ordered it, tell a manager, not your social media feed.
If you can’t get a reservation, go Feb. 10-12. (And book earlier next year.)
Having said that, here’s a look at some Valentine’s Day dinners that might have tables available:
French or Italian
Despite what your significant other might think, the most romantic dinner in Fort Worth is not a big steak. Several new Italian restaurants and some reliable French bistros lead the way this year. Try:
61 Osteria is in the First on 7th lobby facing Burnett Park downtown. Handout photo
▪ 61 Osteria, 500 W. Seventh St. on Burnett Park, is the new midcentury modern Italian restaurant in the First on 7th tower.
It’s still in opening phase, serving dishes such as swordfish, sea bass, veal chop Marsala or a porterhouse Florentine. There’s a tiramisu-for-two with Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur.
And because it’s new, there’s not a jacked-up holiday menu or price; 817-953-3271, 61osteria.com.
The interior at Chef Tim Love’s new Caterina’s. Courtesy of Tim Love
▪ Caterina’s, 128 E. Exchange Ave. in Mule Alley, is chef Tim Love’s new Italian restaurant near the Drover hotel.
▪ Tre Mogli Cucina Italiana, 401 S. Main St. in South Main Village, is chef Stefon Rishel’s back-to-back corporate cousin to his Wishbone & Flynt restaurant.
Expect generous portions of chicken or veal piccata, Marsala or saltimbocca; chicken Parmesan; a porterhouse Florentine; or a pork chop Milanese; 817-615-9844, tremogli.com.
The dining room at il Modo in the Kimpton Harper. Arden Pullig Handout photo
▪ il Modo at the Kimpton Harper, 714 Main St., might be the city’s most underrated brunch and dinner restaurant. It’s a particular surprise for a hotel dining room.
On Feb. 11, Valentine’s and also on Feb. 18, il Modo will serve an $84 dinner ($114 with wines) featuring a Tuscan filet mignon with a half-lobster, passion-fruit panna cotta and chocolate truffles.
There’s also an exclusive chef’s tasting wine dinner in the pasta-making room for $199; 817-415-0144, ilmodorestaurant.com.
Diners Madison Mahan and Jasmine Cabrera enjoy a salmon and crab soufflé at Rise, a French cafe at The Shops at Clearfork in Fort Worth on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. Madeleine Cook mcook@star-telegram.com
▪ Rise nº3 Soufflé, 5135 Monahans Ave., will serve a limited version of its regular menu featuring favorites such as marshmallow or French onion soup, artisan cheeses and both savory and sweet souffles.
Rise is Fort Worth’s go-to French restaurant for lunch or dinner seven days a week. Valentine’s Day is tightly booked, but try any night Feb. 10-12.
Note: Rise is also one of few restaurants that book reservations on Yelp.com (search for “restaurants reservations”) instead of OpenTable.com or Resy.com; 817-737-7473, risesouffle.com.
▪ Paris 7th, 3324 W. Seventh St., is one of the city’s most exclusive and romantic restaurants, with a revamped menu fine-tuned by returning chef Mark Hitri.
It’s usually booked but might have a cancellation; 817-469-5300, paris7th.com.
The redecorated but still comfy interior at Saint-Emilion, newly reopened on West Seventh Street. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com
▪ Saint-Émilion Restaurant, 3617 W. Seventh St., is the city’s oldest French restaurant and remains known for its cozy and romantic bistro setting,
For Valentine’s, the Saint is booked and has a long waiting list for the four-course dinner with champagne and a rose. The regular menu is served Feb. 10-12 with a $55 minimum food charge.
Ellerbe Fine Foods opened in an old gas station on West Magnolia Avenue in 2009. Steve Wilson swilson@star-telegram.com
Steak and more steak
▪ Ellerbe Fine Foods, 1501 W, Magnolia Ave., is the nicest restaurant in Fort Worth that isn’t a dark, clubby steakhouse.
But the Valentine’s menu includes a classic steak: a pecan-grilled Delmonico sirloin, with an alternate option of monkfish-lobster Newburg.
Its a three-course dinner ending with baked Alaska for two; $105 per person, 817-926-3663, ellerbefinefoods.com.
Don Artemio Mexican Heritage is decorated with furnishings from Saltillo. Courtesy of Don Artemio Mexican Heritage
▪ Don Artemio Mexican Heritage, 3268 W. Seventh St., is the prime steakhouse from northern Mexico recently listed as a semifinalist for a James Beard Award national culinary honor in the category of “Best New Restaurant.”
The Valentine’s menu offers a dinner featuring a choice of a chipotle filet mignon, sea bass in dark mole sauce or a cream-cheese-pecan-stuffed poblano in puff pastry, at $95 for three courses ($140 with wines) or $110 for four courses ($155 with wines).
For $150 ($195 with wines), upgrade to a wagyu New York strip, or to a rib-eye for $145 ($190 with wines).
Tables are limited on Valentine’s Day but available Feb. 10-12; 817-470-1439, donartemio.us.
▪ A “Bubbles and Bourbon” dinner at Café Modern, in the Modern Art Museum at 3200 Darnell St., will feature flatiron steak along with dishes such as Arctic char crudo or wild-boar arancini.
It’s a $105 dinner including a chocolate-strawberry-rhubarb-blackberry ice cream dessert. Bourbon and champagne are extra; 817-840-2157, themodern.org.
▪ Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, 2406 N. Main St., is serving an Akaushi filet for two ($140) along with regular menu items; 817-740-8810, lonesomedovefortworth.com.
▪ Clay Pigeon, 2731 White Settlement Road, is serving a four-course dinner ($100, with wines $145) featuring a choice of beef tenderloin, a grilled duck breast, salmon or pasta with a white Bolognese sauce.
The desserts are chocolate-coffee pot de creme or a Pavlova with strawberries.
Note: There’s a $50 fee for no-shows or cancellations within 24 hours, which may be why tables are still available; 817-882-8065, claypigeonfd.com.
▪ Grace, 777 Main St., is 61 Osteria’s steakhouse cousin and a 15-year anchor downtown.
The menu ($49-$76) features a dry-aged bone-in prime rib-eye along with a strip and a cheddar-mushroom-stuffed filet, plus seafood, pork and lamb.
Desserts include a coconut-macaroon cream pie, butterscotch pudding and a chocolate-graham cracker cheesecake.
A few tables might remain available Valentine’s, particularly in the bar. Or try Feb. 10-12; 817-877-3388, gracefortworth.com.
▪ 97 West Kitchen + Bar in the Drover hotel, 200 Mule Alley Drive, is serving a three-course dinner with a choice of smoked prime rib, filet mignon or lobster cassoulet for $100.
There’s a $50 deposit, and you’ll be charged $25 for a late cancellation; 682-255-6497, hoteldrover.com.
▪ Keller Chophouse, 124 S. Main St., Keller, is serving an extensive menu Feb. 10-12 and Valentine’s featuring a 2-pound porterhouse for two, steaks or sea bass Imperial topped with shrimp and crab.
It’s the newest location in the local Mercury Chophouse empire, which also includes separately owned steakhouses in downtown Fort Worth and Arlington; 817-431-5188, Kellerchophouse,com.
▪ Lili’s Bistro on Magnolia, 1310 W. Magnolia Ave., is serving a large Valentine’s menu offering filet mignon, a petite beef Wellington, a seafood combo, lobster ravioli or a smoked pork T-bone.
The price is a deal: $65. But Lili’s isn’t on a reservation service, so I’m not sure how much space is available. Try a vsiit for the regular menu Feb. 10-12; 817 877 0700, lilisbistro.com.
▪ Wicked Butcher, in the Sinclair hotel at 512 Main St., is a cozy, below-ground prime steakhouse featuring Valentine’s dishes including a dry-aged rib-eye, a duck breast, seafood and desserts such as a chocolate souffle or strawberry creme brulee.
▪ Two steakhouses also have smart take-home deals.
Bonnell’s, 4259 Bryant Irvin Road, is offering lobster tails and beef tenderloins for two with Caesar salads and flourless chocolate cake, $150 (with crab cake appetizer, $177; with champagnes, $198-$250).
The Butcher Shop at B&B Butchers, 5212 Marathon Ave., is offering chateaubriand, beef Wellington or two filets mignons with sides, appetizers and desserts It’s $195, or $275 with flowers from Cityview Florist; 817-731-5360, bbbutchers.com.
A Valentine’s Day chocolate strawberry cake from Trulucks features chocolate cake with strawberry cream cheese icing, topped with a chocolate-covered strawberry Courtesy of Truluck's
▪ All the other steakhouses are open and most have tables available Feb. 10-12. Try Capital Grille, Del Frisco’s, Eddie V’s, the Keg, Kirby’s, Perry’s, Ruth’s Chris, Silver Fox, Texas de Brazil or Truluck’s.
Cozy traditions
▪ Candlelite Inn, 1202 E. Division St., Arlington, is a 65-year-old roadhouse landmark with red-and-white tablecloths and cozy booths.
Couples go for old-time red-sauce Italian food or for steaks, Mexican food or pizza. Ask for the green sauce, a chopped escabeche that’s great with the chips and almost any dish.
▪ Campisi’s Restaurant, 6150 Camp Bowie Blvd., is a busy Italian restaurant known for “square” Sicilian pizzas but also featuring Italian-style sirloins, pastas, grilled salmon and shrimp dishes.
The dark dining room is lined with leather booths that make a good Valentine’s setting; 817-916-4561. campisis.us.
▪ Crú Food & Wine Bar, 5188 Marathon Ave., is a wine bistro offering a $60 dinner featuring a filet mignon along with choices such as lamb, cod, or scallops.
There’s chocolate cake or creme brulee for dessert; 817-737-9463. cruwinebar.com.
The resigned dining room at Olivella’s Pizza and Wine. Maria Diss Handout photo
▪ Olivella’s Pizza and Wine, 4910 Camp Bowie Blvd., is a simple pizza-and-wine bistro with a new dining room and bar.
It’s new but feels old and comfy. The salads are excellent, the pizzas popular, and the tiramisu excellent; 817-439-7676, olivellas.com.
▪ Taste Project, 1200 S, Main St., the charity restaurant supporting hunger relief, has a few spaces left early for its dinner featuring steak au poivre or scallops.
It’s a $300 dinner for two, BYOB, with no refunds for cancellations after Feb. 7 (it’s a charity gift); 817-759-9045, tasteproject.org.
Selected Waffle House locations decorate for Valentine’s. Bud Kennedy Star-Telegram
▪ Waffle House redecorates and serves a special Valentine’s dinner every year, and this year, the special is expanded to three area locations.
If Waffle House is a romantic memory for you, the special dinners are at 4600 Golden Triangle Blvd., Fort Worth; 7661 Boulevard 26, North Richland Hills; and 8505 Benbrook Blvd., Benbrook.
Bud Kennedy is celebrating his 40th year writing about restaurants in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has written the “Eats Beat” dining column in print since 1985 and online since 1992 — that’s more than 3,000 columns about Texas cafes, barbecue, burgers and where to eat.Support my work with a digital subscription
