Patio season in Fort Worth brings pizza, seafood — and lots of new margaritas
We’ve been dining outdoors for two years, but now it’s fun again.
For months, we shivered over Irish coffees. Or we ordered sizzling fajitas just to stay warm.
Springtime means sunshine, and art festivals, and pro golf, and new outdoor hangouts.
Here’s a look at some of the flashy new patios for lunch, dinner or drinks in the Texas springtime:
New and sizzling
▪ Tinie’s Mexican Rotisserie, 112 S. Main St., opened during the pandemic but is now operating both the ground-level patio and a second-story skyline bar overlooking downtown Fort Worth.
The menu offers a wide choice of margaritas and mezcal flights, with menu items such as tenderloin or birria tacos, tuna tostadas and silky pork-green chile tamales.
It’s the first stop south of downtown in Main Street Village, walkable from a rail station. It serves dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays, brunch weekends; 682-255-5425, tiniesfw.com.
(Chef Christian Lehrmann also has opened Courtside Kitchen, 1615 Rogers Road, a trendy new bar-and-grill with pickleball courts; 682-255-5751, courtsidekitchenfw.com )
▪ Paloma Suerte, 122 E. Exchange Ave. in Mule Alley, is chef Tim Love’s new Tex-Mex hangout with tables along Saunders Park and Marine Creek.
The creek between Mule Alley and Love’s other restaurants, the Love Shack and Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, has always been a secret refuge. Now, it’s lined with patrons for the tableside queso with a choice of 12 ingredients, or the duck or goat birria tacos, or the crab-stuffed shrimp.
Mule Alley has several new patio bars along with the Drover hotel, but Paloma Suerte seems best for outdoor dining; 682-267-0414, palomasuerteftx.com.
▪ Another new margarita hangout is Maria’s Mexican Kitchen, 1712 S. University Drive, serving ribeye Tampiqueña, beef ribs, salmon, enmoladas (mole enchiladas) and a wide choice of tacos and salads; 817-916-0550, mariasmexicankitchen.com.
▪ The Fitzgerald, a seafood restaurant at 6115 Camp Bowie Blvd., has reopened the sprawling back patio that made the location a Ridglea neighborhood landmark from its days as Cafe Aspen.
Chef Ben Merritt’s newest venture features oysters, gumbo, salads and a choice of steaks or redfish with chorizo, bourbon-glazed cobia, catfish and shrimp.
It’s open for lunch burgers and sandwiches weekdays and for dinner nightly; 817-349-9245, eatatfitz.com.
▪ Fort Brewery & Pizza’s new industrial-zone location, 2737 Tillar St., might look like a good place to get a flat fixed or a bumper repaired. But inside there’s a sprawling, sunny patio.
It’s known primarily for pizzas such as barbecued chicken or the “meat coma,” but also serves an above-average weekend brunch including chilaquiles with local chips and salsa; 817-923-8000, fortbrewery.com.
Old favorites
▪ Press Cafe, 4801 Edwards Ranch Road, is Fort Worth’s leading example of the all-day patio-playground spirit.
Morning exercise classes and a Saturday farmer’s market fill the greenspace along the Clear Fork and the Trinity Trail. On weekends, there’s barbecue from the adjacent F1 Smoke House trailer.
From 7 a.m. daily, Press serves breakfasts, sandwiches, salads and a couple of larger entrees such as a rib-eye Florentina. It has both inside and outside dining, and a second balcony patio overlooking the Clear Fork.
If you’re looking for an Austin-style atmosphere, Press is the place; 817-570-6002, presscafeftworth.com.
▪ Joe T. García’s, 2201 N. Commerce St., is one of the nation’s largest restaurants, serving up to 2,000 people on seven patio or garden areas.
The regular advice for Joe T.”s still applies here: Go before 2:30 p.m. when there’s a full lunch or brunch menu, including chiles rellenos. If you go later, try asking for chiles rellenos, although they may be out.
Also, there are separate entrances for outdoor and indoor dining. (The patio entrance usually has the longer line.) And it’s cash-only; 817-626-4356, joets.com.
(Next door, Esperanza’s Restaurant serves a much wider selection of genuine Mexican dishes from the family’s Michoacan recipes, and takes credit cards. There’s a small and unhurried garden patio; 817-626-5770, esperanzasfw.com.)
▪ Reata Restaurant, 310 Houston St., has a rooftop bar, patio and domed dining room overlooking Sundance Square; lunch and dinner daily, 817-336-1009, reata.net.
▪ Heim Barbecue on the River, 5333 White Settlement Road, has a sprawling lawn with picnic tables perfect for barbecue and brews. It’s open from 7 a.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. weekends; 682-707-5772, heimbbq.com.
▪ Woodshed Smokehouse, 3201 Riverfront Drive, is another of Fort Worth’s old reliable patios, serving chef Tim Love’s eclectic barbecue menu along the Trinity Trail. It’s open from 8 a.m. daily; 817-877-4545, woodshedsmokehouse.com.
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Underrated patios
▪ Café Modern. 3200 Darnell St., has added more outdoor tables in alcoves and facing the reflecting pool, both quieter than the busy dining room.
It’s open daily except Mondays for lunch, weekends for brunch and Friday nights for dinner; 817-840-2157, themodern.org.
▪ Piattello Italian Kitchen, 5924 Convair Drive, and The Rim, 5912 Convair Drive, share an entirely pleasant patio named “The Grove” that went unused at first but has gained favor in Waterside as a shaded hangout and playground.
Piattello is one of the city’s best Italian restaurants, offering everything from pizzas to fine pasta dishes. The Rim is a chicken-and-waflles hangout known for home cooking and brunch; 817-349-8484, piattelloitaliankitchen.com and 817-663-2950, therimrestaurant.com.
▪ Ascension, 1751 River Run, is a coffee cafe open until 6 p.m. daily along a quiet stretch of the Trinity Trail alongside HG Sply Co.
Ascension is known for morning breakfast and weekend brunch, but also serves sandwiches, salads and half-price wines in late afternoon Sundays through Thursdays; 817-865-3829, ascension.coffee.
▪ The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, 111 E. Third St., is a downtown beer bar with an overachieving menu of daily specials, pizzas and burgers.
It’s a good place to people-watch in Sundance Square and City Center; 817-336-7470, saucerknurd.com
I(f you’re looking for fancier food, Waters next door also has patio dining.)
