Think beauty, not beef: Try these pretty Fort Worth restaurants for Mother’s Day
Mom wants to go somewhere nice May 8.
That doesn’t always mean a steakhouse.
With a week to go till Mother’s Day, there’s time to pick a pretty Italian, French or seafood restaurant, or somewhere besides the same old clubby beef palaces.
Save the steak for Father’s Day June 19. Next weekend, take Mom somewhere like:
▪ Rise Soufflé, 5135 Monahans Ave., might be the prettiest and most impressive little casual French cafe for any occasion.
Rise’s menu features savory and sweet souffles, but there’s a lot more: French onion soup, marshmallow soup, a salade nicoise, blackened trout or a classic French ham-and-Gruyere sandwich.
Order back-to-back truffle-infused mushroom savory and apricot sweet souffles with soup for less than $40, or go for other choices. But whatever dessert souffle you choose, also try the molten chocolate cake or apple tart.
Rise still had tables available early this week. Book at yelp.com/reservations; 817-737-7473, risesouffle.com.
▪ Café Modern, 3200 Darnell St. in the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, has been listed among the best brunch restaurants in America and offers both a handsome dining room view of the museum’s reflecting pool and also a sunny patio.
There’s a special $72 menu for Mother’s Day. No menu has been posted.
All I can tell you is, if that’s not Mom’s scene, take her on Saturday or another day when you can sit by the pool, not in the noisy tables near the bar.
The regular brunch menu includes a Homestead Gristmill chocolate-orange waffle, pork belly eggs Benedict, birria migas, biscuits and a burger that competes well with the version at Cultural District rival Rodeo Goat.
Book at opentable.com; 817-840-2157, themodern.org.
▪ The Omni Fort Worth, 1300 Houston St., serves the city’s only hotel ballroom brunch on holidays, including entrees and desserts from the hotel’s Cast Iron restaurant.
The Mother’s Day buffet includes salmon en croute, coffee-rubbed brisket or spice-rubbed chicken or pork loin, along chilled shrimp, smoked salmon, mussels and a wide selection of breakfasts and desserts.
Yes, it’s $74. But it’s Mother’s Day. (Fearing’s in Dallas, adding a cousin soon at the new Crescent in Fort Worth, is charging $135.)
The Omni’s restaurants are reliable; 817-350-4072, omnifortworthhotel.com.
▪ Ellerbe Fine Foods, 1501 W. Magnolia Ave., is one of the city’s three best fine-dining restaurants (the others are Grace and Paris 7th), and maybe the prettiest.
The Mother’s Day menu features grilled salmon, chili-braised brisket or a ham-and-avocado toast, along with Green Goddess soup or salad and a special Prosecco cake.
It’s a $68 brunch; 817-926-3663, facebook.com/EllerbeFineFoods.
▪ Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, 3100 W. Seventh St., is a corporate cousin to Capital Grille and has more tables available for Mother’s Day.
The brunch menu features a steak-and-eggs platter with red-eye gravy, lobster quiche Florentine or avocado-crab toast.
There’s a salad or soup and Eddie V’s traditional bananas Foster cake.
At $49, it’s the best of the chain brunch offerings; 817-336-8000, eddiev.com.
▪ The Kimbell Café, 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., serves afternoon tea daily, a perfect lighter break for Mom on Saturday, Sunday or daily except Mondays.
The Kimbell’s tea service includes scones, finger sandwiches, cookies and muffins with salted butter and house-made jams. Choose from Earl Grey blends, green tea or seasonal flavors such as a bourbon-barrel-aged tea or ginger-peach decaf.
The price is $35 for two people, $5 for an extra teapot.
The Kimbell also serves its simple quiche or salad lunches daily except Mondays.
If you’re planning to come on Mother’s Day, book a reservation; 817-332-8451, extension 721, kimbellart.org.
The best of the rest for Mom
More Fort Worth restaurants with good availability include Clay Pigeon, Del Frisco’s Grille, Don Artemio Mexican Heritage, Firebirds, The Fitzgerald, Grace, il Modo, Istanbul Grill, Lucile’s or Mercury Chophouse.
Also Pacific Table, Provender Hall, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Social House, Texas de Brazil, Tinies, Toro Toro, Towne Grill, Waters or Wicked Butcher.
▪ In northeast Tarrant County, try Bacchus Kitchen, Grapevine; Bob’s Steak & Chop House, Grapevine; Brio Italian Grille, Southlake; il Calabrese, Southlake; Del Frisco’s Grille, Southlake; Fazenda Gaúcha, Bedford; Ferrari’s Italian Villa, Grapevine; Jellico’s, Southlake; Kirby’s Steakhouse, Southlake.
Also Loveria Caffe Taste of Italy, Colleyville; Next Bistro, Colleyville; Perry’s Steakhouse, Grapevine; Piaf Kitchen, Grapevine; Redrock Canyon Grill, Southlake; Sky Creek Kitchen, Southlake; TruFire Kitchen, Southlake; Truluck’s, Southlake; Wildwood, Southlake; Winewood, Grapevine.
▪ In Arlington, find a table at Cut & Bourbon at Live! by Loews, The Keg Steakhouse or Mercury Chophouse.
▪ Off the Chisholm Trail Parkway southwest of Fort Worth, Fly by Night Cattle Company near Cleburne also has tables available.
97 West, NM Cafe mostly booked
Sadly, many of Mom’s regular favorites are already booked.
▪ The 97 West Kitchen & Bar at the Hotel Drover, Autograph Collection, might have a few tables available; 200 Mule Alley, 682-255-6497, hoteldrover.com.
▪ Reata, serving its next-to-last Mother’s Day before moving to a yet-undetermined location, is nearly full. So are popular neighborhood restaurants such as Silver Fox in Fort Worth and Moxie’s Grill in Southlake.
▪ If you want to make it a Mom’s weekend, take her shopping and lunching Saturday at NM Cafe at Neiman Marcus, 5200 Monahans Ave., 817-989-4650, neimanmarcus.com.
This story was originally published April 27, 2022 at 5:05 AM.
