A new Italian restaurant is coming to the TCU area of Fort Worth. But this one’s different
A little TCU-area taqueria and bakery turned into a big hit.
Now, Belenty’s Love will add an Italian restaurant and coffee bar next door, Vida Cafe.
Belenty’s tastes like other taquerias. It serves chiles rellenos, burritos, bowls, tacos, chalupas and quesadillas, all with margaritas and plenty of fresh salsa.
But it’s not exactly the same., because it uses portobello or other plant-based fillings instead of meat.
Vida Cafe, opening next door at 3522 Blue Bonnet Circle, will bring the same healthy approach and flavorful sauces to Italian pastas and platters in a large cafe that was formerly home to a sandwich cafe and take-out shop.
“We are so happy and excited,” Belenty’s founder Belén Hernández wrote in an online message. “Fort Worth needs more places with options where people can enjoy good food at decent prices, feel welcome and relax.”
Vida Cafe will serve pasta Marsala, pasta primavera, fettuccine Alfredo and even a Monte Cristo, she said.
If it’s anything like Belenty’s, it’ll be a success with both TCU students and older neighborhood residents seeking familiar flavors in healthier dishes.
Belenty’s serves birria tacos, chilaquiles, enchiladas, tortilla soup and menudo, along with cocktails, peach iced tea and desserts such as pineapple cake or almond-coconut tres leches cake.
The dishes are made with portobello, peppers and vegetables, or a homemade seitan or soy with plant-based cheeses.
There’s also a special menu for those with diabetes.
The chips and red or green salsa taste like any taqueria, so pile it on.
Vida Cafe will serve salads and spaghetti along with the Italian platters, she said. It also seems to promote coffees more than Belenty’s, which serves margaritas.
Belenty’s opened three years ago at 3516 Blue Bonnet Circle, coming to the plant-friendly TCU neighborhood after three years in Granbury.
Hernández, a native of Tamaulipas, had run two highly rated small-town taquerias, Montes in Hillsboro and Tacote in Glen Rose, before deciding she could do the same food and make it more healthy.
“Our restaurants are for all kinds of people, vegans and non-vegans,” she wrote.
“We want people to enjoy food made with love and respect.”
This story was originally published July 24, 2023 at 12:00 AM.
