A French cafe and wine bar is open in north Tarrant County, near Keller
A French souffle cafe has come to the Keller-Southlake border, and not just any cafe.
Rise Souffle, the beloved neighborhood French cafe and wine bar from north Dallas and southwest Fort Worth, has opened off Davis Boulevard, serving savory or sweet souffles, French onion soup, coffees and apple tartes Tatin.
The new location is at 2001 W. Southlake Blvd. at Davis Boulevard. That’s on the west edge of town next to Keller, on the Fort Worth side of Southlake and safely removed from the thick traffic near Texas 114.
If you’ve never been to a Rise, it’s an all-purpose cafe and wine bar with a French theme and rich imported furnishings and decor.
If you are having a special lunch or dinner, it has a choice of 10 savory souffles followed by chocolate or five other sweet souffles for dessert.
But if you’re just taking the family or friends for lunch or casual dinner, Rise also has French onion soup, carrot-tomato bisque, French baguette sandwiches and chocolate lava cake.
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The north Tarrant County restaurant is a rarity: It can be a casual stop for lunch or dinner, or a fancy choice for a special gathering.
“We have so many guests in our Dallas and Fort Worth restaurants that reside in Southlake or Westlake — we figured if we open anywhere, this seemed to be the wisest choice,” Rise executive Chris Florczak said by phone the day after I dropped into the new restaurant.
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It’s amazing, but Rise is the only French restaurant and wine bar in Southlake or Keller.
And nowhere is more casual French, with imported napkins, antique tableware, bright colors and a library of books, classics, poetry and children’s books.
The Southlake Marketplace shopping center, on the other hand, is not very French.
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When the Marketplace opened 30 years ago, a supermarket was the anchor, and it was the city’s first shopping center.
Now, the center has been completely remodeled to draw luxury retailers. Rise’s sunroom and patio are next to a large lawn and green space that replaced a segment of parking lot.
“We looked around Southlake Town Square,” Florczak said, “but we thought our customers would like the luxury and convenience of open parking, easy access from all directions and an easier dining experience.”
My advice is the same as for the Fort Worth Rise: Try a souffle if you want, but don’t overlook the rest of the menu.
The salads, the marshmallow soup, the ham and Gruyere baguette with cornichon and the “apple pie” tart or chocolate cake are a well-rounded meal.
Rise Souffle’s menu changes each season. For the moment, it features a lobster salad or a shrimp-and-avocado ceviche souffle, to be followed this fall by a Texas chili-and-Fritos “Frito pie souffle.”
Rise is open for lunch and dinner daily; 817-484-4208, risesouffle.com.
The Fort Worth location is at 5135 Monahans Ave.; 817-737-7473.
Other locations are in Plano, the Woodlands near Houston, and Tulsa.
This story was originally published July 1, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
