Winner! This Fort Worth restaurant was voted Readers’ Choice for best staff & service
Kyle and Amber Cowan have always cherished the bond that comes from eating a home-cooked meal with their next-door neighbor. A space to hangout and barbecue when you just don’t have energy for the kitchen is something they felt everyone should have.
As chefs for more than 20 years, the Cowans combined their talents and built a restaurant that would allow all of Fort Worth to enjoy the hospitality when dining.
They called it Neighbor’s House.
Now, Neighbor’s House has been voted the Star Telegram Readers’ Choice winner for best staff and customer service. Here’s what makes this downtown spot a customer favorite, along with what our readers love about the other Top 5 restaurant finalists.
‘Taking care of the customer’
While most of our Readers’ Choice polls on restaurants have focused on food, we wanted to spotlight front-end staff who work hard to make your dining experience enjoyable.
We started with 40 Tarrant County restaurants nominated by readers. After five rounds of voting on star-telegram.com, and a total of 27,057 votes cast, five restaurant finalists came out on top.
Before we get into the other finalists, let’s dig into why our readers chose Neighbor’s House as their favorite.
“My wife and I wanted to get back to the old days when you could go next door to hang out and barbecue,” Kyle Cowan said. “We made a list of the things that we didn’t like about working for other people and told our staff that there weren’t really a lot of rules, other than to take care of the customer.”
“We have a small team of six people and they all have a big sense of ownership because we like to say they work with us, rather than for us,” he said. “We allow them to personally tailor their service experience and develop their own style of taking care of the customer.”
Located at 500 W. 7th St., on a corner of the First on 7th office tower, Neighbor’s House is a unique boutique grocer, wine shop and restaurant.
The restaurant offers tasty homemade dishes, including chicken sandwiches, brisket nachos, breakfast tacos and a range of specialty combinations, including its award-winning Millionaire burger.
Neighbor’s House is also known for accommodating customers by adding random requests to the menu. What draws people in, according to Cowan, is their readiness to prepare meals on demand for any occasion.
“We have a group that usually dines in on Friday nights, and at one point, they said, ‘Man, it’d be real cool if you had crab legs on the menu.’ We went out to grab crab legs for that crew, and then a few other tables saw it, so now it’s one of our weekly specials,” Cowan said. “We’re one of those places that if you want something and we can get our hands on it, then we’ll make it happen. We do what we can to give the people what they want.”
Readers’ Choice Top 5 finalists
The four other finalists in our poll are a diverse mix of popular restaurants in Fort Worth, each known for its attentive, knowledgeable and friendly staff.
Pacific Table at 1600 S. University Drive came in second in our final round of voting. The upscale seafood restaurant’s customers boast about being treated as personal guests to the serving staff.
Regional director Sofia De La Rosa said team is trained with the motto, “The answer is yes, what’s the question?”
“They make you feel like you’re the only guest in the building, even if there’s 200 people around,” she said.
The aesthetic at Pacific Table sleek and modern, with an impressive menu that is affordable. Popular items include Miso glazed salmon, orange chicken rice bowl, clam chowder and sushi rice.
Customers enjoy watching the professional sushi rollers filet fish right in front of them, knowing their requests will be accommodated. The quality of service is a reflection of how ownership treats the staff, Del La Rosa said.
“We have a great culture of inspiring and appreciating our staff, whether it’s bringing food to the morning meeting or giving them a 50% discount at our restaurant and our sister restaurants,” she said. “We look to inspire and inform them while acknowledging their service. We train them to have a positive mental attitude so they service guests with that approach.”
The iconic Joe T. Garcia’s at 2201 N. Commerce St. in Fort Worth’s North Side also got thousands of votes throughout the five rounds of our poll. The Mexican food destination with an expansive patio got its start nearly a century ago.
The sprawling, 2,000-seat restaurant recognized with national awards is family-owned by the grandchildren of Joe Tafolla Garcia and his wife, Mamasuez, immigrants who left Michoacán for Fort Worth during the Mexican Revolution.
Today, some of the staff have been there for many years — some as many as four decades. Readers who nominated Joe T. Garcia’s say that’s what they love most.
“All of the staff from hosts, to waitstaff, kitchen, busboys, reservation team, and everyone involved that makes the restaurant run, makes customers’ experiences memorable every time,” a reader wrote. “Being able to come in and see the same familiar faces after so many years makes the restaurant feel like a family.”
Wrote another reader: “In the 50 years that I have been going there, I have always been greeted graciously. And a lot of the time by one of the owners. The servers have always been helpful and polite. They are truly a ‘home-style restaurant’ that makes you feel at home.”
Our readers also raved about Maiden Fine Plants & Spirits, 1216 6th Ave. in Fort Worth’s Near Southside. Customers of the fine-dining vegan restaurant enjoy seasonal eight- or four-course tasting menus, signature cocktails and tea times.
The location is within the strikingly modern PS1200 development between West Magnolia and West Rosedale.
“Every employee seems devoted to warm and welcoming customer service, and to providing a customized experience,” wrote a reader who nominated Maiden.
“The servers and staff know even my in-depth questions,” wrote another, “like what brand of plant-based cheese they serve and how they make their own cheeses, dressings and dishes. They describe the meals beautifully and make everything sound like a Michelin-star dish.”
Rounding out the Top 5 finalists was Japanese Palace, a mainstay at 8445 Camp Bowie West for almost 50 years. Some of the staff have been with the restaurant for years and are “always consistent and friendly,” our readers said.