clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

The Hottest Restaurants in Fort Worth, Winter 2014

Where to eat right this minute on the other side of the Metroplex.

View as Map

Welcome to the Winter 2014 edition of the Eater Fort Worth Heatmap, your guide to eating and drinking (and combining the two) on the west side of the Trinity.

Additions include a pair of new pho restaurants, the city's first designated healthy-eating restaurant, and a contemporary French spot.

Read More
From the same restaurant group that brought us Fireside Pies and CBD Provisions, Consilient Hospitality, comes the piping hot W. 7th spot AF+B. Running the kitchen is former Bolsa chef Jeff Harris, whose modern American menu includes a gargantuan beef rib that'll take two to tackle, duck pot pie and wildly Instagrammed chorizo Scotch eggs.

BBQ on Brazos

Copy Link
Longtime North Texas barbecuer/chef John Sanford is serving dynamite barbecue out of a gas station in Cresson. Crusty brisket and snappy beef sausage are terrific, but load up on the sides, too, like the cilantro slaw and sweet 'n messy cornbread salad.

Cane Rosso

Copy Link
Fort Worth’s prayers for Neapolitan pizza - specifically, Jay Jerrier’s Neapolitan pizza - were answered when the third Cane Rosso opened on the Near Southside. Eat your weight in CR standards like the Paulie Gee, but try Gipsy Danger, with mushrooms and roasted jalapeños over soppressata marmalade; it’s unique to the Fort Worth location.

Hanabi Ramen & Izakaya

Copy Link
The city's first ramen resto, opened by the same local family that brought us the similarly named Hanabi Hibachi & Sushi in north Fort Worth, serves seven variations of the trendy Japanese noodle soup. Best time to go is at dinner, when a small plates menu offers pancake balls filled with octopus, grilled rice cakes and skewers of bacon-wrapped tomatoes.

Swiss Pastry Shop

Copy Link
All walks of Fort Worth life will, sooner or later, have breakfast, coffee and a slice of Black Forest cake at Hans Muller’s 40-year-old cafe and pastry shop. Lately, there’s been another reason to visit: outstanding burgers made with Wagyu beef and housemade buns. Get the one topped with smoked brisket; it’s outta sight.

Woodshed Smokehouse

Copy Link
Tim Love's ode to campfire cooking remains one of the top tables in the city, and it's not just barbecue: There's also rib meat tamales, smoked Brussels sprouts and even a bowl of so-hot-right now ramen, done Tim's way with bone broth, pulled pork and quail egg.

Le Cep Restaurant

Copy Link
For their first restaurant, local couple David and Sandra Avila funneled their strengths - his, wine, hers, contemporary French cuisine - into this small, classy restaurant tucked into a strip mall. Items on the four- and eight-course menu revolve as seasons and minds change; right now, you may not find a better plate of duck in North Texas.

Pho & Grill

Copy Link
Frill-free, family-run pho spot serves a dozen varieties of pho, suitable for both novices (meatball, brisket) and stomachs of steel (tripe). Pay close attention to the side dishes, too, such as the crispy rice and fried tofu rolls. Killer Vietnamese coffee.

Pho District

Copy Link
In which Piranha Sushi founder Kenzo Tran turns his attention to the food of his youth: bahn mi sandwiches wrapped in newspaper, a rice pancake topped with chorizo and pork jerky, body-warming pho, all served in a sexy and sleek, double-decker beauty.

Righteous Foods

Copy Link
Lanny Lancarte repurposed his romantic, high-end Lanny's Alta Cocina Mexicana as an eat-right spot, decorated with upbeat colors and planter-to-plate herbs. Wash down your organic burger or sweet potato and mung bean soup with a housemade cold pressed drink or a cup of Stumptown coffee; the latter alone is worth a visit.

The Wild Mushroom

Copy Link
Weatherford land and sea fixture, manned by chef Jerrett Joslin, is uprooted to Ridglea area, filling the west side steakhouse void left by Ray's Prime Steak & Seafood. Dim lights and a fireplace-warm environment invite you to leisurely cherish every bite of your 22-ounce bone-in ribeye.

AF+B

From the same restaurant group that brought us Fireside Pies and CBD Provisions, Consilient Hospitality, comes the piping hot W. 7th spot AF+B. Running the kitchen is former Bolsa chef Jeff Harris, whose modern American menu includes a gargantuan beef rib that'll take two to tackle, duck pot pie and wildly Instagrammed chorizo Scotch eggs.

BBQ on Brazos

Longtime North Texas barbecuer/chef John Sanford is serving dynamite barbecue out of a gas station in Cresson. Crusty brisket and snappy beef sausage are terrific, but load up on the sides, too, like the cilantro slaw and sweet 'n messy cornbread salad.

Cane Rosso

Fort Worth’s prayers for Neapolitan pizza - specifically, Jay Jerrier’s Neapolitan pizza - were answered when the third Cane Rosso opened on the Near Southside. Eat your weight in CR standards like the Paulie Gee, but try Gipsy Danger, with mushrooms and roasted jalapeños over soppressata marmalade; it’s unique to the Fort Worth location.

Hanabi Ramen & Izakaya

The city's first ramen resto, opened by the same local family that brought us the similarly named Hanabi Hibachi & Sushi in north Fort Worth, serves seven variations of the trendy Japanese noodle soup. Best time to go is at dinner, when a small plates menu offers pancake balls filled with octopus, grilled rice cakes and skewers of bacon-wrapped tomatoes.

Swiss Pastry Shop

All walks of Fort Worth life will, sooner or later, have breakfast, coffee and a slice of Black Forest cake at Hans Muller’s 40-year-old cafe and pastry shop. Lately, there’s been another reason to visit: outstanding burgers made with Wagyu beef and housemade buns. Get the one topped with smoked brisket; it’s outta sight.

Woodshed Smokehouse

Tim Love's ode to campfire cooking remains one of the top tables in the city, and it's not just barbecue: There's also rib meat tamales, smoked Brussels sprouts and even a bowl of so-hot-right now ramen, done Tim's way with bone broth, pulled pork and quail egg.

Le Cep Restaurant

For their first restaurant, local couple David and Sandra Avila funneled their strengths - his, wine, hers, contemporary French cuisine - into this small, classy restaurant tucked into a strip mall. Items on the four- and eight-course menu revolve as seasons and minds change; right now, you may not find a better plate of duck in North Texas.

Pho & Grill

Frill-free, family-run pho spot serves a dozen varieties of pho, suitable for both novices (meatball, brisket) and stomachs of steel (tripe). Pay close attention to the side dishes, too, such as the crispy rice and fried tofu rolls. Killer Vietnamese coffee.

Pho District

In which Piranha Sushi founder Kenzo Tran turns his attention to the food of his youth: bahn mi sandwiches wrapped in newspaper, a rice pancake topped with chorizo and pork jerky, body-warming pho, all served in a sexy and sleek, double-decker beauty.

Righteous Foods

Lanny Lancarte repurposed his romantic, high-end Lanny's Alta Cocina Mexicana as an eat-right spot, decorated with upbeat colors and planter-to-plate herbs. Wash down your organic burger or sweet potato and mung bean soup with a housemade cold pressed drink or a cup of Stumptown coffee; the latter alone is worth a visit.

The Wild Mushroom

Weatherford land and sea fixture, manned by chef Jerrett Joslin, is uprooted to Ridglea area, filling the west side steakhouse void left by Ray's Prime Steak & Seafood. Dim lights and a fireplace-warm environment invite you to leisurely cherish every bite of your 22-ounce bone-in ribeye.

Related Maps