The Dish: Fine dining or country casual, Fort Worth restaurant openings sum up the city

Fort Worth is a conflict of extremes, and I think it’s one of the reasons people fall in love with the city so easily. There’s the high-class, big-city polish of the 12th largest city in the U.S. as well as the kicked-back country comfort of Cowtown. This week’s restaurant report brings you good news, whether you’re looking for elegant fine dining or casual burgers in a beer garden. The best part is that your boots always fit the dress code in Fort Worth.

The Chumley House

The group behind two Michelin-recognized restaurants in Dallas opened The Chumley House, their first Fort Worth restaurant, during Thanksgiving week. This is the buzziest, most anticipated opening I’ve seen for a restaurant inside Fort Worth city limits in recent memory. Given the holiday week opening, it might be a minute before word-of-mouth reviews start spreading around town, but The Chumley House has all the ingredients for elegant dining success in Fort Worth.

Duro Hospitality is the team behind Dallas’ The Charles, Mister Charles, El Carlos Elegante, Casa Duro and Cafe Duro, among others. Their first Fort Worth restaurant pays homage to London with an elegant English manor aesthetic. Distinct areas for dining include The Study, with mahogany walls and a fireplace engraved with the Duro logo, and the Trellis Room, featuring dramatic architectural elements. The restaurant has seating for 90 indoors and 25 more outside. The menu features elevated takes on British favorite dishes, including Beef Wellington and Butter Chicken Pie, as well as a nod to England’s love affair with Indian cuisine with Long Bone Lamb Tandoori and Saag Paneer.

“Fort Worth has always held a special place in our hearts,” Benji Homsey, a partner at Duro Hospitality, said in a statement. “Between myself being a TCU graduate and Chas (Martin’s) many years of living in Fort Worth growing up, we’ve always felt a deep connection to this city.”