New Fort Worth Restaurants and Brunch Offerings Bring Foodie Buzz — From Coco Shrimp to the Wicked Butcher

The Fort Worth restaurant scene is more dynamic than ever — and ever changing. A few restaurateurs are in expansion mode, spinning off new locations of existing restaurants and creating brand new restaurants. There are also a couple of new brunch hotspots worth putting on your radar.

This is the Fort Worth Restaurant News You Need to Know:

Tropic Lady

South Main’s quirky pub The Bearded Lady, known for its fab patio, is adding a sister bar called Tropic Lady. It is being added to Race Street’s growing collection of interesting offerings.

Tropic Lady will serve crafted cocktails and mocktails, craft beer, bowls, wraps and sandwiches. There will be plenty of vegan and vegetarian items on the menu too. Plus “hand-squeezed coconut margaritas.” Sounds like Race Street will soon be running on island time.

Coco Shrimp

Coco Shrimp is expanding into the adjoining space that once was home to Arcadia Coffee on Bryan Avenue in Fort Worth’s South Main Village. The Hawaiian-style shrimp shack now has restaurants in Watauga, in South Main and in the Heritage Trace areas of Fort Worth. There is also a new Coco Shrimp in Denton, and yet another is set to open on Keller along Keller Parkway soon.

Coco Shrimp serves authentic shrimp, rice and salad plates along with Japanese mochi for dessert.

Eazy Monkey

Taking over the Magnolia Avenue vacancy left by Fixture, will be an interesting Asian spinoff restaurant. Andrew Chen of Monkey King Noodle Company is coming back to town and bringing his Dan Dan Sloppy Joes and smoked brisket bao buns and noodles with a new restaurant called Eazy Monkey, according to Malcolm Mayhew of CultureMap.

Fort Worth is familiar with Monkey King as it briefly held court inside Crockett Row Food Hall. Chef Andrew Dilda will be at the helm of this new new Eazy Monkey. He is now the director of culinary for Monkey King, after his most recent stint leading the kitchen at Tim Love’s original Lonesome Dove restaurant in the Fort Worth Stockyards, a post he held since August of 2020.

61 Osteria

When 61 Osteria opened in January, it promised to add midday meals soon. Restaurateur, Adam Jones and chef Blaine Staniford are following through on that promise. Brunch is now being served at 61 Osteria at 500 West Seventh, inside the First on Seventh building, on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm and weekday lunch is now available from 11 am to 2 pm.

The 61 Osteria brunch menu features a semolina Dutch baby topped with Luxardo cherries, lemon juice and powdered sugar. Or the soft scrambled egg bruschetta, which includes ricotta, 24-month-aged prosciutto and hen of the wood mushrooms. Weekday lunch-goers can enjoy the light chopped salad ― a mix of gem lettuce, radicchio, black chickpeas, genoa salami, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, provolone and an oregano red wine vinaigrette. You can even add protein in the form of chicken or poached shrimp.

Wicked Butcher

The Wicked Butcher — located at 512 Main Street inside The Sinclair Hotel — is launching its own brunch service. Brunch is now available every Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm.

Menu highlights include fried artichokes with parmesan, oregano and lemon aioli. There is also a new lobster and grits dish featuring lobster-infused stone ground white grits, alongside a half pound lobster. Brunch cocktails will include the FW75 made with Blackland gin, elderflower liqueur, fresh lemon juice and sparkling wine.                

That’s plenty to chew on when it comes to Fort Worth restaurants.