The Restaurant We Didn’t Know We Need

The man behind some of Fort Worth’s favorite eateries – Clay Pigeon, Piattello, and Provender Hall – has done it again. Marcus Paslay has an uncanny penchant for divining the zeitgeist of Fort Worth’s food cravings and delivering it to us on a beautifully presented platter. Paslay’s most recent creation, Walloon’s, keeps the impressive streak alive. A seafood-centric, Southern American grill with French undertones, Walloon’s is at once familiar and novel.

Occupying a beautifully restored, century-old bank building on the southeast corner of Magnolia and Hemphill in the Near Southside neighborhood, Walloon’s exemplifies that most Fort Worth of traditions: honoring our city’s past as we venture into the future. The result of an extensive and well-executed restoration that boasts beautiful terrazzo flooring below and handsome original tin ceiling tiles above, all illuminated by carefully restored period lighting, Walloon’s is truly a feast for the eyes and the palate.

“The building owners called me and asked to come look at it for a restaurant,” says Paslay. “I have wanted to be in the Near Southside for years, but parking was always an issue for me. When I saw the space, I fell in love with it. It was awesome!”

(As for parking, there is a nearby parking garage, and Walloon’s validates parking for their guests.)

With his biggest reservation assuaged, Paslay and his team set about creating the restaurant.

“The name is twofold,” Paslay said. “It’s… a reference to Wallonia [a French-speaking area of Belgium] … it’s got a heavy French influence without being French. Walloon’s has a heavy French influence but is not a French restaurant. The name also reminded us of Walloon Lake in Michigan [Paslay’s wife’s family has a cottage on the lake.]… Walloon Lake is where Hemingway would summer as a boy, and we have a few Hemingway Easter eggs throughout the shop.”

Paslay continued, “As soon as I walked in, I had a vision of the Old South, like Charleston or New Orleans… we studied the neighborhood, which led to a seafood-focused American grill that has a classically nostalgic feel to it.”

The dining room is dominated by an impressive horseshoe-shaped bar serving up classic cocktails. A raw bar, with bi-valves and crustaceans of every description nestled seductively in crushed ice, welcomes you. The bank-vault-turned-tasting-lounge and a private dining room offer more intimate settings for small and important gatherings, as well as opportunities to craft a custom menu with the chef. Two long walls of large windows overlooking Magnolia complete the welcoming, old-world bistro feel.

Photo courtesy of Walloon’s

With a concept in hand, Paslay and team turned their attentions to the menu. According to Walloon’s website, the “food and drink menu blends timeless tradition with a flair for wanderlust, creating an original take on familiar flavors.” Indeed, a perusal of the menu is a delightful map-and-dart session revealing a peripatetic culinary crisscrossing of the Atlantic.

Louisiana BBQ shrimp and beer-battered beignets share the starters menu with steak tartare and French onion dip. For lighter fare, one can hop from a Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich to a New England-style lobster roll. The entrees are Paslay’s riffs on classics of American and French cuisine: grilled trout almandine and seared redfish share the menu with steak frites in an au poivre sauce and moules frites with leeks in white wine.

We Fort Worthians like our tipples, and signature cocktails include Walloon’s twist on the Manhattan: Maker’s Mark Private Reserve and simple syrup tinged with Aztec Chocolate Bitters. The Hemingway’s Daiquiri is made with a citrus oleo-saccharum as a nod to the original daquiri recipe. To round out your trans-Atlantic barhop, Walloon’s barkeeps will expertly craft a Paloma, a Negroni, or a gorgeous Sidecar prepared with Brandy Sainte Louise.

Walloon’s opened in July with little fanfare. “It was actually a really smooth opening”, says Paslay. “We had a friends-and-family-type preview. The plan was to do a soft opening, but word got out quickly, and we’ve been busy ever since.” Paslay has a devout following, so Walloon’s didn’t take long to get up to full speed. It doesn’t hurt that the food is delicious, the cocktails fantastic, and the setting remarkable.

Marcus Paslay’s uncanny ability to open a restaurant we didn’t know we needed and make it exceptional is on display again at Walloon’s. It is another in a lineup of inspired eateries Paslay has given us over the past decade. It is a superlative addition to Fort Worth’s culinary landscape and another smashing success from one of our favorite restauranteurs. Santé!