He’s back: Harrison Ford visits Fort Worth again, dines downtown in Italian restaurant

“Star Wars” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” superstar Harrison Ford was back in Fort Worth last week, and that’s always good news for city restaurants.

“Han Solo” and “Indiana Jones” visits Fort Worth regularly to update his helicopter pilot training at Bell Helicopter, and also starred in the “Yellowstone” prequel shot here, “1923.”

His son, Ben, is a celebrity chef. So when he’s here, Ford dines out everywhere from high-end restaurants to taco trucks.

This time, he came to 61 Osteria, the new Italian spinoff from a longtime Ford favorite, Grace.

Chef Blaine Staniford and owner Adam Jones shared photos with Ford at 61 Osteria, a flashy restaurant at 500 W. Seventh St., facing Burnett Plaza.

Jones described Ford’s following at Grace and his other restaurant, Little Red Wasp, 808 Main St., as “a great 26-year relationship.”

Over the years, Ford has been spotted at Taco Heads, Istanbul Grill and Brewed.

One of his favorite simple restaurants seems to be Thai Terrace, 4220 W. Vickery Blvd.

In 2015, he was seen at such Magnolia Avenue hangouts as Ellerbe Fine Foods, Shinjuku Station, cocktail bar The Usual and its sister pub The Chat Room, as well as Del Frisco’s Double Eagle, downtown cocktail bar Thompson’s, and at Woodshed Smokehouse.

In 1999, he caused a bit of a tizzy when he and a couple of friends were seen dining at Angeluna, the restaurant that was then across from Bass Hall downtown. There happened to be a Brooks & Dunn concert at Bass Hall that night, and patrons at the hall were able to get a good view of Ford and his party, who were dining on the Angeluna patio.

“Sisters Gloria and Adelaide Moncrief, along with their Country Day School friend Melissa Flory and J. Brooks, a student at Arlington Heights High, thought Harrison would surely want to see the Brooks & Dunn show,” then-Star-Telegram writer Mary Rogers reported.

The girls were given permission to approach Ford, who politely declined, saying “I’ve got school in the morning” — which most people interpreted as a reference to his taking flying lessons at the time.

(This story includes content from Star-Telegram archives.)