How, where to get a Fort Worth restaurant table and beat the traffic during PGA golf
Do not let a little pro golf tournament keep you off South University Drive this weekend.
But if you decide to dine out near the Fort Worth Zoo or Colonial Country Club, here’s what to know:
▪ Park carefully. Some lots will charge and then validate to deter golf parking.
▪ Book ahead. Maria’s Mexican Kitchen and Pacific Table, for example, both had plenty of tables available at midweek. Both have switched to booking reservations at tock.com.
▪ Rogers Road is open again. That’s the back road that leads to Courtside Kitchen and Rogers Roundhouse.
▪ If you’re going to the zoo instead, take West Berry Street and come north on University Drive instead of battling the Charles Schwab Challenge golf traffic. For that matter, always use West Berry Street for the zoo or TCU.
Watch the clock
Many golf fans will arrive aboard buses from public parking 4 miles north at Rockwood Park.
But those with silver or gold passes will be driving to a TCU garage at 3571 Bellaire Drive North or to the club, 3735 Country Club Circle.
Golf fans trickle in throughout the day. Then they leave about 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. So plan accordingly, particularly at dinner.
If you get stuck in morning traffic, don’t be afraid to stop for breakfast at Ol’ South Pancake House, 1509 S. University Drive.
Walking the trail to WestBend
The restaurants affected the most by the traffic will be those along the Trinity Trail within walking distance of the club: Woodshed Smokehouse, Maria’s, Ascension Coffee, Quince and HG Sply Co.
At midweek, the very busy HG Sply Co. at 1621 River Run, which has a large open-air patio along the trail, was the only restaurant that was heavily booked on Resy.com.
WestBend is also home to a Shake Shack, Sweetgreen, Silver Fox Steakhouse and other restaurants.
University Park Village across the street has Blue Goose Cantina, Flower Child, Pacific Table and more restaurants, but it’s slightly less convenient.
Four apps to book a table
Traditional golf hangouts away from the club such as B&B Butchers, in the Shops at Clearfork at 5212 Marathon Ave., and Michaels Cuisine, 3413 W. Seventh St., had tables available at OpenTable.com.
There are now four major reservation services and smartphone apps: OpenTable, Resy, Tock and Yelp, which retains a few key restaurants, such as Ascension Coffee, Cheesecake Factory and Rise Souffle.
Other restaurants that appear heavily booked for weekend dinner are the “cowboy cuisine” mainstays: Lonesome Dove Western Bistro and 97 West Kitchen and Bar in the Stockyards and Reata Restaurant downtown.
The Capital Grille, 800 Main St., and tiny Saint-Émilion Restaurant, 3617 W. Seventh St., are also heavily booked.
Restaurants are busy, but not full
For restaurants, it’s another busy weekend after a booming season of May weddings and graduations.
But for those near the University Park Village and WestBend shopping centers, it’s a complicated weekend of deterring golf parking while welcoming diners.
Prominent Fort Worth restaurants away from the golf course such as Don Artemio, 61 Osteria, Ellerbe Fine Foods and Grace all show tables available on Resy.com. Many local steakhouses and restaurants are available on OpenTable.com.
