Restaurant review: Simply Fondue in Fort Worth

by Kevin Buchanan of West and Clear

On the recommendation of a friend, I finally stopped into Simply Fondue in downtown Fort Worth. After a quiet opening a month or two ago, the place has been refining and tweaking things, and hosted an official opening.

Simply Fondue is located in the basement of the Woolworth Building at 4th & Houston. The Woolworth Building is also home to the Scat Jazz Lounge, the downtown Jos. A. Bank, and the Milan Gallery. Enter the doors on 4th Street and take the stairs down to the restaurant, following the handy signage along the way.

The first thing about Simply Fondue that you’ll notice is the atmosphere. It’s dark and cozy, and the decor is definitely aimed upscale. You’ll pass by an impressive wine room and bar on the way back to the main eating areas, filled with cozy booths and moody lighting.

It’s worthing noting something right away: Simply Fondue is not especially cheap. Indeed, going for the full experience might induce a bit of shock at check time. The bill for myself and my lovely companion was just a few dollars shy of $100. Now, one must temper that fact with another: you will be eating epic quantities of very tasty food by doing the full experience (and there are less expensive paths to take as well).

After you’re seated at the granite tables with built-in heating elements, your server will assist you in figuring out how you’re going to proceed through the maze of options in front of you. Being vegetarian, we were delighted when our server explained the non-meat-based options for us, and we ordered.

We were offered a choice of waters and drink options. I ordered the Mexican Coffee you see above, a mix of kahlua, coffee, and whipped cream that was indeed tasty. We also got some sizable and extremely tasty salads - I went with a classic Caesar, while my companion went with the Spinach & Strawberry. The salads were top notch - fresh and flavorful.

We made our cheese selection for the initial course, the fondue - we decided to go with the Mediterranean option, which blended sharp cheddar with beer, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes. The fondue pot was brought out, filled with beer, and the heating element switched on. After the beer began to steam, our server prepared the rest of the mixture and brought our two pans of items to stab with fondue tongs and dip - one, a selection of breads, and the other an assortment of fresh vegetables and Granny Smith apples.

It was all very good. My favorites, besides the breads, were the apples, onions, and grapes. Here’s a good place to mention another element of the Simply Fondue experience that might offset the price for you: they bring you more dipping items without charge. We ran out of veggies and fruits before the cheese had been significantly consumed, and our attentive server brought out another - and interestingly, he’d apparently took note of the items that were still left in the pan, and next time loaded us up with more of the items we’d completely consumed. As you proceed through the fondue world, the server helps tailor the experience to your own particular tastes. It’s a nice touch that reinforces the feeling that you’re getting something special - a real “experience” as opposed to just a meal.

After working through the veggies, fruit, and breads at our disposal our fondue pot finally ran low. To be honest, I was already feeling rather satisfied, and had we elected to go the less expensive “just fondue pot” route I’d have walked out happy. There was more to come, however.

Our server had asked us what sorts of vegetables we liked and disliked, and had asked us to choose a cooking style for the next phase of the process. Your choices in the matter affect the methods used to prepare the meats or vegetables used in the next phase, and your choices are thus: Traditional, which means cooked in cholesterol-free canola oil and dipped in Simply Fondue’s signature sauces and served with Sesame or Tempura batters; Fondue Grill, a popular alternative with the foods grilled in garlic butter; Mediterranean Sangria, a vegetable broth infused with their house Sangria, garlic, fresh squeezed oranges, lime, and garnished with fresh fruits and vegetables; Shiner Bock Bayou Cajun, a blend of Cajun spices, Shiner Bock beer, and farm fresh Louisiana beef sausage; or Thai Coconut, fresh Basil and mint leaf, ginger, garlic, coconut milk, and Thai chili. We elected to go with the Fondue Grill option and gave our server our vegetable preferences.

What arrived was a large pan covered in fresh sliced sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, and cheese-filled ravioli, accompanied by an assortment of dipping sauces, a cup of garlic butter, and a grill.

Just as you control your dipping with the fondue pot, so too shall you control your grilling in this phase. We grilled up our various wares and began experimenting with them in the various sauces. Once you get the hang of the grill, you are able to come up with some very tasty combinations. The sauces at your dispoal are Sweet & Sour, Teriyaki, Horseradish, Yogurt Curry, and Mustard Tarragon.

Again, after running low of vegetables and ravioli our server brought about more, and again they were tailored to what we’d enjoyed the first time around. After another round of grilling and eating we were prepared for the last part of the meal - the dessert fondue.

Now, I will apologize upfront and say that I neglected to get a photo of the dessert course. With that being said, here’s the skinny on your dessert options. A list of dessert fondues is presented, and they are as follows: Milk Chocolate (milk chocolate, walnuts, and cream), Bailey’s Irish Chocolate (milk chocolate with a splash of Bailey’s irish cream), White Chocolate Amaretto, Bananas Foster (white chocolate with banana liqueur, Meyer’s dark rum, brown sugar, and cinnamon), Campfire Chocolate (milk chocolate, melted jumbo marshmallows, and crumbled graham crackers), Reese’s Peanut Butter (milk chocolate and Reese’s peanut butter, naturally), Kahlua Heath Krunch (milk chocolate with kahlua and Heath bar toffee), Pecan Caramel Swirl (caramel, milk chocolate, and pecans), Chocolate Confusion (white and milk chocolate), Rocky Road (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, marshmallow cream, pecans, and walnuts), Chocolate Bliss (dark chocolate), Chocolate Grand Marnier (milk chocolate with Grand Marnier liqueur), and The Grand White (white chocolate and Grand Marnier).

We went with Chocolate Bliss for the pure dark chocolate. The fondue pot came back filled with smooth melted dark chocolate and a plate arrived with a variety of items to dip. This time, we had cherries, strawberries, angel food cake, Rice Krispies squares, brownies, and banana slices. The dark chocolate fondue was just blissfully good - incredibly flavorful and perfectly melted, coating every bit of the dipping items and making them all very indulgent indeed. And again, another round of dipping items followed the first.

In the end, Simply Fondue was a very cool experience and everything we had was uniformly delicious. If you intend on doing the full process, the cost probably makes it not something you’d do every day, but it is a great setup for two on special outings or for groups. And you have the option of doing simpler and less expensive options as well. For the wine drinkers, they have a very full and impressive wine list.

All in all, I recommend Simply Fondue, and it’s a great addition to downtown. It’d make a great stop for a group before heading down the hallway to Scat Jazz Lounge. Next time you’re in the mood for the fondue experience, I don’t think you could go wrong with Simply Fondue in downtown.