Reata's story starts in the Big Bend region, where rancher Al Micallef of the CF Ranch opened the original location in 1995 inside a historic 1890 adobe home in Alpine. The name comes from the ranch in the film Giant — Spanish for "rope" — and the concept became sophisticated cowboy cuisine: Southwestern flavors filtered through a fine-dining lens.
That approach carried to Fort Worth in 1996, when Reata opened inside The Tower downtown. The 2000 tornado forced it out, and it took more than two decades to return — Reata is now back on the ground floor of that same address at 530 Throckmorton Street, near Bass Performance Hall and Sundance Square.
The menu still runs on its founding dishes: Tenderloin Tamales, Pan-Seared Pepper-Crusted Tenderloin, and Blackened Buffalo Ribeye, alongside comfort plates like Chicken Fried Steak and Stacked Chicken Enchiladas. The bar pours a CF Cherry Limeade and a Habanero Margarita, backed by a wine list pulling from both the Old and New Worlds.
Locals point to it as a go-to for special occasions, with service frequently singled out as a strength alongside its beef-and-sides plates.
That approach carried to Fort Worth in 1996, when Reata opened inside The Tower downtown. The 2000 tornado forced it out, and it took more than two decades to return — Reata is now back on the ground floor of that same address at 530 Throckmorton Street, near Bass Performance Hall and Sundance Square.
The menu still runs on its founding dishes: Tenderloin Tamales, Pan-Seared Pepper-Crusted Tenderloin, and Blackened Buffalo Ribeye, alongside comfort plates like Chicken Fried Steak and Stacked Chicken Enchiladas. The bar pours a CF Cherry Limeade and a Habanero Margarita, backed by a wine list pulling from both the Old and New Worlds.
Locals point to it as a go-to for special occasions, with service frequently singled out as a strength alongside its beef-and-sides plates.