Walloon’s Restaurant — Chef Marcus Paslay’s Seafood-Forward Fine Dining Gem Inside Fort Worth’s Historic LaCava Building, Where a Raw Bar, Gulf Coast Classics, and the Coldest Martini on Magnolia Avenue Make Every Visit an Occasion

When Chef Marcus Paslay — the CIA-trained culinary force behind Clay Pigeon and Piattello Italian Kitchen — opened his fourth From Scratch Hospitality concept on the Near Southside, he chose one of the most historically significant addresses on all of Magnolia Avenue: the LaCava Building at Walloon’s Restaurant, 701 W. Magnolia Ave. Built in the early 1920s by W.B. LaCava and expanded in 1927 with the Modern Drug building that anchored the corner for seven decades, the space carries a century of Fort Worth history in its bones — exposed brick, soaring ceilings, and the elegant bones of a building that has witnessed the neighborhood’s fall and remarkable renaissance. Texas Monthly listed Walloon’s as a Fort Worth restaurant worth knowing, and early TripAdvisor visitors described it as a place that may have knocked it out of the park — praising the thoughtfully designed interior, the exceptional service, and a seafood program with genuine southern coastal ambition. With a 4.7-star average across dozens of reviews and a seafood menu that evokes classic New Orleans destinations, Walloon’s has quickly established itself as one of the most sophisticated dining destinations on the Near Southside.

The menu is a beautifully considered tour through Gulf Coast and coastal American seafood tradition, elevated by Paslay’s from-scratch philosophy and an unmistakable wanderlust in the flavor combinations. The raw bar anchors the experience — daily-selection cold water oysters by the half dozen or dozen, spicy tuna crudo with calabrian chili oil and horseradish, shrimp cocktail with avocado and pico de gallo, and a $95 seafood tower with a dozen oysters, poached shrimp, tuna crudo, and chef’s raw bar selection. Starters span fried oysters Rockefeller, a $25 crab cake, beer-battered redfish beignets, Louisiana BBQ shrimp, and the Church Lady deviled eggs that regulars reorder at every visit. Entrees include the seared redfish over Gulf shrimp, mussels, and bouillabaisse with sourdough, trout almondine with brown butter and green beans, pan-roasted salmon over creamed leeks, moules marinière, seafood mac and cheese with lobster and three cheeses, and the dinner-only braised short rib with potato purée and jus for the beef loyalists. The Walloon’s Freezer Martini — served in a frozen glass, available in vodka or gin — is one of the most talked-about cocktails on Magnolia and worth ordering on principle.

Walloon’s is located at 701 W. Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth, TX 76104, and is open Monday through Thursday from 11am to 9pm, Friday and Saturday from 11am to 10pm, and Sunday from 11am to 9pm. Weekend brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 3pm. Happy hour is available Monday through Friday from 3 to 6pm. Free validated parking is available in the garage — enter off Travis Ave. Reservations are available via Resy and are strongly recommended for dinner and weekends, though bar and raw bar seating is first come, first served. For more of Fort Worth’s most exceptional dining experiences, explore the Fort Worth restaurant guide on Selling the Fort.