Waters Restaurant — Chef Jon Bonnell’s Award-Winning Seafood Destination at the Heart of Sundance Square, Where Shore-to-Door Sustainable Seafood, Creole Roots, and #FortWorthFancy Hospitality Make 301 Main Street a Downtown Institution

When the subject of Fort Worth fine dining comes up, one name surfaces more consistently than any other — and Waters Restaurant at 301 Main St. in Sundance Square is where Chef Jon Bonnell brings his most focused culinary passion to the table. Originally opened in March 2013 on West 7th Street to immediate rave reviews, Waters relocated to its current Sundance Square corner address at Main and 2nd in 2017, and has been one of the finest restaurants in downtown Fort Worth ever since. Bonnell — whose flagship Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine has held the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence since 2016, who has cooked three times at the James Beard House, and who has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Early Show, and Food Network — describes his philosophy at Waters simply: source the freshest wild, seasonal, and sustainable seafood available, never use third-world fish farms, cheap substitutes, artificial flavorings, or threatened species, and let the ingredients speak for themselves. The result is a TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice winner with more than 3,200 OpenTable reviews and a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence that has followed the restaurant since its founding — the highest honor in restaurant wine programs.

The menu at Waters weaves together Bonnell’s love of Gulf Coast seafood, his formative years cooking in the French Quarter of New Orleans, and the bold Southwestern and TexMex instincts that define his culinary voice. The signature Bonnell’s Seafood Gumbo — shrimp, crawfish, andouille, okra, and jasmine rice in a deep Creole broth drawn from years in New Orleans kitchens — is one of the most beloved bowls in Fort Worth and a mandatory first order. The raw bar delivers a daily selection of cold water oysters on the half shell, tuna tartare with avocado and red pepper aioli, marinated Gulf shrimp cocktail, and a $96 shellfish tower with chilled lobster tail that TripAdvisor regulars call one of the great splurges in Cowtown. Among the entrees, the hazelnut-crusted ruby red trout with Frangelico butter and lump crab, the halibut with sweet potato-mascarpone gnocchi and macadamia pesto, the NOLA BBQ grilled shrimp with jasmine rice, and the Lobster-cargot — Maine lobster tail with aged Havarti and lemon-garlic butter — have each earned devoted followings. The 12 oz. ribeye and 8 oz. filet mignon with black truffle butter serve as exceptional alternatives for the beef loyalists, and the lobster macaroni and cheese with three cheeses is a decadent side worth ordering as its own course. Every dinner has its own daily happy hour from 4 to 6pm with deeply discounted cocktails, $5 wine by the glass, and $3–$5 beers.

Waters Restaurant is located at 301 Main St., Fort Worth, TX 76102, steps from Bass Performance Hall and Sundance Square’s entertainment core, and is open Monday through Friday for lunch from 11am to 2pm and daily for dinner Sunday through Saturday from 4 to 9pm. Happy hour runs daily from 4 to 6pm at both the Main Street bar and the beloved dog-friendly patio bar — described by regulars as the best outdoor dining experience in all of downtown Fort Worth. Reservations via OpenTable are strongly recommended for dinner and pre-show seatings, and valet parking is available through Sundance Square. For more of Fort Worth’s finest dining experiences, explore the Fort Worth restaurant guide on Selling the Fort.