Grace

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Fort Worth Institution Built on Hospitality

On Main Street in downtown Fort Worth, Grace has been setting the standard for Modern American dining since Executive Chef Blaine Staniford took the helm in October 2008. Owner Dain "Adam" Jones — known across the city for an unparalleled commitment to service — built Grace around a simple conviction: "It is never enough to have a satisfied patron." More than fifteen years on, that philosophy has made Grace a genuine anchor in a dining landscape where trendy concepts come and go.

The People Behind the Kitchen

Staniford's résumé reads like a tour of American fine dining's most demanding rooms. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America at 19 — one of its youngest — then spent two years under James Beard Award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson at Aquavit in New York City, followed by time at Aqua and Pisces in San Francisco under Michael Mina. Back in Texas, he built a reputation at Lola and Fuse before bringing all of it to Grace. Fort Worth, Texas Magazine named him Top Chef in 2012, and the Dallas Morning News had already called him a Rising Star Chef more than a decade earlier. His cooking at Grace — described as hearty, filling American standards shaped by seasonal and local ingredients — earned the restaurant a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence, a recognition that reflects the seriousness of the wine program as much as the food.

Guiding the cellar are two sommeliers with deep roots in Fort Worth's fine dining scene. Glass-enclosed, temperature-controlled wine cellars hold a curated selection of Old and New World bottles, and monthly wine dinners are a regular feature of the calendar.

The Space and the Experience

The room channels downtown Fort Worth's energy through a comfortable modern setting. A spectacular bar anchors one side, serving house-made seasonal cocktails alongside a separate bar-snacks menu — oysters among them. When the weather cooperates, the outdoor terrace on Main Street opens up, and plush seating spills onto the sidewalk. Press has singled out the bar area's cozy alcoves and polished cocktails; one signature, the Seven, pairs organic vodka with cucumber and mint, rimmed with cayenne and salt.

For private occasions, four dining rooms with multimedia capabilities accommodate groups of 10 to 48 guests, each managed with the same attention to detail that defines the main room.

A Dish Worth Noting

Chef Staniford's buttery brioche Toad in a Hole — finished with a white truffle vinaigrette — has appeared at high-profile collaborative dinners around the city, offering a glimpse of the indulgent-yet-grounded American cooking that Grace has made its signature. It's the kind of dish that explains, without overstatement, why this restaurant has lasted.