The first reason people visit Quince is for the beautiful views.
That started in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where Quince’s rooftop offers sight lines of the city and the cathedral. The sights continue stateside with a brand-new restaurant on the banks of the Trinity River in Fort Worth.
And this summer, owner Brian Sneed will expand to Austin, where a Quince pop-up will show off the sunsets and sights of Lake Austin.
“Views are so important to me,” says Sneed, walking through the Fort Worth restaurant in early March. The restaurant opened for dinner service on March 27, 2023, and the restaurant was nearly full of customers sipping tequila cocktails and scooping ceviche out of pretty bowls.
From Quince’s patio, looking out on a lush green area at sunset, it’s easy to forget that Interstate 30 is less than a mile north. That’s the intention behind Sneed’s vacation-infused restaurants.
He’s opening al fresco dining spots in cities he loves. New Orleans native Sneed has had a vacation home in San Miguel for 17 years, which is why Quince started there. But he’s been a Fort Worth resident since he graduated from TCU in 1990, working for several decades as a hedge fund manager.
That main attraction — the patio — isn’t finished yet at the Fort Worth location, but a wall of windows brings the outside in, with the help of looming house plants. When the weather’s nice, Quince will probably be a hot spot for drinks at happy hour or boozy brunches. It’s one of the most exciting restaurants to open in Fort Worth this year.
Sneed describes the patio, which has a louvered roof, as “like riding in a convertible.” It will seat 150.
Eventually, Sneed wants to fly “slackliner” performers from San Miguel to Fort Worth to walk across the river, from high above. He’s also hiring DJs in Fort Worth and will sometimes simulcast music from a live DJ in San Miguel.
The food is an eclectic mix of dishes created by San Miguel chef Gonzalo Martinez as he traveled with Sneed. Martinez is most proud of the four ceviches. The porteño ceviche is a bright orange bowl filled with pillows of sea bass and slices of octopus.
Other menu items from San Miguel that were transported to the Fort Worth restaurant include shredded lamb dumplings with poblano pepper confit and cilantro sauce; panko-crusted sea bass with ginger lemongrass rice; and braised short ribs.
The menu also has a sizable list of raw fish dishes fashioned into rolls, pressed and torched, or served in a nigiri sampler.
Quince is delicately designed with colorful art from Mexican artist Nora Adame, and it feels like a refined restaurant for date night or a work dinner. But it also seems easy to get carried away here, drinking cocktails.
Sneed puts it in a more poetic way. The food, the drinks, the atmosphere, “they’re here to heighten every sense you have.”
Quince is at 1701 River Run (in the WestBend development), Fort Worth. It opened March 27, 2023. Resy reservations are now open.
