Your pasta is ready for its close-up. Your phone, unfortunately, is doing time. Welcome to Caterina’s in the Fort Worth Stockyards, where your phone isn’t invited to dinner. In fact, it gets locked away.
Celebrity chef Tim Love’s Italian-American restaurant pairs white tablecloths and moody lighting with a rule that might make your camera roll nervous. Think New York supper-club energy with Texas swagger and one fewer distraction at the table.
Your Phone Has Been Sentenced
At Caterina’s, phones go into locked pouches for the dining-room experience. They stay with guests, rather than disappearing behind a counter. Need to make a call? Staff can unlock the pouch so you can step outside. This is dinner, not an actual prison sentence.
The idea is simple: Put down the screen and enjoy the people sitting across from you.
The first impulse may be to photograph the pasta. The second? Remembering you can eat it while it’s hot. Without the scrolling and checking, there’s more room for the person across the table to finish a story before a notification steals the ending.
The rules have loosened at the bar and on the patio, so check the current policy when booking those areas. The dining room remains the place to trade screen time for supper time.
The Food Deserves Your Full Attention
If you’re asking people to stop photographing dinner, you’d better give them something worth talking about. Caterina’s has a few candidates.
Start with arancini stuffed with fresh mozzarella or beef carpaccio with white truffle and pecorino. Pasta lovers can dig into rigatoni alla vodka or spaghetti carbonara, while heartier options include veal chop Parmesan, branzino, and a Wagyu New York strip.
Then there’s Lobster Alison: lobster with sweet corn ravioli and Parmesan cream. Suddenly, giving your phone the night off seems like a reasonable trade.
And dessert? Tiramisu, Italian hangover cake, zeppole, and chocolate soufflé give you plenty of reasons to linger.
Martinis and barrel-aged Negronis keep the old-school mood going. Your group chat can wait through dessert.
Dress Up. Dial Down.
Located in Mule Alley within the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, Caterina’s offers a decidedly different experience from the surrounding cowboy bars and honky-tonks.
The supper-club atmosphere gives you a reason to dress up, but check the current dress policy before you go. Reserve ahead and leave time to linger. An evening without checking your phone every few minutes might be the indulgence you didn’t know you ordered.
Caterina’s makes a case for dinner with a smaller audience: the people actually sitting at your table. Good food, good company, no live commentary from the internet.
Your phone will survive. Your pasta might not.
Insider Takeaways
- Phones Behind Bars: Diners place their phones in locked pouches, keeping the dining-room experience focused on food and conversation.
- Italian Indulgence: Expect classic pastas, seafood, premium steaks, decadent desserts, and cocktails.
- Old-School Atmosphere: White tablecloths, intimate lighting, and a traditional supper-club feel make this a dress-up kind of dinner.
- A Few Exceptions: Phone rules have been relaxed at the bar and on the patio. Confirm the current policy when booking; the house phone offers another way to stay reachable.
- Plan Ahead: Reservations are recommended, and guests should check current hours and dress requirements before visiting.
Caterina’s is located at 128 E. Exchange Ave., Suite 620, in Fort Worth, Texas. For menus, reservations, and current hours, visit caterinasftx.com or follow @caterinasftx on Instagram.
