Little Red Wasp — Restaurant in Fort Worth

What a gem! Nestled up against the Capitol Grill in Downtown, I cannot believe that I have missed it. At this same location for the last 5 years, it offers an affordable vast selection of what I would classify as "refined" comfort foods. Catering to a business class or higher clientele doesn't remove this very classy "dive" to an air of stuffy pomposity. A very well stocked and purposely highlighted bar takes up the majority of the back wall. I intend to revisit the Little Red Wasp specifically for cocktails to see if the drinks can live up to the display. With very few beers on tap and an extensive cocktail menu, I would assume mixology is at the center of the bars course. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. The waitstaff are very attentive and leave you wanting for little and needing for nothing. The only "weird" experience when visiting this restaurant is the very thick curtains hanging across just inside the entrance. They completely block the view of the inside when entering, and lead to just a brief moment of confusion. They may be there to block outside glare or the wind when the doors are open, but this may want to be revisited.

Home made chips seem to be an item this restaurant is proud of as it seems to accompany many of their lunch options. If ordering your meal doesn't include these chips, I recommend ordering some from the appetizer menu as it is served with a delicious creamy ranch style dip that does not normally accompany the entrees. We ended up with an abundance of chips as our ordered meals also included them. The menu for their sandwiches are correct when titled "Fork and Knife" sandwiches. Though the Reuben I ordered was easily handled with the hands, it was a beautiful mess that those actually in business attire may want to use cutlery on. Speaking of the Reuben, the very delicious and dripping corned beef was cooked to perfection and almost melted in my mouth. It was perfectly paired with a well timed and seasoned kraut and a well balanced swipe of mustard on sourdough bread. Very moist and very flavorful without being overpowering, the only possible less than glowing critique point may be the sandwich was so moist that it pulled some of the fats to the bottom piece of bread quickly to the point of making it borderline greasy. But its a Reuben! It's supposed to be a little messy, and they did warn me with "fork and knife". I would highly recommend it as if you like Reuben sandwiches, you will certainly enjoy this one.

Great atmosphere, great food, great waitstaff, great experience! I look forward to sampling more of their food menu offerings and can't wait to let their bartenders flex a little creative muscle for me during happy hour! We...

Little Red Wasp Review

Bad bar food at restaurant prices.

When looking for a nicer restaurant in Downtown Ft. Worth I found The Little Red Wasp. Based on prices and the look I was expecting a nicer downtown restaurant. After my experience I would say the food quality is about the level of bar food.

The first course was devilled eggs, where I started to see the lack of care from the kitchen. The eggs were falling apart due to the cuts made to them, and the pickles were haphazardly thrown on top and over the plate. The second course we ordered the chicken fried steak with green beans, and then my friend ordered halibut and chips with an extra side of mac & cheese. The green beans were not available, and the waiter asked if I’d like something else, I let the server know I’d do the Brussel sprouts would be fine but I probably wouldn't eat them.

When the chicken fried steak arrived, the Mac and cheese for my friend was on my chicken fried steak plate, and no Brussel sprouts. The chicken fried steak was, okay, although the plate was covered in excessive amounts of gravy, and the mashed potatoes were dry as if they had been sitting out all day. The halibut had been mixed in with the fries, this might have been to hide the fact that the batter was bad, or the color made them look like they’d been cooked in dirty oil. The fish was bland, the fries were basic bar fries, and the Mac and cheese was just abysmal.

The server was friendly, but it was somewhat awkward watching servers eating on the expo line and returning to work without washing their hands. When the bill was brought, the server made sure to tell us that they removed the Mac and cheese for the trouble of not having the green beans, which should have been removed as they had simply replaced my diner side with my friend’s extra side. In summary, the food was hugely overpriced for what it was, based on these reviews (including pictures) it seems this was an exceptionally bad experience, where the kitchen staff seemed just not to care about the food. I’m not planning on returning to the restaurant and cannot recommend this...

This was a complete surprise to my wife and me. We made reservations for dinner before a show at Bass Hall. Not sure what we expected having looked at the menu online, but it was not this. Little Red Wasp is a very cool little bar/restaurant with a totally energetic and modern vibe about it. Service was excellent, food was very good, drinks were creative, beer list and wine lists quite impressive. What an excellent small little gem of a restaurant this is in the heart of Fort Worth. I would choose it any day over its expensive neighbors – Capitol Grill and Ruth’s Chris. My wife and I decided on an appetizer dinner – getting a lot of sharables instead of each a full meal. Our selections were: Shrimp + Avocado Cocktail, Brisket Potstickers and Whipped Ricotta. The Shrimp + Avocado was like a combination of the high-end mixed greens salad and a shrimp cocktail served with their Wasp Sauce (a lot like a thousand island). Shrimp were large and meaty, avocado was fresh, as were the greens. The sauce was good. Brisket Potstickers were served with a teriyaki like dipping sauce. These were good but not exceptional. The highlight for us of the appetizers was the Whipped Ricotta. First of all the sourdough toast was perfect and the ricotta cheese was perfect, especially the flavorful touch of the local honey. Then to the side was a huge mound of heirloom tomatoes, both large tomatoes sliced and small colorful cherry tomatoes halved, all in olive oil. We simply took pieces of toast, spread the cheese and then topped it with the tomatoes then ate it like pizza. Excellent flavor. For our final item we split the Pulled Pork BBQ Mac + Cheese with Crispy Onions. Again, they did an amazing job with flavor and consistency combinations. We ended with the very decadent cinnamon and sugar donut holes which were so airy they felt more like beignets from the streets of New Orleans. Again excellent. My wife and I will return. I suggest making reservations because by 5:30 on a Saturday...