Provender Hall — Restaurant in Fort Worth

I’ve been meaning to check out Provender Hall and Clay Pigeon as I had heard wonderful things about chef Marcus Paslay and enjoy supporting local.

Started out with a reservation to let them know ahead of time that we’d be coming for dinner. Valet was convenient and we were greeted at the door and seated almost immediately on the second floor. One thing I noticed upon being seated was that we had no silverware. It was a busy Saturday night, we could visibly see the other severs hustling to put together silverware and napkins for the guests.

Our server Matt came by and took our drink orders and we also ordered a cornbread appetizer to start. The cornbread came out almost immediately by a food runner. Our drinks and silverware were no where to be found. After about 15 minutes, Matt came by and realized we needed some attention. He brought out a new appetizer as well as silverware. He also had the bar make our drinks. He apologized for the chaotic start, but was more attentive after that. This was not really Matt’s fault as he also had a 15+ person table that he appeared to be working solo. Poor decisions on the floor managers behalf. I’ve had experience working in a restaurant and this seemed like a chaotic time for everyone involved.

Drinks included a PH Old Fashioned, La Pinata, and Prairie Frappe. I’d recommend the La Piñata again.

I ordered the steak frites. The chimichurri sauce on the steak was perfection and left me wanting more. My spouse ordered the shrimp and grits. The blend of spice and grits was soooo good. Both were excellent. Chef Paslay knows what he’s doing in the kitchen — unfortunately the rest of the experience took away from that.

The vibe seemed to want to be upscale, but with concrete walls and floors, everything is loud and echoes can be heard throughout the restaurant. If you’re looking for an intimate dinner or are wanting to celebrate and expect to have a conversation at your table without shouting, plan on coming here for lunch.

Overall, I’d give the following ratings: Food: 5 ⭐️ Service: 3...

I should preface this review by saying that perhaps my expectations were a bit high after reading the other glowing reviews and being dazzled by the great photography, copy, and graphic design on their website.

Provender Hall is smack dab in the middle of Cowtown. Right on the edge of Mule Alley. Directly across from the cattle exchange. It was an extremely busy Saturday night and even though I requested a quiet seating arrangement for my 2-top party in my reservation, they sat us right next to the front door. There is a bar right inside the front door where drunk cowboys and trains of bachelorette parties stumble in loudly for the next stop on their bar crawl. I love a good bar crawl, but It was less than romantic. I was, admittedly, out of my element. Perhaps I should have known better.

There was a call out for the Steak Frites on the menu, so I thought “when in Rome”. I ordered my steak rare, and it was delivered as promised, but I found myself underwhelmed. The steak was pre-cut and I don’t like it when steak is precut for me. I did enjoy the chimichurri paired with the steak. The fries were standard. I was expecting to be blown away, but instead I found myself a bit disappointed. I did not understand the call out. My experience still was better than my wife’s.

She ordered the shrimp and grits. What was set in front of her was the most confusing implementation of shrimp and grits we’d ever seen. The shrimp, whole peeled shrimp was unflavored and rubbery. It seemed like they did not see the grill at all. The grits were mired in some pooled broth. She barely touched her food and she loves shrimp and grits. I don’t know what is going on with this dish, but to be frank, it needs to go back to the drawing board.

The drinks were tasty, but the portions were very small for the price.

In the end, for the Steak & Shrimp plus one drink each we were on the hook for around $100. Ouch. In my opinion, this value was not reflected. Unfortunately we won’t be back but maybe this place is more “up...

We had dinner on Saturday evening March 13 and we’re very disappointed. I’m not exactly sure how the theme of the restaurant fits in the Stockyards’s theme. The online menu is much more impressive than the actual menu onsite. I ordered the catfish which was to be served with greens and mashed yams. I asked if it would be possible to substitute mashed potatoes and something other than the greens. I was told no problem. When my meal arrived it had two small wedges of catfish on top of greens which were on top of mashed potatoes. I told our server it wasn’t how I ordered it and he asked if I would like some okra. I agreed and thinking he would take my plate away and fix the mistake I waited. Another server showed up a bit later with a platter of whole fried okra enough to feed an army. I accepted the fact nothing was to be done about the ruined mashed potatoes and greens smashed together. I guess if you like your food all mixed together you would love it. It just looked like mush to me. The catfish was very blah with no seasoning on it at all. Most Southerners prefer their okra cut in bite sizes but it was decent. The others ordered the chicken fried steak and were very underwhelmed by the size and the taste. I ordered a glass of house Cabernet and another server brought out a bottle for my liking and poured me a glass. Later I found out that one glass was $15. Perhaps I was to get the entire bottle for that price. I’ve had better Cabernet for less money. The final nail in the coffin came when I noticed on the Bill that we had been charged $10 for a side of okra. This was supposed to be brought as a substitute for the greens. It was after the fact and the Bill was paid but we will never be back. They won’t miss traditional western folks because from the looks of their other guests millennials and college coeds will fill their bar and tables. I didn’t see any true cowboys and cowgirls dining. It’s not their...