Simply Fondue Sundance Square — Restaurant in Fort Worth

Wow… just wow. This was our first and last time at Simply Fondue. Where do I even begin? Upon entering the building, we were unsure of where to go. We noticed a sign in the distance with the restaurant name, indicating that it was downstairs. The carpet was dingy, the walls were dirty, and the smell reminded me of an aging trampoline park mixed with the odor of dirty feet lingering in the air.

As we descended the stairs, we passed through double doors into the restaurant, only to find an empty host stand. There was a man at the bar holding a Starbucks drink, appearing visibly agitated. He turned his head upon seeing us and eventually came over to the host stand. This individual was dressed very inappropriately for the restaurant, wearing extremely casual civilian clothes. Another person followed closely behind, laughing, and told us, “Don’t worry, he works here.” Seriously? It was an extremely unprofessional encounter. The two of them went on to discuss a 6:30 reservation that didn’t show up, mentioning that they were going to bump us from our table and seat us in the back. The stench in that area was unbearable, reminiscent of moldy feet.

Nevertheless, we made our way to a table and began perusing the menu. After selecting our entrees, appetizers, salads, and desserts, our waiter approached and began preparing our cheese fondue. The ingredients seemed lackluster, with the cheese base including beer poured from a red Solo cup. The cheese itself appeared to be pre-shredded and coated in potato starch. After adding some spices and mixing it at our table for what felt like an eternity, we dipped our appetizers into the fondue, only to exchange looks of disgust. The cheese fondue was absolutely terrible and exceedingly gritty. In addition, the veggies they provided to dip were midway though going rotten (see photo of the broccoli florets).

Having picked through the artisan bread, which was essentially day-old store-bought bread, our waiter cleared the appetizers and brought out a Scandinavian grill along with our meats. The meats were far from special. For instance, the roasted garlic chicken consisted of cubed chicken smothered in Mrs. Dash seasoning. The teriyaki chicken was nothing more than bare chicken breast sprinkled with a few sesame seeds. Cooking our chicken and beef tenderloins at our table took an incredibly long time due to the low heat. The taste of the cooked meats was underwhelming at best—we’ve had better meat at fast food restaurants.

After spending about an hour struggling to cook our meats on the extremely low heat of the Scandinavian Grill, we were hoping the dessert would redeem the restaurant. Unfortunately, we were proven wrong once again as we were presented with a tray of stale treats and goodies to dip into our chocolate fondue. After paying nearly $200 for the two of us, we left the restaurant and immediately noticed the disgusting smell clinging to our clothes and hair.

Upon arriving home, the putrid stench of the restaurant still clung to our belongings and hair. We had to separate the clothes and take showers to rid ourselves of the foul odor.

I cannot speak to what this place was like before the pandemic, but I can tell you that it is not worth your time, money, or energy. We were extremely disappointed to have chosen this revolting restaurant to celebrate our...

Started out great. The hostess and the bartenders were extremely nice and because it was so hot out they let us come in early and sit at the bar until our reservation... The server, Koy, started out ok. He gave us the whole spiel about what Fondue is and how it works. We ordered our drinks and cheese to get started, took awhile for the drinks cause he didn't bring them from the bar right away, I guess he was expecting someone else to do that part. Then after we started eating the cheese, he asked what salads we wanted, trying to force us into the four-course meal when we only wanted to do a cheese and chocolate. After that, his service dropped to almost nothing. He kept forgetting to bring things we asked and ordered to the table, i.e. extra dippers for the cheese, drinks we ordered, etc. He even had another person come to the table and try to take away our cheese and plates while we were still eating it! Our second round of drinks had to be brought by someone else, thankfully this person was much nicer. Then after we ordered the chocolate course, we asked for some apples, to which we got a disgusted look from the server, then we asked for some extra bananas, marshmallows and cookie dough balls, there were three of us eating and we wanted a little more to eat... They didn't come to the table until we were almost done. Nevermind the fact that Koy dropped the ticket off before we asked for it, while we were still waiting for some of the extra dippers to be brought to the table, and before we had even finished ordering. He tried more than 4 times to pick up the check after setting it down, and when we asked to order our after dinner coffee drinks, he got upset and said "then I guess I'll just take this and be back"... We finally got the drinks and another check, without asking, and it was not correct. He overcharged for the drinks and was upset when we pointed it out, like he thought we would not notice. Having spent over $200 here, he was rushing us to get out from the moment we said we didn't want to do the 4 course meal, and the service was HORRIBLE...I have been here before and not had this issue, because the reservation does not make you specify if you want the 4 course meal or just a single pot of fondue. I believe each table should be given the same service despite what they choose to order and eat. This was my birthday trip and it practically ruined the meal because we afelt rushed and unimportant to the server, like every other table was more important because we didn't do what the server wanted us to. Then when he grabbed the signed check from us, again while we were still trying to enjoy our after dinner drinks, he went around the corner and said quite loudly " wow, horrible tip", then walked back by to check the table for cash!!! I always make sure to tip a server well when they actually give good service. But if you want to rush me out because I didn't do what YOU wanted on MY birthday, and your service reflects that, the tip will reflect your service... I do love the restaurant but I will NEVER have this server again, I will be sure to request anyone other than him, or just sit at the bar, maybe even go someplace else if he is the only option... AGAIN, WORST SERVICE EVER AND RUINED MY...

If I could give this place negative stars, I absolutely would. First, the place was filled with REALLY REALLY stinky smoke from people cooking... well.. frying meat at their table. It got so bad that I asked the server if there was more ventilation and he promptly said no and seemed super bewildered why I would even ask (as if it was not clearly a problem)...This nasty smell permeated EVERYTHING... my clothes, my nice coat, my clean hair, my purse... everything I own that I was wearing STILL, two 2 days later, still wreaks of this nasty, dingy fried meat smell. I've never experienced anything like it. SO GROSS!!!! I'm going to have to pay at least $20 (maybe more) to have my expensive wool coat dry-cleaned. Next.. the server was.... wow... eccentric... but not in not a good way. On drugs maybe? Very erratic and seemed really perturbed by any questions or deviations from this memorized script he had prepared.. it was more like theatrics and a deluge of information about cooking times (yeah--- of the RAW MEAT) they bring to the table. I don't know why I assumed the meat would come out cooked and we'd just dip it in the cheese fondue. Nope. You have to cook your own meat here.. hence why the place was filled with the most disgusting smelling fried meat smoke ever. Last, I called ahead to ask if there were gluten free options and I was assured everything on the menu could be made GF and to just inform my server and they'd guide me. Refer back to the erratic script, the extremely fast and loud talking from the server.. and imagine how that went. Not good. He basically told me that making it GF would make the fondue gross, and not even be worth eating. I ended up deciding to only have a salad (and going to Salsa Limon after for tacos) while my friends had the fondue and meat. My friend also communicated to the server her DEATHLY allergic reactions to all nuts, especially peanuts. He said he understood, then had the audacity to PROUDLY deliver peanut sauce to the table and place it right in front of her.. when we all looked at him in outrage, he just moved it to the other side of the table as if it wasn't a big deal. I picked up the plate, handed it back and said, "Look, I don't think you understand food allergies. She will go into anaphylactic shock and DIE. We're talking emergency room visit immediately. Get the peanuts off the table and away from her!!!!" I considered asking for a manager and going off about how horrible the whole experience was, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. The place is just a complete classless disaster. My $9 wedge salad was a wedge about 3 inches long and 1 inch tall.. mediocre AT BEST... so overall.. they place smells disgusting, server was erratic and didn't give any care at all to serious food allergies, you have to cook your own meat (bring a timer otherwise risk eating raw chicken that could make you sick), and the overall food quality is sub-par. I told my friends... "I'd literally fight someone if they tried to force me back into that dump." Don't waste your time, money, or risk smelling like a piece of fried meat for the rest of your...