1 of 4
Farena
2 of 4
Farena
3 of 4
Farena
4 of 4
Farena
In terms of the number of restaurants, and the breadth and variety of those restaurants, Arlington’s food scene is in a class of its own. Some might even argue that Arlington’s restaurant community bests that of Fort Worth’s. How many good Indian restaurants are there in FW? One, maybe two? Arlington has a dozen.
But for all the great global cuisine the city has to offer, Arlington has struggled in one specific culinary art where Fort Worth flourishes: fine dining. Only a handful of fine dining eateries exist in Arlington — a couple steakhouses, the excellent Cafe Americana, Cut & Bourbon, and Restaurant 506. For a city the size of Arlington — nearly 395,000 and counting — that’s a little embarrassing.
Newly opened Farena is a step in the right direction. Lavish in design, and with top-notch service and food, the in-house restaurant for the new $550-million Lowes Arlington Hotel offers the type of high-end dining experience that the city has long needed.
The focal point of the restaurant’s menu is housemade pasta — a trend currently enveloping Fort Worth. From the linguine de mare, outfitted with red prawns, mussels and clams, to the short rib ravioli to the simple cacio e pepe, all pastas are made fresh daily. Diners can watch the process, thanks to a pasta-making station housed in the middle of the dining room.
“The idea is to bring true Italian cuisine to Arlington,” says Carl Rogers, the hotel’s director of food and beverage. “We didn’t want to do an Italian restaurant where we just throw a bunch of box noodles into a pot of hot water. If you’re from Italy, we want you to feel like you’re dining at home.”
In preparation for the opening of Farena, executive chef Mouhssine “Moose” Benhamacht traveled to Italy for several days, taking in the pasta-making techniques utilized by Italian cooks and chefs.
“Most Italian restaurants Americanize everything,” Rogers says. “We didn’t want to do that. We want to stay as far away from that as possible. We want everything to be authentic, down to the cheeses we use.”
There’s also an emphasis on pizza, made in twin 900-degree, wood-fired stone ovens. Flavors include classic margherita, spicy sausage, and zucchini. Other menu highlights include crispy squash blossoms, tuna carpaccio with fried capers and pine nuts, a rotating steak option, and a vibrant arugula and apple salad.
“We want to make sure that we cater to everyone,” Rogers says. “We are a hotel, so we have to keep in mind that not everyone is going to want Italian. That’s why we have a steak option and some excellent seafood dishes. We are an Italian restaurant, but we’re good at other things, too.”
888 Nolan Ryan Expressway, farenarestaurant.com
