Crystal Wise
King Tut founder Amin Mahmoud
A Near Southside eatery popular for its healthy take on Egyptian/Mediterranean-style cuisine will be moving soon. King Tut Restaurant, which was one of the first businesses to reside on what is now labeled the Near Southside, will be moving to the Hemphill Crossing shopping center at 508 W. Rosedale on July 31. This move, along with this eatery’s new address and move-in date can be seen emblazoned on a sign in the front window of the restaurant where it currently resides at 1512 Magnolia Avenue.
Originally opened in 1992 by founder Amin Mahmoud, King Tut became popular by offering up simple Egyptian-style dishes, like its excellent chicken shawarma. And no kidding, word of this style of cooking took off making King Tut one of the Near Southside’s most beloved dining spots, long before there was a Near Southside. Even A-list Hollywood actor Harrison Ford has frequented this popular eatery giving it a certain iconic status among the locals.
According to our food writer Malcolm Mayhew, King Tut’s scratch-made Egyptian food, is a slight variation on Mediterranean cuisine. The primary difference between the styles of food are the spices used, founder Mahmoud says.
Not long after this restaurant opened, on what was a dilapidated side of Fort Worth, King Tut became so popular with the locals it expanded next door to what was the punk rock club Mad Hatters. This hallowed music venue was host to such bands as Unwound, Boss Hog, The Offspring, and The Toadies to name a few.
“My daughter was three months old when we opened,” Mahmoud says. “I remember how hard it was, having a family, running a restaurant, being a parent — it was a tough life. But it was what we wanted to do, and now we have so much to be thankful for. God has truly blessed us.”
Crystal Wise
After expanding King Tut’s footprint, Mahmoud and his family focused primarily on the menu, which besides offering its popular chicken shawarma, consists of many other foodie favorites. One such menu item is King Tut’s moussaka, which is a thick stew combined with ground sirloin and onions, your choice of zucchini, okra, or eggplant, all cooked inside of a tomato sauce. There are also plenty of vegetarian options like falafel, made to order balls of chickpeas, fava beans, onions, leeks, parsley, and cilantro.
“The restaurant’s take on pizza is an underrated gem,” Mayhew writes. “Made with thick naan bread, the 7-inch pies come in four varieties: beef, veggie, shrimp and chicken, each topped with mozzarella and a special sauce.”
This style of food has also placed King Tut at the number one spot out of the top three Fort Worth-area Mediterranean restaurants on Yelp.com. King Tut was also an Editor’s Pick in Fort Worth Magazine’s Best Of Mediterranean Food category in 2023.
With this move already planned to take place, there is still no verification as why Mahmoud and his crew are moving. Bud Kennedy, food columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, offered the notion that rent in the city’s medical district could’ve gone up. This could explain the reason for the move, but nothing has been verified.
“I have people who come up to me and say, ‘I used to go to Mad Hatters when I was a kid, and I’d eat here all the time,’” Mahmoud said in our Best Of article. “And they’ll say, ‘I moved away for awhile but could always remember how good your food tasted,’ and that just makes me feel so good, so wanted. That’s why we keep doing this.”
