Cloudship

I have an overnight at DFW - I will likely be staying in Grapevine. I have not yet decided if I am renting a car or not, but this might be the deciding factor.

Any good dining options in the area? Other than Asian. Personally I prefer hole in the wall places, but I will splurge a little bit - but nothing I would need to dress up more than non-camouflage cargo pants and a polo for. I get in around 3:30-4:00 so if there are no other options I could hang around there, but would prefer to get out a little.

thedoorchick

LOTS of great options in Grapevine. One of the best DFW suburbs for dining in my (admittedly biased) opinion.

Holes in the wall/very casual:
Italian - Amore's or Cafe Italia, both off Northwest Highway on the north side of town.
Tex-Mex - my fave hole in the wall is Baja Mex Grill, on William D. Tate. Also Esparza's near Main Street is a fun location (in an old house) although IMO their food is not as good as Baja. Both have great, strong margaritas.
Burgers - Peace Burger next to Baja, or Jake's Burgers on Main Street.
Seafood - Big Fish, leans Cajun for the most part. Fun and casual
Barbecue - Meat U Anywhere, on Northwest Highway. Best in town IMO. Really nice folks too.
Pizza - Wise Guys pizzeria, on Park. Good craft beers. We also have Fireside Pies and Grimaldi's, both of which are chains, but still very good.
Breakfast (if that's applicable) - Old West Cafe. OMG the almond crusted french toast!

A little nicer, nothing fancy or dressy:
Farina's on Main Street, used to be a winery, mostly an Italian flair
Mi Dia - New Mex-Mex, great margaritas and street tacos
Winewood - this is the nicest of this category, call themselves "new American." Most entrees in $15-$20 range. Nice and mellow atmosphere.

In general, Main Street is the place to be. Historic old buildings, some restaurants, bars and retail. Grapevine has several wineries and most of them are in this area. Also Grapevine Craft Brewery is in that area and just opened last summer (they have no kitchen, but usually food trucks outside).

There are tons of great locally owned restaurants in Grapevine. You'll see chains along the highway (Olive Garden, Chili's, etc.) - Don't bother with them!

Any other questions please ask. I've lived here 14 years.

ETA: I just saw on FB that Amore's was struck by lightning in last night's storms and has some fire damage. They'll be closed for a few weeks, I would guess.