Exclusive Details About Meraki ― Chef Tim Love’s New Mediterranean Destination

Fort Worth’s pickleball haven, Courtside Kitchen, is changing more than just its menu. Chef Tim Love will debut a new concept, Meraki, as well as its completely redesigned space. In an exclusive interview with Fort Worth Digital Diary, Love serves up all the details about his new Mediterranean restaurant ― Meraki. He says it will open on Tuesday, March 17.

The original concept is repositioning to Courtside Pickleball. So, you’ll still be able to enjoy the trendy sport with your friends on its open-air courts. But the restaurant and bar are now an entirely new concept.

Meraki will be a rare find in Fort Worth, as most of the city’s Mediterranean food comes in buffet form. This is destination dining, along the lines of his other local offerings ― where Love’s goal is not only to feed you but to transport you.

Fresh off the completion of his sold-out Fort Worth Music Festival (which was the fourth annual and largest edition ever), Chef Tim Love spoke exclusively with Fort Worth Digital Diary. Here are all the details about the upcoming opening of Meraki.

A Finer Dining Mediterranean Experience

For his latest restaurant concept, Chef Love is returning to a very familiar space. He used his catering and event expertise to host parties and weddings at the former Mopac Event Center, which was located in the same space at 1615 Rogers Road. But, after COVID killed events for a time, the space was transformed into Courtside Kitchen.

The pickleball part of the equation was doing well at Courtside, Love says, but the restaurant needed a reboot. Since the Mediterranean diet is hailed as one of the healthiest in the world, and the area surrounding it is seriously lacking in the cuisine, it was a natural fit.

Love tells us, “Mediterranean matches the pickleball, wellness vibe. The menu at Meraki leans heavily Greek.”

He is partnering with the building’s owners, Gus Bates Jr., Kyle Poulson, Jared Shope, Gantt Bumstead and Ricky Stuart, as well as the owner of Courtside Pickleball, which is Matt Johnson. Meraki will be the newest concept (No. 15, by my count) for his Love Management.

Be Transported to a Sea-Swept Fantasy at Meraki

The entry has been completely changed, Love says. The main bar is now positioned up front on the upper level. “You walk down to enter the main dining room, where what was the back bar is now used for baking fresh pita bread and plating cold dishes.”

All the interior brick has been whitewashed, he says, with cobalt blue accents and terra cotta flooring. The space has been dramatically greened up as well, with some 250 new live plants creating a veritable oasis. “It’s a beautiful setting,” he says.

“Two of the pickleball courts are now being utilized as a garden,” says Love. “We’re growing about 30-percent of our produce on site.” A similar produce garden is a prominent feature on the grounds at his Gemelle Italian and Hotel Otto as well.

The wine program, too, will lean heavily Grecian at Meraki. And, cocktails will feature Mediterranean-sourced spirits and traditional flavors, including kumquats, which he says are a big player in the region.

Where Courtside Kitchen was a casual affair, almost an aside to the pickleball, the level of service will amp up at Meraki, where the restaurant will be the star of the show. Love says he has planned some tableside service experiences as well, including tableside pasta dishes and plating salt-crusted fish right before your eyes.

On the Menu at Meraki

From the looks of it, Chef Love had some fun concepting Meraki’s menu. A selection of housemade spreads will be served with fresh pita bread or you can add a vegetable crudité to your order. They include a black garlic hummus, a muhammara with eggplant, roasted peppers and Texas pecans, and a whipped goat cheese with fennel and fig preserve.

Snacks include crispy phyllo Borek with smoked braised goat and green tomato esme (think Greek pico). Meraki’s falafel gets a Texas twist with sweet corn, roasted Anaheim chile and tahini, as does the Saganaki ― Halloumi cheese prepared with a botanical Greek spirit known as Metaxa and a touch of chile honey. The pecan smoked lamb rib will be grape molasses glazed.

Three raw fish preparations include sea bream flavored with bergamot, scallops served with labneh, and a dramatic Hamachi with pomegranate white balsamic, pistachio and shaved kumquat.

“We’ll offer a group tasting menu, which I’m excited about,” he says. This gives groups a chance to nibble and share their way through the menu. It’s a communal dining style that is so prevalent in the Greek culture.

Likewise, Love plans to dish up a Sunday Supper soon. The three-course tasting menu will be $49 at lunch, served from noon to 5 pm. And he is targeting just under $100 for its six-course dinner equivalent.

More Mediterranean is on the way to Rogers Road, when Meraki opens Tuesday, March 17. Check Meraki’s new social page for all the latest.