The newest restaurant on the block: A review on The Seeker

BY HAELEY CARPENTER AND MACKENZIE JOHNSON

Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor

A new restaurant has taken residence on the South Loop in Stephenville, Texas. 

In affiliation and close proximity to the new Interstate Inn, The Seeker opened its doors to the public on Jan. 30, 2025, and customers have been steadily pouring in since. 

For the first week following the restaurant’s opening, a reservation was required in order to snag a table, and those reservations filled quickly. 

Much of this influx of business aligns with the excitement of a new Stephenville establishment, but also with the promise of innovative and modern cuisine brought to our plates. 

Chef Stephan Pyles, creator of The Seeker, is considered a culinary legend in the Dallas-Forth Worth area and wanted to carry that success over to a town with fewer occupants. 

Stephenville is a town Pyles thought his culinary style rooted in the Texas lifestyle would be appreciated in. 

If you like a swanky environment, you’ll more than likely enjoy dining at The Seeker based on the ambience alone. 

If you have simpler tastes, you may not. 

However, if you’re still on the fence about giving the stylish restaurant a try yourself, we took the liberty of trying it for you – dabbling in a starter, a masa dish, a large plate and a sweet ending.

One of us was raised on the outskirts of Austin with an extravagant taste and an expensive palette. The other went from tiny town Tennessee to tiny town Texas and wanted to try new things.

We thought that this would give two different opinions based on different perspectives on what we ate.

Texas Farmhouse Queso Fundido With Chorizo - 7

When the little cast iron came out full of ooey-gooey cheese with a little mountain of chorizo and salsa, it got our hopes up. While warm, the cheese and meat were delicious.

The flavors from the chorizo were great, but the queso had a smokey flavor from it being torched that was overwhelming.

The warm tortilla chips and soft masa tortillas were a nice touch, but there were not enough tortilla chips and we had to order more. By the time the extra chips got to the table, the cheese had cooled down to an almost rubbery texture.

Also, the portion size in general was very small, so be wary if you are sharing the appetizer with more than three people.

Forever Braised Boneless Short Rib - 6.5 

Originally for our large plate dish, we were eyeing the SP’s Honey-Fried Chicken that came with mashed potato tots and buttermilk biscuits. However, that menu item was temporarily unavailable, so we opted for the short rib, and it was a good alternative.

The short rib itself was juicy and tender, but it could have used a tick more seasoning and flavor to it.

Alongside the short rib, brussel sprouts and mac n cheese was included. 

The mac n cheese was just cooked noodles in the queso cheese from the appetizer so the same thing applies: Once it cools down, it wasn’t as good, and it had a rather intense smokiness.

The brussel sprouts, however, easily made up for the shortcomings in the rest of the dish.

They were crisp, well-flavored and fresh.

Marinated Grilled Salmon - 6

The salmon itself was very good. It was flaky and fresh tasting, but the portion size definitely could have been better. For $29, we were expecting twice what we got.

There was a coconut sauce that the salmon was served with, and it was good but not particularly memorable. The tortilla strips were almost distracting from the fish and were only there to make the plate seem fuller.

The dish was supposed to come with a black bean and banana mash, but the person who ordered the dish is allergic to bananas, so it was replaced with the brussel sprouts as well. 

BBQ Beef Short Rib Tacos - 7.5

Were the tacos great? Yes.

The meat was juicy, and the BBQ sauce was decadent. The star of the tacos were the pickled red onions. They had the crunch of the raw onion, and paired with the sweet vinegar, they were perfect.

As two people who have a personal vengeance against corn tortillas, we were very hesitant to order the tacos, but the tortillas were actually really good.

The only beef I had with these tacos, pun intended, was that there was not enough stuffing in them. There were multiple bites of just tortilla.

Also, the dish was just the tacos, no sides, so that was disappointing.

Pork Belly Huarache- 6

For the same price as the beef tacos, there was only one of the pork. A huarache is not a traditional taco. It is instead a rectangle of masa dough with the toppings stacked on top. It was creative for sure but hard to eat.

The huarache was sitting on an espresso maple sauce that made the whole eating experience sticky and the masa dough soggy, causing it to fall apart a bit.

Don't get us wrong, the flavors were great with the same tender juicy meat as the short rib dish paired with more pickled red onion and cilantro, but once again, the star was not the meat or the masa.

It also did not come with a side.

Warm Apple-Olive Oil Spice Cake - 7.5

Olive oil cakes are soft and moist: a simple tasting dessert. This cake was elevated because of the apple and spices.

It tasted like an apple spice muffin like you would get at a cafe with a cup of coffee. The vanilla bean ice cream was very, very good. It was almost better than the actual cake and we wish there was more of it..

The candied pecans on top was a surprise because they were not listed on the menu.

Similarly to the other dishes, the portion was small, only enough to split between two people.

The White Cadillac Cocktail - 9

In one word: dangerous.

This was the best thing that I ordered the whole night.

They do not have a drink menu listed online anywhere, and I do not remember what was in it other than tequila, but it almost reminded me of a gummy bear shot. 

It was a little expensive at $14 because it was a very small drink being served in a coupe glass, but nonetheless, really delicious.

Overall Experience - 6.5

Unfortunately, our first waitress got sick halfway through service and we were left sitting with our menus for 20 minutes. While that is not on the waitress who got sick, the restaurant did not recover from it well. We met two other waitresses and felt like we were fighting for their attention.

Our reservation was at 7:30 and we didn’t get out of there until 9:30, so it was definitely slow, but we weren’t necessarily in a hurry. 

We had to ask for our waters to be refilled, and when she brought the pitcher over, she only refilled one glass when the others needed to be refilled as well.

However, whenever directly asked to do something, our waitress was very accommodating.

Another major factor for bringing our rating of overall experience down was the price. It was $150 for three people, which felt excessive for what we got. 

We knew going into the dinner that it would be a bit more classier than where we typically dine, and we were aware that the bill would reflect that. Still, considering we’re college students and always looking for the most bang for our buck, it’s not a bill we’d be able to swing often when taking the portion sizes into account.

Nonetheless, there were some shining moments of the evening.

The ambient lighting and bougie decorations is not the usual Stephenville atmosphere, but it was nice to experience something upscale like that for our town. There is a dress code for business casual – which some diners thought was an option.

This is definitely a great place to have a nice date night, a business meeting or just get fancy drinks with friends.

Since The Seeker is newly opened, we do believe the mild kinks in relation to the service will work themselves out once the initial rush of the restaurant's opening starts to settle. 

The place has an undoubtedly neat vibe to it – a vibe Stephenville so desperately needs. 

Creator Stephan Pyles has done a spectacular job of capturing the energy of a downtown Forth Worth restaurant without actually having to commute to it.

And even though it may seem like we had more critical things to say, we had a great time and look forward to going back. 

It's always important to note restaurant reviews are completely subjective. 

If you perhaps have a more refined taste, The Seeker very well may be up your alley – and even if you don’t consider yourself to have a refined taste, you should certainly still indulge in it, for not very often is a piece of big city cuisine brought to our little corner of the world here in Stephenville.