The Cortez family already has a Michelin recommendation. Two of them, back to back, in 2024 and 2025, for a taqueria on East Rosedale that does one thing and does it as well as anywhere in Texas. Now they’re opening a second restaurant, and if the first one is any indication of how they operate, Fort Worth should pay close attention.
Mariscos Cortez will open this summer at 1151 Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway — a short walk from Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez at 2108 E. Rosedale, across the street on the opposite side of the Valero. The space is a former Huddle House that the family has been renovating, painting the interior a marina-style aqua blue that signals exactly what’s coming. The menu will be tight — ten items or fewer, same philosophy as the birria operation — focused entirely on coastal Mexican seafood.
The story behind it starts with Rogelio Cortez Sr., who has cooked seafood his whole life. When the family launched Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez in 2021, it was Patricia Cortez — Mama Cortez — whose birria recipe became the foundation of everything. But Papa Cortez has his own specialty, and Mariscos is where it finally gets its own room. The early tease from the family’s social media is ceviche tostadas, fresh made-to-order offerings, and a seafood bar experience built around the same commitment to freshness and flavor that earned the taqueria its Michelin nods…