A Sneak Peek of Dos Mares ― Opening Tuesday, November 18

Rodrigo Cardenas Garza serves as head chef and culinary director of both Don Artemio and the new Dos Mares. He tells Fort Worth Digital Diary that following this week’s soft-open training, Dos Mares will finally open to the public on Tuesday, November 18. It’s a welcome follow-up to Don Artemio’s authenticity, which is right next door.

Fort Worth fell in love with the unique fine dining Mexican restaurant Don Artemio when it opened in 2022. Don Artemio was a finalist for the 2023 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. Juan Ramon Cardenas opened the first one in Saltillo, Mexico.

So, when word of a sister restaurant, Dos Mares, began floating around many months ago, all eyes turned to the Seventh Street site. Some locals were beginning to get hangry. But the restaurant has been taking its time to get the feel and menu just right before opening this Mexican coastal dream.

Rodrigo and his father, Juan Ramon Cardenas, traveled to many coastal regions in Mexico while conceiving the opening menu at Dos Mares. He says they worked with a “gastronomic researcher and learned traditional recipes and methods from local cooks.”

“There are 17 coastal states in Mexico; our current menu does not cover all of them,” Rodrigo Cardenas says. “I have a hundred recipes ready to play, but we are starting with between 32 to 37 for now. Our menu will change seasonally.”

There is plenty more to explore. “We have another trip in the coming year, to continue learning traditional coastal recipes from locals,” he says.

A Peek at the Authentic Mexican Vibe

You enter Dos Mares through an (almost hidden) door clad in turquoise blue Mexican tiles. It blends into the entire wall of tile that surrounds it. You’ll find that door just to the right of Don Artemio’s main entrance. The hand-knotted grasscloth-covered vestibule serves as a transition space. The beat of the music gets your attention as well as its ceiling ―  with seaweed and shells washing overhead.

Once inside, the same shimmery square tiles wrap the walls. They blend with tropical greenery and medium-toned woods. Banquets and chairs are clad in woven seagrass. The floors are concrete, and wooden ceiling trusses add interest above. See-through cinder block walls, inset with crusader crosses, back the hostess stand, and are featured in other areas. Most lighting is spot and globe pendant style.

An angular bar is found towards the back and to your left. It’s draped in dramatic blue-green quartz and backed by hand-painted aquatic elements of octopus and fish.  The open kitchen at the back has a bar top for added seating as well, styled in the same quartz.

Like Don Artemio’s interior, Dos Mares is meant to showcase Mexican textiles and tiles.

Diving Into The Menu at Dos Mares

A curated wine list is accessed by QR code. A few signature drinks are listed, but they have a full bar and plenty of top-shelf tequilas (and even a few Mexican sakes to sample). We enjoyed the simple house margarita with very little sweetness and plenty of fresh lime juice.

The Ostras selection includes oysters on the half shell as well as lightly broiled creations. Crudos of shrimp or scallop are served three ways ― with a bright aguachille verde sauce, one bringing the heat with red onion, cucumber, and chile serrano, or one with caviar and cactus lime sorbet.

There are three types of ceviche to choose from. We nibbled the Ceviche Negro with Texas striped seabass tossed in an ash garlic aioli, served with a crispy tostada painted with avocado mousse.

I would also highly suggest the Tostada de Atún. A tostada is fanned with fresh slices of high-grade yellowtail tuna, marinated in an anchovy sauce, and topped with avocado, fried leek shavings, and microgreens. It was to die for. As was the Taco Governador, filled with tender shrimp in an achiote sauce, and wrapped in fresh blue corn tortilla (available as a single or three to an order).

Fun For Seafood Lovers and Landlubbers Alike

If your family and friends are not all in the mood for seafood, no worries. At Dos Mares, they have options like a Sinaloa Cornish hen, a skirt steak, and a charcoal-grilled Porterhouse, plus a very pretty herb butter-crusted rack of lamb. We’ll be back for that on our next visit. But, we came for the Mexican coastal cuisine and we weren’t leaving without some.

The De Los Mares section has octopus, a Veracruz-style (traditional tomato, olive, and bell pepper sauce) catch of the day, and a red snapper. The Langostina Tikin Xic is grilled and presented atop its shell. Just so it’s not lost in translation, this is not langostino; it is tender lobster tail. Flavored with Yucatecan achiote adobo, it’s served with aioli, not drawn butter. The Pescado a La Cordobesa is a Chilean sea bass served in creamy chipotle sauce with a side of cauliflower cheese puree. These are seafood dishes you can’t find elsewhere.

A friend directed me to the Flan Casero de 30 Horas. Yes, a 30-hour prep time for this flan, and you can taste it.  It serves four people, so be aware of the generous portion. It’s one of the silkiest, most ideal flans you’ll ever encounter. And, similar to Don Artemio’s famous deconstructed Tres Leches, Dos Mares has its own deconstructed dessert ― Pay de Limon, a riff on Key lime pie. We’ll be back for that too.

Soon to Come at Dos Mares

Just as Don Artemio is known for its dry aging of steaks, Dos Mares will soon begin dry aging fish for new menu items, Chef Rodrigo Cardenas says. There will be seasonal plates and specials, too.

They plan to launch an unexpected and new tableside cocktail program. When you think of Mexican cuisine, tequila and mezcal are top of mind. But, Dos Mares will launch a tableside botanical gin tonic. It’s popular in Spain and will allow guests to customize their drink with a variety of botanical ingredients in a tea infuser. Interesting.

“We will introduce a reduced menu at lunch as well as an omakase-style collection of five tacos.” That allows the chef to serve what’s freshest and get creative with an ever-changing selection of his choice.

Finally, Dos Mares will host a live tuna-cutting each week, like they did at last spring’s Fort Worth Food & Wine Festival. It will take place either Tuesday or Wednesday, stay tuned. They’ll have a live DJ each Thursday, he says, and plan to serve brunch on Saturday.