By Natalie Lozano Trimble
Photography by Thanin Viriyaki
Juan Ramón Cárdenas laughs when he says he was born in a restaurant. He and his family own Dos Mares, a seafood-centric concept in Fort Worth’s Cultural District that opened in November. He was born in Saltillo, Mexico, nine years after his father opened a restaurant that’s still owned and operated by his family.
Rodrigo Cárdenas, his son, is Dos Mares’ Culinary Director, and it was his idea to lean into Mexico’s varied coastal cuisines.
Their knowledge of Dallas-Fort Worth’s infrastructure — they opened Don Artemio next door in 2022 — gave them confidence that using fresh seafood would be possible, Juan Ramón says.
Juan Ramón has been making seafood dishes for his restaurants and their catering company for more than 25 years, Rodrigo says. The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth invited Juan Ramón to cook for wine pairings in 2013 and 2016, and the menus are still available on the museum’s website, including octopus, ceviche and tuna.
The name Dos Mares translates to “two seas” and refers to the Atlantic and Pacific, but, as Juan Ramón says they also have a third sea: the Caribbean. Langosta (lobster) Tikin Xic is a Yucatan Peninsula specialty on the menu.
A Veracruz dish, La Reina del Comal, starts with a large, thick corn tortilla and is topped with black beans, shrimp, and queso fresco. “You can eat it like a big taco or with a fork and knife,” Rodrigo says.
But plenty of the recipes are their own takes or combinations, like the Tuétanos con Atún: roasted bone marrow with seared tuna, served with corn tortillas, a pineapple pico and an avocado mousse.
An open-fire technique, pescado zarandeado, is found all along the Pacific coast, but the fish and flavors vary from state to state. On the Dos Mares menu, the style is used for Red Snapper.
“I am very proud that we can showcase [this] Texan, great fish in this dish that is very Mexican,” Juan Ramón says.
In addition to seafood, you’ll find a porterhouse, prime skirt and a rack of lamb, dishes not available at Don Artemio. “We’re in Texas, and we love to showcase good steaks,” Rodrigo says.
Everything is made in-house. “Our moles take more than 10 to 12 hours to make,” Rodrigo says.
The corn is ground daily for fresh masa for the tortillas, and the dessert offerings include a 30-hour flan.
They offer five ceviches, including a cauliflower-based vegetarian option, and the decor and music are meant to evoke a cevicheria, a stand that sells the citrus-cured seafood dish. “So we can transport the guests,” Rodrigo says, “so they can feel like they are in Mexico in Texas.”
The chairs and woven palapa forming a roof above the kitchen were made in Michoacan. Bright blue tiles on the exterior and throughout the interior were handmade in Saltillo, and Juan Ramón’s daughter, Gaby Cárdenas, hand-painted the marine life on the wall behind the bar.
This spring, Dos Mares will begin hosting tuna cuttings where guests can watch and taste as chefs cut into a Bluefin Tuna, with drink pairings prepared by the in-house mixologist.
Reservations are required for these experiences via Resy.
Dos Mares is open Tuesday through Thursday 11–9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11–10 p.m., and Sunday 10–8 p.m.
Find the recipe for Dos Mares’ Ceviche Vallarta here.