July 2, 2024 – The fireworks will start early this year.
Dos Pescados opens quietly Wednesday, July 3, with a partial menu that represents an explosion of flavorful plates—snapper ceviche with aji amarillo, leche de tigre kampachi and smoked beef enchiladas among them.
Tacos—of Mexican heritage with a coastal Californian zing—will also star. Options include mahi mahi tacos with chipotle aioli and mango salsa, carnitas hard shell tacos with sour orange salsa, and summer squash tacos with salsa matcha on blue-corn tortillas.
Bigger plates like flank steak with mole and fajita-style vegetables and whole-roasted rockfish with corn salsa unfold from there, served with cilantro lime rice and Dos Pescados black beans.
Trent Lidgey’s travels south of the border, and his experience at top seafood spots on multiple continents. (Photo: Albert Law)
The complete menu comes into play, along with a fuller staff, on July 10. Guests would do well to keep in mind Wednesday represents a soft opening designed to get the team up to speed, so managed expectations are advisable.
The food is flanked by a celebratory cocktail lineup featuring curated—and lesser-known—tequilas and mezcals.
Some eye-catchers include a Mangonada Margarita with hot honey, the El Pepino take on a tequila mule, the Siesta with hibiscus-infused vodka and fresh raspberries, and the Polanco, a Manhattan-inspired cocktail named for the swank barrio in Mexico City.
There’s also what a news release describes as “a modest but effective” selection of draft beers and wines by the glass.
And that all settles into a landmark location in the former Palapas Restaurant & Cantina in Aptos, with much of the staff staying on. The welcoming space remains similarly consistent, though an ambitious remodel led by L.A.-based Studio UNLTD is scheduled for the slow season this winter.
The new spot represents a collaboration from two restaurant lifers with a boatload of experience.
Restaurateur-partner Brandon Smittcamp arrives from Fresno, where he’s known for spots like The Lime Lite, Heirloom, and Butterfish, which carry different themes food-wise but all prioritize a buzzy atmosphere, which Smittcamp hopes will be a strength for Dos too.
“We want the restaurant to be a community spot, where people feel comfortable to come in off the beach, take in the view and enjoy some incredible tacos with a pitcher of margaritas,” he says.
The biggest element to recommend Dos Pescados, however, is One Fish.
Chef-partner Trent Lidgey comes down Highway 17 from Campbell, where he’s chef-owner of One Fish Raw Bar.
The menu there bursts with raw options like caviar, oysters, razor clams, Hokkaido scallops and an 11-course tasting menu.
His resume also includes Michelin-starred seafood destinations Atelier Crenn in San Francisco and Brae in Birregurra, Australia.
His Aptos endeavor represents a departure in offerings and overall atmosphere—the Palapas space is a sizable one—but his gift for flavors and freshness will go boom here too.
Which represents a holiday for seafood lovers.
Dos Pescados will be open 11am-9pm Wednesday through Sunday, and until 10pm Friday-Saturday, at 21 Seascape Village in Aptos. More at dospescados.com.
About the author
Mark C. Anderson, Edible Monterey Bay's managing editor, appears on "Friday Found Treasures" via KRML 94.7 every week, a little after 12pm noon. Reach him via mark@ediblemontereybay.com.
