Right on the water with lots of room and shade. We ordered blackened shrimp with hush puppies and cheese grits. This was very good. A fried Mahi sandwich with sweet potato fries and a couple beers made for a good lunch.

Following a bad experience with the hostess at Swordfish Grill after a 35-minute wait, we were not in a good mood when we walked next door to Cortez Kitchen. But we had a great time, thanks to the friendly waitress Shannon and some amazing seafood. One of the specials was grilled red shrimp, which Shannon said are from Argentina. Although we like to support locally caught seafood whenever possible, we ordered the red shrimp as an appetizer and they were so tasty I ordered them as my main course too. The main course comes with two sides ($21.99; I can’t remember appetizer price). Served with melted butter, they taste like mini-lobsters. The Steamer Pot of shrimp, scallops, clams, grouper, broccoli, and celery ($21.99) and steamed clams ($11.99) were delicious. We love the hole-in-the-wall atmosphere in a covered outdoor setting. It reminds me of what makes Anna Maria Island special. Thanks to the staff at Cortez Kitchen for rescuing our disastrous evening and making it special.

I should know better than to order beef at a seafood restaurant but it was the daily special, sounded good and the server suggested avoiding fried oysters—my favorite—at this time of year. Ugh! The meat slice was so thin it couldn’t possibly be medium rare so why did they ask? Full of fat. Certainly overpriced. Very disappointingl

We ate at the Cortez Kitchen on Monday evening. They had a good band playing, who were very good.
Enjoyed the food and music.

Great atmosphere. So close to fish docks the fish are practically jumping into the skillet or on the grill. Great "real Florida" seafood. I would enthusiastically recommend this restaurant "joint" to friends and family!