First time last night. Bartenders were excellent, especially Rachel. Super cordial and courteous. My personal fave was the Old Fashioned w/Maker's. The meal was outstanding!! We had swordfish, lobster tostadas, shrimp, brussel sprouts and cerviche. Soooo good! We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and we will definitely be back! Yum!!!!
Finally Raleigh has a seafood restaurant to rave about! Absolutely blown away with every single thing we ordered (and it was just about the whole menu)! Amazing staff and an amazing Chef! Thanks Oscar and staff!
Great service, great food, great drinks and great value. Everything you can ask for. The oyster happy hour is great and the crispy salmon entree was amazing. Will visit again next time I am in Raleigh
Excellent ambiance, service, food and drinks- Charlie and team carefully curated every detail of the space, down to the unique wallpaper, wood paneled ceiling and foliage- I will surely be a regular to the lush downtown spot!
The atmosphere & food here are great! Cortez is my husband and my favorite date night spot. We love the cocktails and the seafood dishes (the shrimp dish, Gambas Al Ajillo, is our favorite)
Dollar oysters, best ceviche in town, great cocktails, Oscar knows exactly what hes doing as a chef and executes flawlessly with his vision. Cool vibe with good music. Cary is also a great barkeep from Wisconsin.
Super excited Cortez brought local seafood deliciousness to Glenwood South! The dishes were amazing! This will be a new hot spot, and I highly recommend.
The food was amazing and the service was on point! Chefs really went the extra mile with these creations!
Everything was awesome! The coconut filled with scallops ceviche in coconut milk was out of this world! The oysters and seared scallops that I had were the best I have had! Presentation was a plus as well as the friendly service. A must stop if you find yourself in the Downtown Raleigh area feeling hungry!
There wasn't one thing I didn't enjoy about my experience at The Cortez. The attention to detail was incredible. The design is gorgeous, the food and drinks were some of the best I've had in Raleigh and the service was exceptional (thanks Jenery!). I highly recommended trying it out if you haven't yet. I can't wait to go back for more! Way to set the Raleigh Restaurant bar high, y'all!
Amazing! My husband and I went last week. We didn't have a reservation, but they made room for us. Had oysters and the warm potato salad. So yummy! Our server was exceptional! He brought us a complimentary creme brulee because we were concerned he'd lose his next table because we overstayed. Can't wait to go back and try more menu items!
Everything was awesome!!! Great service, food, drinks and atmosphere!! Definitely deserved the 5 stars. A visitor that recommends this spot to the locals.
Absolutely outstanding food and service, a wonderful place to gather with friends and share plates. Food is balanced and well thought out. I loved it!
Love this place. Incredible oyster dishes, cocktails, vibe, service. Will be back very soon and often!
We had an amazing time from the beginning. Our server was Nick and he was amazing the entire time. We ordered the gumbo shrimp, charred Pulpo, NC potatoes, and charbroiled oysters! Everything was delicious we devoured it. This is a place where you want to go for a quality food experience over quantity. My mother and I were celebrating her birthday and they were so kind and gifted us a churro dessert topped with ice cream with this delicious caramel salted sauce, and two candles to top it off. They also gave us champagne. We brought cheesecake to celebrate and they went above and beyond to put candles on it too! We love the food. We love the staff that we left the atmosphere highly recommend this place and make sure you make a reservation. Definitely worth it! We will be back for sure! Also, we had the watermelon Sugar cocktail, I loved how it was not too sweet and it was such a nice blend. Very refreshing!
Hands down our favorite happy hour date spot in Raleigh.
Do yourself a favor: Go at 5pm on a Friday, sit at the bar, order an oyster shooter and whatever cocktail you wish (they're all amazing), split oysters & the burger, and DO NOT skip dessert. If there's a seasonal cake/ice cream, order it. Otherwise, the churros and the tres leches are both amazing. Repeat monthly!
It was a warm and pleasant Friday evening. We wanted to get an early dinner and sit outside. In came the Cortezzzzz. Upon entry we were greeted by a friendly hostess, they sat us outside.
They had a small menu which made it easy to narrow down our selection. We ordered some cocktails to start, which were every delicious. They appear to have a rotating drink menu.
We ordered Brussels sprouts(which are a bit pricy.. $14). And a whole fried sea bass.
Both very good, next time I want to try the burger which is rated one of the best in Raleigh.
Cortez was the first restaurant I went to in Raleigh. I was visiting from out of town pre-Vid and friends recommended it. I loved it. Fantastic craft cocktails delicious food, perfect for sharing, friendly staff, and a wonderful aesthetic. When I moved to Raleigh in 22 we bought our house partly because we could walk to Cortez from our house. I’ve been back several times since moving to Raleigh and it’s still a great restaurant and place to grab a drink. They have streamlined the menu a bit over this last year but the food is still great just fewer choices. If the swordfish is on the menu it’s my favorite dish here. Just amazing. The burger is so much better than it should be at a seafood restaurant. It’s not my favorite burger in Raleigh but it’s on my list of favorites, that said I would bathe in their secret sauce if I could get enough of it. And the churros are a great way to finish if you want something sweet.
If you want a romantic night with great service and amazing food… THIS IS YOUR PLACE! 100% recommend. We definitely coming back. The portion of the food and the taste of it was really good.
Great dinner date night with my hubby.
Food and service was perfect. The tres leches cake was 🤌🏾
Had a great experience at Cortez! Menu is a bit limited so make sure to check before you go if you’re a picky eater. Our food and drinks were reaaaally good. I liked the decor inside and personally love their music playlist haha. The service was great too so overall a wonderful experience. They get very busy during the weekend so make sure to reserve ahead of time.
A must go restaurant if you are in Raleigh
I have been visiting this place since 2019 and the Gambas al Ajillo is the best hands down
We also tried the Grilled hanger steak and it was very juicy and flavorful
It was missing the extra element of Bok choy in that disk
There are good options of draft beer ,cocktail and wine
Definitely a must go place next time in town
Had a dinner date here. There is parking available in the alley next to it and you can find it by looking at the cat mural. The food was really really good and the flavors were balanced (eg, the charred octopus goes so well with the fresh greens and the beans served together). The cocktails were really were complex and tasty without packing a very high amount of alcohol. The swordfish and the mash went well together as well! My only minor complaint is because of the open kitchen design it gets smoky and the ambient noise is a bit high. Other than that, a lovely place for food and drinks which are creative and delicious!
I took my mom here for the first time and she thought it was BOMB.
Made a rezi through open table, I guess I clicked bar seating.. not really sure what happened. Anyways they sat us at the bar and we asked if there was anyway to sit at a regular table. The hostess ended up moving some tables around for us and was able to accommodate us.
We ordered a bunch to share and everything was awesome! Will definitely be going back again to try the whole fish!
Went there during ‘Happy hour’ …the happy hour special is &1 off oysters so I ordered two of each available. The oysters were good but they had a little bit of grit in them l. The way in which they put the horseradish in the same dish as the cocktail sauce was annoying. It was on the side wall. They should’ve put it in a separate dish. I ordered the sword with mash that was just OK. It was plated nicely but basic flavors. I honestly think this restaurant is a bit overpriced. The service was good.
I’ve been to this place twice and both times it has been amazing! The ambiance is hip and chill, a very nice place for a date night or just to have a night out with friends. The menu is small which keeps everything fresh and delicious. The drinks are amazing!!! They always change their menu so they keep it interesting. Definitely recommend this place! Tonight for appetizers we ordered the octopus which was to die for and the oyster’s along with an oyster shooter. For the main entree we got the swordfish and mash which was sooo flavorful, couldn’t have asked for a better entree. Of course we had to order dessert to end the night with a high note and those churros were so crispy and the pumpkin ice cream just took it to another level. Can’t wait to go back and try all the other things they have to offer.
We were seated at 8pm, the service was very good and the menu and the food were excellent. The music was very good and just the right volume. We had oysters and mussels. Delicious! Definitely want to go back!
Fantastic bartenders helped our group explore the menu. The food was phenomenal. Get the gambas and soak up all the delicious infused oil. Next time I'll have to try the oysters!
This was my first time eating here and it was one of the best dining experiences I've had in Raleigh. All the food was absolutely delicious, the staff were very friendly and the environment/ambiance was on point. A must try for all my seafood lovers out there. Will definitely be going back!
This place is off the chain great food and great atmosphere. Set up a reservation on open table and come eat. Scope the menu before you come and find what you like and you will love it.
This gem takes Latin flavors and marries them to seafood and creates an elevated experience like no other. From the “weed” butter right to the caramel coated Churro doughnut, your taste buds will thank you for introducing you to Cortez. You’d never guess it but they also have one of the best burgers you’ll have in Raleigh. But don’t take my word for it, go see for yourself. They’re also known to mix some unique and whimsical drinks. If you’re in downtown Raleigh put them in your list of places to eat. It’s one of my top 10!
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