We have been going to the kitchen going back several years and the food had always been great. As everyone knows the kitchen had closed for a while to update and do some remodeling. The ambiance was a little nicer once they did reopen with more seating and and nicer bar area. Just the other night at 5:30 they were packed but did get a table, it is open seating. The kitchen did have a band playing which was nice. The service was spot on and didn't have to wait more than a couple minutes for our drink order to be taken. Now for the food , it's 50-50 in which in the past it was never that way everything used to be fantastic. This time around we had a situation. We started off with the Royal red shrimp and clam chowder this was excellent. With our main meal being the grouper special and fried soft shell crab sandwich. The grouper came out way over cooked and dry, to the point it was sent back. The crab sandwich was okay but has been better here, it was really small with little flavor. The server when he looked at the grouper couldn't believe they sent it to the table he could even see it was dried out, apologized and offered to get her a new portion. My wife just got another order of the Royal Reds. The server did remove the grouper dinner from the bill before the bill came to table and again apologized. All in all we had a nice night good beer, shrimp clam chowder and Band. We will go back on a nice night. read more

Cortez Kitchen has a cool atmosphere. Very laid back and casual. The food was good. Got chicken tenders, seafood platter and cheese sticks. All pretty good. Would recommend for seafood. read more

Cortez Kitchen - Outside seating - Seafood Near Me - Cortez, Florida

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Just didn't knock my socks off. Prices are sky high and the food was ok. Service was good, ambiance was good too. But value for food not worth it. read more

Fresh fish and seafood. Excellent value for the money! Husband had the fish and chips while I had the shrimp basket! Delicious!!! read more

Cortez Kitchen - Fresh fish and seafood for a reasonable price! Highly recommended! - Seafood Near Me - Cortez, Florida

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Beware! Food Poisoning!We stopped in for a late lunch and to see the remodel. The service was good. A very attentive waiter. I ordered a Lobster Roll as I do if it is on a menu. Being a local I have tried many at various restaurants. This arrived on a buttered roll but also with the lobster tossed in Mayo. Typically, it's one or other not both. The lobster tasted soggy as had been soaked in water. I remarked to my husband and thought maybe it was a warm water lobster. Not sure what the menu stated. The point of this review is I suffered severe food poisoning that night. I did contact the restaurant to receive a canned response. Ten days later my initial contact I did receive a call from I guess the manager. I felt 10 days was more than fair before I wrote this review. read more

Great food and friendly staff.The royal red shrimp was very good and good prices. Will definitely be back.

Halfway decent food. If you are looking for ambience, this is not the place. Live music was decent, tons of flies. Terrible service. Cindy and some other girl were ignoring everyone and several people walked out. The drinks are served in plastic cups like you're at a picnic. Not exactly what you would call a cocktail. Don't waste your money. Stay away from that entire area. read more

Cortez Kitchen - A cocktail? I even asked for top shelf. - Seafood Near Me - Cortez, Florida

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Great outdoor restaurant/bar on the waterfront where casual is not only the norm but highly recommended. Menu is seafood based but there are other items such as prime rib, burgers, and chicken. We visited restaurant for lunch and had a blackened Reuben grouper sandwich, a soft shell crab sandwich, sweet potato fries, cole slaw and finished it off with delicious key lime pie!! Great staff. Easy parking read more

Cortez Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Cortez, Florida

Excellent Blackened Grouper Sandwich well done Fries! Cold Beer ! Great old Florida vibe ! Locals eat here ! Yum ! Excellent service too ! read more

Cortez Kitchen - Blackened Grouper Basket ! Huge Filet ! - Seafood Near Me - Cortez, Florida

All good things to say about Cortez Kitchen!! Food was amazing! I had fish tacos and Brussels !! Excellent service and great atmosphere!!

Wow! This place is so very awesome! Everyone we visit my husbands relatives in Bradenton, when they ask me where we want to eat we always say Cortez Kitchen! This place is right on the water. You're surrounded by fishing boats. I love Grouper. I have had grouper at many places in Florida from Ft Myers Beach to Cortez. Hands down Cortez Kitchen makes the most delicious grouper anywhere. I prefer it blackened but all the ways of preparing it are perfect. They also gave excellent peel and eat shrimp! Tons of yummy fresh seafood here! They have a variety of other menu items as well. They also have very good live entertainment on the weekends. Such an awesome place. Make sure to check them out if your around the Sarasota Anna Maria Island Bradenton area. This place is worth the trip! read more

Cortez Kitchen - This is the entrance to Cortez Kitchen. - Seafood Near Me - Cortez, Florida

We had a great meal - Sesame Brussels Sprouts app, grouper sandwiches & a lobster roll. Nice little laidback place on the way home from the beach. Such nice wait staff! It's right next to bigger, fancier place that had a long wait. We were happy we opted for Cortez Kitchen, will go back! read more

Always has great seafood available. Atmosphere is pleasant, plenty of beer and drinks served. read more

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Went during height of spring break but we got an outdoor spot right away. Our server was very nice and efficient. It appeared the restaurant was under staffed. I ordered the blackened grouper. It was my first time trying this fish. It was delicious but expensive. The place is pet friendly and my dog was provided water. I really enjoyed the location and watching the pelicans waddle around inside the warehouse next door. A Sandhill crane was also trotting around. All n all a good spot for food, friendly service and great bird watching. If I am in the area again I would return here. read more

Cortez Kitchen - Pixel waiting for food - Seafood Near Me - Cortez, Florida

Such a disappointment. We have been Cortez Kitchen fans since '95. Love the physical changes, but the menu changes are horrible. NO BROCCOLI? CK has the best broccoli on the planet. The key lime pie used to be "second to none" and now it's a puny little cupcake. It's not a pie. The biggest disappointment were the Royal Reds. None served warm, and they were TINY. I'd pay the higher price, for bigger ones, IF that's the reason for serving smaller ones. I know change is inevitable, but my patronage isn't. CK has always been our FIRST stop for a meal when we arrive at AMI, and it was a weekly stop in March and April. I don't think that will be true next year, and I don't think we'll be returning this year. read more

This little place is a mainstay in my family. It is always friendly with some of the best seafood around. The favorites in our house are grilled shimp, grilled grouper, blackened mahi, and the peel and eat shrimp. We have had more off the menu, but those are the items we go back for over and over. When you are looking for an 'old florida' setting with genuine people and killer fresh seafood, this is the place you want to be. read more

Was very disappointed in the quality of the food. Had read good reviews but after eating there the food is mediocre at best. When we started to place our order our server advised they were out of coleslaw, potato salad, sweet potato fries and hush puppies. This was at 4 in the afternoon. That was over half there side items. Very small portions of the grouper for the price charged (a lot smaller than other restaurants in the area) Our server was very good did not have a mask on but we were sitting in a outside covered area as they do not have a closed in dinning area. We came we tried it out probably will not return read more

Fantastic Place to enjoy a nice meal and listen to great music! My wife and I are regulars Would love to see The Mike Merola Trio There with bassist Joe Bruno that would be absolutely super! read more

The reviews on Cortez Kitchen seem to be all over the place. Some call it a dive bar and while it kind of appears that way, the menu is expansive and experimental. The prices also aren't very dive bar-ish, but they are pretty normal for the area. If you want something new, the Buffalo Grouper Sandwich is something I never knew I needed. I passed up the Reuben for that and was not disappointed. While I like trying new things, I'll probably have to get that again on my next visit. Most of the offerings are fried fish and such (we had gator tail and hushpuppies), but they also have sushi, which I did not try. I visited on a colder night so didn't get the true vibe, but it's an open-air spot in the bay, so not sure how people can complain about that. read more

Of coarse in our backyard, great location and food is awesome, the Old town fishing village is truly special a definite recommendation for travelers !!!!! read more

Terrible blackened grouper sandwich. One would think one could get a fresh fish sandwich in a fishing village. That is certainly what I thought. Especially at the height of spring break when turnover is at an all time high. Boy would you be wrong. I did not care that the sandwich was small or that it cost $18.00. What I cared about was the fact that the fish was not fresh. The side order of fries were not even salted. read more

Absolutely the worst experience EVER in a restaurant. We have two service dogs "I'm a diabetic" we were told they weren't allow to enter. We were harassed by every employee in the place it was over the top! Not only were they rude beyond belief they heckled us as we left. It was seriously the must troubling service I've ever experienced. It felt like a scene out of a very bad truck stop movie. It was humiliating and ridiculous. Whoever owns this dump need to get their facts straight and treat disabled customers with respect, shame on you! Do yourself a favor and go next door, they were great and the food was awesome!!!! read more

We were going to another place and my son said let's go here instead. What a wonderful choice the ish was fresh and well prepared. And there was a great band jamming away . read more

We haven't been here for a while & today we had the best food here ever. We came at 3 pm, no wait for food as good as any in Cortez. I especially loved the oyster basket, was pleasantly surprised it was every bit as good as my usual favorite place! read more

Worst experience ever. The server was very rude. We will never be back, in fact we left after 20 minutes of being totally ignored, never even served drinks. read more

This place sucks. Unless you are a regular, they won't wait on you. After 30 min of no service, we decided to leave. My dad wasn't too happy and asked the waitress "what the deal was?". She ignored us and left. After that we left, but not before some dude, who must have been trying to get with the waitress, got in my dad's face. To top it off, the cops about the same time showed up for something near by. You can't make this up. It was the highlight of the vacation. 5/5 for entertainment 0/5 for service. Will never know about the food. read more

Cortez Kitchen - Photo of the coast guard helicopter zeroing in after we left from across the waterway. - Seafood Near Me - Cortez, Florida

When planning our date night while staying in AMI, I decided on Cortez Kitchen for the seafood, not the atmosphere. Thankfully Yelp did not lead us astray. We'd had an appetizer and cocktail while watching the sunset elsewhere, so we didn't get to CK until well after dark. We almost walked to the pricier restaurant next door, since the entrance has a back door vibe. We chose our seats, and were promptly attended by our friendly server. It's not the longest menu, but it's got good variety. Only Bud Light on draft, but plenty of other beers in bottles. I started with the spider roll since I'm a sucker for softshell crab and J got the clam chowder. The portions were generous. The crab in the spider roll was a little dry and over cooked. The clam chowder was good, though not terribly memorable. For our dinners, I got the grouper dinner (grilled) with hush puppies and fried okra. It wasn't bad, but nothing really stood out. I suggest getting the grouper blackened or fried next time. J took the advice of the server and got the blackened scallops with broccoli (veggie du jour) and cheese grits. He considered mac and cheese until the server said that it's just Kraft. This plate of food was divine. The scallops were nicely cooked, the cheese grits were the perfect consistency and ratio, and the broccoli was nicely cooked and seasoned to be tasty and add interest (and healthiness points) to the rest of the platter. Sadly we didn't save room for dessert. When we return, we'll split the blackened scallops and save room for the key lime pie! read more

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Fast service. Food came out quickly. The beer was fresh and cold. Classic local dive vibe. Friendly waitstaff.

Eric's music is awesome!! Great entertainment!! Good & service were good as well will be back.

Great food and strong drinks help make a restaurant, along with great service. I was here on a not busy Saturday lunch and the server was a little slow. We waited a solid 5 minutes before our drink order wa taken and another 5 or 10 before our meal order was taken. After I rejected the offer of a second Blue Hawaiian, (I would have liked water) she sailed away to not be heard from until lunch was done and we needed a check. The food was delicious, I had buffalo grouper, it was a sizable piece of fish and super fresh and delicious. While the service wasn't great, this meal did not disappoint. We'll likely be back, it's a cute place with good food on the water. read more

Cortez Kitchen - Hubby looking out over the water. - Seafood Near Me - Cortez, Florida

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Nice place to go for a drink and some apps! It isn't very fancy so don't worry about dressing up. The tables are right by the water with a great view. We got some drinks and ... - A pound of the peel and eat shrimp: tasted great and were a good size. - Hush puppies : pretty good! They came alone with no dressing- so if you want something to dip them in make sure you ask. - Mild wings: surprisingly good! These even passed the taste test from my brother that lives in Buffalo NY (where Buffalo wings were founded) read more

Cortez Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Cortez, Florida

When you come to the restaurant, it is a self seating place so seat yourself wherever there is a table available. The waitress immediately noticed us and gave us a menu right away even though the place was really packed ! Great and fast service! The food was just amazing as the service! I got the red royal shrimp special for the day with sweet potato fries and mac m cheese ! I love the freshness and sweetness of the shrimp. Pairing it with the decadent mac n cheese was such a great combo. The clams were also delicious! We also ordered a brownie sundae and it definitely hits the sweet spot and cravings! Definitely would come back again! read more

Cortez Kitchen - Red royal shrimp with a side of Mac n cheese and sweet potato fries - Seafood Near Me - Cortez, Florida

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If you have service dogs, you do not want to go here. Both my husband and I are diabetics and each have a diabetic alert dog. These dogs have traveled the world with us and are very well trained. Never ever ever have we been treated so rudely and with so little empathy. Upon being seated we let our server know our situation. We were rudely asked all the questions by law are not allowed and even after answering their questions and providing proof positive that they were as we stated, we were treated so badly that we decided to leave. We actually had meant to go the restaurant next door called Swordfish Grill...which BTW we were treated with the utmost respect and enjoyed our time at the bar with Susie.... but back to Cortez, as we left their establishment we were heckled and screamed at. Rest assured we are reporting this incident. read more

My wife and I stopped for lunch and found this place a big disappointment. She had red royal shrimp which were not peeled and not deveined. I chose the buffalo grouper which was over fried and very dry. I ordered it with bleu cheese and I got tarter sauce. I couldn't even eat it. Needless to say, we won't be going back. There are a lot of other great places in the area. Don't expect too much if you go to this restaurant. read more

I didn't sample much, but I had the fried grouper sandwich and it was pretty good! It came with a healthy sized filet which had pretty good flavoring/spices in the breading. The tartar sauce was decent too; not the worst, but not the best. I'd come back if I'm ever in the area to try more. read more

The best royal red shrimp and cheeseburgers in town. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. All made to order and all so tasty!! We will continue to come here for years to come. read more

Fresh off the boat seafood! Local joint just off the bridge from Anna Maria island to Bradenton that's tucked away off the beaten path. Mainly a locals place as it was 10 steps from the Cortez fish and bait co dock (Cortez fish and bait co just moved 2 docks down this year) I've never had a bad meal here and only gave 4 (well deserving of a 4.5) stars as the beer menu is lack luster, mainly the big 3 and their light versions. I met the hubby there and found myself welcomed with a pound of peel and eat shrimp. Plump, crisp to bite and deveined they were a perfect start to a casual lunch. Eyes bigger than our head and enjoying the views, we opted to share the grouper platter. Blackened with hush puppies and okra wasn't our healthiest choice but oh my god! The huge portion of perfectly cooked fish accompanied by thinly cornmeal battered crunchy (not mushy or slimy) okra and onion and scallion filled hushpuppies were filling yet not at all greasy. We lingered longer (those views) and I opted for the "salty mule" to sip on. Titos and fresh grapefruit with a salt rim. Simple, tart and refreshing compared to the usually over sweet margaritas. We idled and watch the fishing and private charters dick, unload and prep their daily catch. Island music lulled in the background as I worked on my tan and took it all in. read more

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Very interesting place. Picnic tables above the water in the open space. You order food, you pay and waitress brings you food in a nice box. The food is very fresh and tasty. There is a fish shop next to it. I recommend this place. A great place. read more

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I had my family in town and told them this would be a great restaurant to go together. More authentic and not a chain, you know, to help the local economy. Big mistake. HUGE. Apparently we were not supposed to open the umbrella at our table? There was no sign or anyway to know this but an angry man told us "you should have F*CKING known". Very confused and somewhat apologetically at first, I asked if there was a sign we had missed and he held up the bungee cord and said "ya, here's your f*cking sign"....In front of my three year old and conservative family he had zero issues dropping F bombs but he's apparently too lazy to just remove the umbrellas. He's obviously more concerned about the free Bud Light umbrellas than the coue hundred dollars from a party of 9. Stupidity. read more

Great seafood, pleasant atmosphere. Live music most weekends. On the water. They serve most beers and drinks. By the fishing station in Cortez village. read more

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