A tropical oasis for fresh flavors on Glenwood South.

“It smells good as hell.” 

    I’d have to agree. My dear friend Maddie and I were facing the doors of The Cortez, a tropical oasis on Glenwood South that has a beautiful courtyard and rooftop hangout, but it was a bit cold for that kind of seating. We were headed inside to the warm green booths and vertical gardens.

    The smell was garlicky, and gosh did it make my stomach growl. I was ready to dig in. 

     Spoiler alert: This was not my first trip to The Cortez, not even my second. This is very much a place I am familiar with and incredibly fond of. So I knew going in that this review would likely be a glowing one, but nothing could have prepared me for what Maddie and I were about to experience.

    We sat and got busy right away. First order of business: cocktails. This was my first trip getting to try out the drinks, and they didn’t disappoint in the slightest. Each specialty cocktail is incredibly unique, spanning from a warm cider option that was spiced with cardamom and orange (the perfect starter after bracing the cold,) to “The Sex and Money” a margarita-esque drink that delivered on tropical flavors like passionfruit, while managing to not be crazy sweet with the inclusion of salty bitters. Bonus points for the Luxardo cherry that was in there, the superior cherry brand for cocktails (and no, that’s not at all sponsored.)

Our waiter, who was incredibly personable and excited to serve us, came by as Maddie and I loaded up on raw oysters and bread with weed butter (no, not that kind of weed. Get your mind out the gutter,) to start our feast. It’s a sort of tradition where we try one of each raw oyster option to determine our favorite, and then decide if we want more. We were eying the “Fancy Pants” preparation, which I will get into in a moment, and wanted the best oysters for it. One thing I love about The Cortez is that they almost always get oysters from NC- I rarely will see a listing that hails outside the state which is really nice from a freshness perspective. The selections, while only containing three oyster types, had one for every kind of oyster fan. This visit we had the Core Sounders, my personal favorites, which were very creamy and sweet, the Traps Bay which were briny and a little earthy, and the Stump Sound which was probably the saltiest, and had hints of garlic. All were great, but we selected our favorites and ordered two each, done the snazzy way.

Here’s the gist: your favorite oyster, topped with buttermilk, then chives, and finally some caviar. I have always been somewhat skeptical of caviar, why so expensive? And for so little? Will I even taste it? This seemed like a prime place for an intro though, as it was just an added $1.75 to the oyster price, not an $80 caviar service. It was something I could stomach, and if I wasn’t impressed, no harm!

Well here I am kicking myself, because caviar is delightfully salty and perfect and the buttermilk was tart and so nice on top of that oyster and now I have fallen into the trap that is caviar. My only saving grace is it really isn’t common, so I won’t have to sweat being tempted, but I really cannot dispute it- caviar, especially on this oyster, is an incredible treat that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. It will most certainly be ordered on my next visit. Sorry!

After the oysters, we split three of the smaller plates- the snapper collars, mussels and picadillo, and the gambas al ajillo. The gambas are a mainstay on this rotating menu, which keeps with what’s in season so that you will always get the freshest seafoods and produce, with everything else being new territory. The gambas are done in this beautiful garlic and lemon broth that you will find yourself sopping up with bread long after the shrimp are gone. It is easily the star of the show every visit and the dish I recommend the most. The mussels were a nice treat in a super unique broth that was part meaty and part salsa verde almost. Compared to your traditional broths that get paired with mussels, this was an absolute flavor explosion, and truly unlike any broth I had ever had. Finally, the dark-horse. Red snapper is likely my favorite fish, and so when I saw the collars were being served grilled, I was intruiged. For those who do not know (like myself, as I googled in the restaurant,) a collar is the part right behind the head of the fish, which is typically scrapped, but contains some of the sweetest meat on the fish. You can get it at your fish monger’s stand usually for a really great price, and it truly does have some good meat on there. Enough with the history lesson though, let me tell you about this delight. With a cilantro and basil sauce as well as what seemed like a chile oil, this was such a bright and refreshing dish that quite literally made me stop in my tracks. I hadn’t expected to love this dish that much. It was such a great addition to the meal which was heavy on garlicky flavors (intentionally, because I love garlic,) as it immediately lightened the palette. This is a must-try dish, seriously.

I’ve waxed poetic about this spot long enough, you can probably tell exactly how this food review ends. Maddie and I sat back triumphantly after our meal, feeling full, but not grossly stuffed (my favorite kind of full.) The Cortez once again solidified its spot as my favorite restaurant in Raleigh. Innovative, resourceful, sustainable, and fresh, there is nothing like what Chef Oscar Diaz is doing here. Be on the lookout for him by the way, I have a feeling he’s going to be a big name around town at this rate. Come for a celebration, special occasion, what have you, and come hungry. This is a spot you simply won’t want to miss.