Seascape newcomer Dos Pescados joins rare local club: Ocean views and good food

Since it opened in June, Dos Pescados, a new Aptos restaurant from restaurateur Brandon Smittcamp and chef Trent Lidgey, has brought many changes to the former Palapas Restaurant y Cantina closed last spring, including new owners, a new menu and a new focus on seasonal ingredients and sustainable seafood. But one thing continues to be true: The restaurant that occupies the second story of one of the buildings in Seascape Village is still the place to grab a great plate of Mexican food, a brightly colored margarita and, if the bay is free of fog, a view of the ocean. 

But with Lidgey at the helm, Dos Pescados’ menu offers fresh, modern takes on Mexican seafood, with bright, unexpected flavors driven by the season. His approach is refined, but still highly approachable, with many dishes meant to be shared among guests, ideally with a few of those cocktails from the palm frond-covered bar. 

Despite being a coastal community, there are precious few restaurants in Santa Cruz County that can boast both ocean views and good food. In its first month open, Dos Pescados has quickly joined that very short list, as well as a growing number of seafood restaurants in the area that focus on seasonality and sustainability. 

Chiara Harleman, a bartender at the Lexington House in Los Gatos, helped Lidgey create the cocktail program. Harleman specializes in cool tiki drinks with tropical style, and helped craft drinks like the tangerine-colored mango margarita ($14) with passionfruit and a tangy Tajin rim, and the El Pepino ($13), a refreshing mix of blanco tequila, cucumber, fresh citrus and ginger beer. 

Lidgey also owns One Fish Raw Bar, a fine-dining seafood-focused restaurant in Campbell with a rotating menu. In a new partnership with Smittcamp, who owns several restaurants in and around Tracy, the duo aims to bring some of that elegance to Dos Pescados, with none of the fussiness. “We want people to feel comfortable when they’re walking in there with board shorts and a T-shirt. We want that aesthetic and the customer experience to be casual, but to be executed well,” Smittcamp told me in May. The vibe is to come as you are, especially if you still have sand clinging to your ankles after a day at Seascape Beach. 

Considering his specialties at One Fish, the nuanced flavors on Lidgey’s crudos and ceviches came as no surprise. Deep, roasted chili and bright lime juice wrapped around raw local halibut ceviche ($18), mingling with sharp red onion and cooling cucumber and avocado. On another crudo, rosy kampachi ($19) – also known as yellowtail or amberjack – lounged in a sweet-tart Peruvian leche de tigre sauce made with coconut milk and habañero. 

Little snacks like grilled street corn ($7), with a squirt of aioli and dusted with cotija, and a salad of local grilled stone fruit and tomatoes ($15) with edible flowers and microgreens, emphasized summer flavors. 

Over the past month, Lidgey has tweaked the menu based on customer feedback, the kitchen’s capabilities and his high standards. Since I was there, the Baja-style fish tacos ($16 for two), with tender homemade tortillas wrapped around marvelously crunchy fish, were upgraded with the addition of pickled mango, rather than pickled red onion. Although the al pastor fish collars I enjoyed are off the menu, replaced with al pastor grilled fish tacos ($16), I can report that the blackened, smoky cooking method plays nicely with firm-fleshed fish and juicy pineapple. 

In the past week, he has also added more takes on classic Mexican dishes, including quesabirria tacos ($14 for two), chicken flautas ($13) and a quesadilla with carne asada and poblano chilis ($18). 

Lidgey plans to continue to make menu changes until he feels it is perfect, he says. He hopes to find that sweet spot in the next month or so, after which time the menu will be more consistent, while still making seasonal changes in order to make use of the freshest local ingredients.  

“It’s super important that we get this right, from concept to execution,” says Lidgey. “We’ve tried five different salsas in the past month, and started frying chips in house because they’re way better. We really want to be part of the community, cook food that they like and offer warm hospitality.” 

21 Seascape Village, Aptos; dospescados.com; 831-662-9000.

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