Press gathered on Wednesday night to preview the unprecedented Dos Mares omakase dinner where the nori is traded for butter tortillas and the soy sauce is traded for salsas.
While omakase is traditionally a chef driven, Japanese style, multi-course meal, the word simply means, “I’ll leave it up to you.”
And guests will leave it up to chef Rodrigo Cárdenas to do exactly that in the seven-course taco omakase experience at Dos Mares.
We are talking 15-day cured No. 1 grade tuna, dry-aged Rosewood striploin, tempura lobster and copious amounts of caviar. The menu will be offered twice a week on a 10-seat reservation only basis.
Dos Mares began their taco omakase with the oyster amuse-bouche on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026 in Fort Worth. Ella Gonzales egonzales@star-telegram.com
Cárdenas and his father, chef Juan Ramón Cárdenas, opened Dos Mares seafood restaurant in November 2025 after sea bass and salmon dishes at their steakhouse, Don Artemio, were deemed very popular.
Don Artemio was not just the first. U.S. restaurant for the Cárdenases, but was also the first Fort Worth restaurant to make the James Beard Award national finals. And Dos Mares was instantly regarded as one of the city’s top fine dining restaurants.
Crudo de hamachi at Dos Mares taco omakase preview on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026 in Fort Worth had fresh yellowtail finished with a basil and parsley oil. Ella Gonzales egonzales@star-telegram.com What to expect from a taco omakase experience
Taco omakase combines authentic coastal Mexican cuisine with chef Rodrigo Cárdenas creativity. Just like the traditional omakase setting where guests watch each piece prepared in front of them, guests sit along a counter that directly faces the kitchen while the chef presents each course.
The Cárdenas plan to offer a slightly different menu every few weeks. But for a glimpse into what the experience may hold, this is what was served at the press preview.
The omakase began with an amuse-bouche of a salty grilled oyster with even more salty Siberian caviar. Shortly after, a hamachi crudo was served in a puddle of coconut-mango marinade and drizzled with basil oil.
The tostada de atun features a in house 15-day cured piece of tuna which was served at a preview of the Dos Mares taco omakase on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026 in Fort Worth. Ella Gonzales egonzales@star-telegram.com
Attendees were already saying the third course was their best bite. We weren’t even halfway through. But the 15-day cured tuna atop a house made tostada with avocado and crispy leek may have been my favorite bite too.
Then came the first taco. This was a white corn tortilla with black beans, garlic rice, adobo soaked and grilled red snapper, avocado crème fraîche, and, yes, more caviar.
The tortilla shined. It is a house made nixtamalized white corn tortilla, meaning the tortilla was made using the 3,000-year-old practice of soaking, cooking and washing corn before grinding it into masa dough to cook into tortillas. Don Artemio does this process in house daily.
Dos Mares Gaonera de Texas Rosewood dry aged striploin was served with a homemade butter flour tortilla on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026 in Fort Worth. Ella Gonzales egonzales@star-telegram.com
Next was the striploin taco with a cheese crusted homemade butter flour tortilla, caramelized onions and an avocado sauce. After this, a frozen dragon fruit and mint sorbet was served as a palate cleanser.
The final taco was beer-tempura fried lobster in a butter flour tortilla with black beans and bright pineapple pico, shaved cabbage slaw and topped with salmon roe caviar. No one complained about the amount of caviar.
And though you may not think you have room for dessert, you could finish this devilish delight in one bite. It was called the “Escondido de Chocolate” which means hidden chocolate. Under a scoop of whipped cream concealed a velvety chocolate cake with berry coulis.
The final taco in Dos Mares taco omakase experience was the Rosarito taco with beer tempura lobster and salmon roe on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026 in Fort Worth. Ella Gonzales egonzales@star-telegram.com
🍽️🍷 More news from Ella Gonzales:
The taco omakase experience will run each guest $99 (not including tax and gratuity). A wine pairing with glasses of white, red and sparkling is an additional $45.
Guests can book the experience on Dos Mares Resy page now. The first taco omakase dinner will be on Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. and will repeat only on Wednesday for the first two weeks, and then also on Thursdays starting Oct. 1.
Dos Mares is at 3260 W. Seventh St., next door to the Cardenas’ other restaurant Don Artemio.
This story was originally published September 10, 2026 at 3:03 PM.
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Ella Gonzales is a service journalism reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She is part of a team of local journalists who answer reader questions and write about life in North Texas. Ella mainly writes about local restaurants and where to find good deals around town.