While it seems Dallas’ prestige as a dining destination grows by the year, our city isn’t exactly known for its abundance of fresh seafood restaurants.
Which is why Jose Ornelas saw a wide open market when he took over his parents’ restaurant, El Gordo, in 2019.
The West Dallas eatery had been a Mexican restaurant for 14 years, but Ornelas decided to tap into some menu favorites — such as ceviche and shrimp cocktail — and expand into a full-fledged seafood spot that specializes in traditional Mexican-style seafood.
Earlier this year, Ornelas opened El Gordo’s second location on West Davis Street. The store is cozy, with a small dining room and a large patio overlooking the Bishop Arts District serving as the “main attraction.”
For many seafood eaters, ensuring fish and shellfish are fresh is a primary concern. According to Ornelas, the restaurant’s intimate setting is evidence that customers will receive a plate of seafood as fresh from the gulf as possible.
“Everything we buy is bought every other day or every day. We don’t have a big space, so there isn’t back stock,” Ornelas says.
Eddy Giron is the kitchen manager at El Gordo Seafood, and he joined the team around the time Ornelas began reconceptualizing the menu. Giron says on top of the restaurant’s staple dishes of cajun pasta and ceviche, the prepared oysters are a standout dish on the menu.
The prepared oysters are bought fresh and shucked in house before they are topped with ceviche, cucumber pico de gallo and avocado. Each oyster combines the salty freshness of the seafood with bright summer vegetables for a flavor combination difficult to turn down.
Another crowd favorite, the seafood boil, is served in heaping piles of shrimp, crab legs, sausage, potatoes and corn, and is drenched in a garlic-based sauce that can be ordered at varying levels of spiciness, Giron says.
“Our seafood boil sauce is what sticks out the most and is what a lot of people come here for,” Giron says. “A lot of people say our flavor is something they’ve never had anywhere else.”
The restaurant also boasts a small bar that serves crowd-favorite cocktails and beers.
Ornelas says the Paloma is one of the most popular drinks, and is served in a traditional cantarito cup. The cup is commonly given out by vendors at the San Luis state fair, where Ornelas’ family is from, he says.
It’s a subtle nod to the family tradition Ornelas feels El Gordo is rooted in.
When searching for a neighborhood for the new El Gordo location, Ornelas says he saw Bishop Arts as a perfect spot because of its family-friendly and small business-centric nature.
“We wanted to be in a food hub. In Bishop Arts, many of the restaurants are family owned and have been here a long time,” Ornelas says. “We wanted to find a new location but keep an emphasis on family-owned restaurants.”
Ornelas says his daughter works as a server at the restaurant, and his son works there as well. His sister occasionally helps out behind the bar.
“I do want to build this out to where I can pass it on to my kids,” Ornelas says.
A third generation of El Gordo owners in the Ornelas family.
