One type of restaurant east Wichita is short on is Mexican seafood. When it comes to these restaurants, many of them are found in the north and south parts of town. So welcome El Capitan Seafood & Grill, who recently opened at 410 N. Hillside.
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410 N Hillside St., Wichita, KS 67214
316-339-9113
Monday – Thursday: 10am- 10pm
Friday – Sunday: 10am – 11pm
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My lunch at El Capitan started with some complimentary chips and salsa. This was a great start, the salsa, which wasn’t thick and hard to scoop, was still tasty with a mild amount of heat.
I couldn’t decide what I wanted from the appetizers and my server recommend that I get the bomba which was a sampler of their appetizers. This included the shrimp ceviche, fish ceviche, crab, cooked shrimp, octopus, scallops and aguachile shrimp, dipped in black sauce and garnish with avocado, onion, tomato, and cucumber.
It may not look like much at first glance, but this was a lot of food. It was a mountain of seafood that tasted fresh. My only issue with this dish was that there was an overload of the black sauce, which was like some balsamic vinegar. At times, the sauce overpowered the flavors of the seafood.
And because I love seafood and felt it necessary to order more of it, I went with the ceviche tropical as my main entree. This was shrimp marinated in lime juice and a mango flavored sauce, with cucumber, cilantro, red onion and chopped mango.
I love ceviche in its most basic form, and strayed away from that to try a different take on it. The tropical version was loaded with a mango flavored sauce that I’m not sure complemented the dish as well as I hoped for. I think had I ordered a regular ceviche, I would have enjoyed it more.
The quality of the food was certainly there, but I think the overutilization of sauces in my dishes took away from it all. El Capitan has a large menu, and perhaps on my first visit, I should have ordered different entrees.
Keep in mind, seafood isn’t a cheap meal. Be prepared to spend some money if you go. A majority of their dishes ranged between $17-$25. My appetizer was $20.99 and the ceviche dish was $24.99 which made for a $50 lunch for one person. Then again, I doubt most people would go by themselves and order what I ordered on a solo visit. This is definitely a place to go in groups.
As for the service, it had its ups and downs. I went a week after they opened, so most issues I’d probably chalk it up to opening month jitters. Since I love seafood, I do intend to return sooner than later and hopefully will have others with me so I can get a bigger glimpse of what they offer.
Here’s the menu:
Happy Dining,
Eddy
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