El Siete Mares

Food was delicious… Large portions enough for 2 people. I will be coming back soon…

I’ve had El Siete Mares on my bookmark list for a while. I’m sad that it has taken me this long to visit.
I made an OpenTable rezo for six on a Saturday night at 8 PM, and was surprised (as a white guy) at the the volume of customers streaming into the restaurant at that hour. I was reminded of my days in countries other than the US that «late night» family dinners are the norm.
We had a gracious welcome into the dining room and were seated promptly. Complimentary chips and salsa are served immediately, along with a request for drink orders, Our server did not flinch when we ordered 5 waters and an iced tea.
We ordered a very generous portion of traditional ceviche served with avocado slices, red onions, cucumbers and tostadas. Octopus and shrimp selections were tender and well seasoned.
We ordered fish veracruzano, fish with mushrooms, fajitas de res (dude does not eat fish), the fish soup and a whole fried red snapper.
The red snapper was very good. It could have been taken out of the fryer two minutes earlier, but it was still a worthy serving. All of the other tilapia dishes were super. Full fish flavor in copious broth in both fillet and soup offerings.
I didn’t try the fajitas, but my guest said they were good, although I didn’t think they were appetizing from a visual perspective.
I was very happy with everything served. This is a humble restaurant with a history. It’s not Bliss or Sandbar level of perfection, but it is supremely competent in what it does: affordable and flavorful south of the border seafood options.
The whole fried redfish and the fish soup were standouts. The tilapia veracruzano was very good, with lots of tomato broth for a sopping of corn tortillas.
Although our server and I didn’t share a common language, we both got by with our shared understanding of our disparate languages. She was gracious and attentive who deserved a 25% propina.
Spanish is the primary language of both patrons and wait staff, but don’t let that deter you from a visit if you are nominally white. The food is well above J Anthony’s/Laguna Madre/Rudy’s (south side fish house) and is on par with Pappadeaux, albeit way less fancy. Get here. Open Table reservations accepted.
You won’t be disappointed.

Was in San Antonio from CA. Food was great and as always I ordered too much! Patricia also provided excellent service!

We made a reservation on Open Table December 30^th at this place and it confirmed it and everything. But we show up today (31^st) and they are closed. This put a major bump in our evening plans :(. Please make sure you are aware of who’s saying you are taking reservations or update your holiday closing schedules.

New drinks are interesting and tasty. Salsa was spot on for flavor and heat. Service was good, he came by at appropiate times. The aguachile was ceviche style shrimp (not really my bag for texture) My shrimp diablo was way over salted. I will be back to try their other dishes.

My go to place on the west side. Never disappoints and everything is fresh. Great prices for fresh seafood and large portions.

Les recomiendo el cóctel Capi hecho y inventado por el chef Luis. La verdad que es único!!!

They have the best Huachinango Zarandeado! and the soup that they serve before your meal is amazing good.

Excellent food. Seriously excellent! If you first language is English but you happen to know some basic Spanish, you’re all set. Otherwise, you’ll navigate the easily read menu and point, like an uncultured middle class white guy like me. Will be back when in the area.

My mother brought me here for my birthday after finding it on Unilocal.Beautiful ambiance, family friendly, reasonable service for a busy Saturday night. Very good prices too– got a tasty ceviche and a whole grilled tilapia plate for $ 25. The owner, Alex, was very attentive to us and welcoming, keeping an eye on the floor to keep things going smoothly. They have been in business for 20 years and its clear the reasons why– good people fresh food and an eclectic space. Was a lovely and authentic birthday dinner. Plan on going back often.

Went with the whole family tonight. Had tons of great appetizers and exotic mixed drinks that were colorful and delicious. Service and atmosphere were outstanding, and the Camerones envueltos en Tocino were out of this world. Well worth coming into town for, we come every time we pass through San Antonio.

I’m so glad I chose this restaurant via Unilocal’s pictures; as my boyfriend was pretty skeptical of it being a Mexican restaurant we both didn’t wanna receive horrible service since we both speak full English and the last restaurant that was authentic Mexican gave us a bad taste. The staff here is fully Americanized Mexicans and speak English. They were friendly and made us feel comfortable here.
Though, the exterior of this restaurant lacks. The inside is quite nice and homey. We sat in the back of the restaurant as when we came in, the young boy and the guy allowed us to sit in a area that wasn’t allowed. The lady who seemed like the manager told us we couldn’t sit there. So we moved to the back. I’m glad we sat in the back because the windows in the front were very dirty.
The menu is very huge and has lots of items on the menu. a bit overwhelming. It is written in Spanish and explained in English. We settled for the combo items with a plate of fries, salad, and rice with our meal. It was $ 12.
Our waitress brought out complimentary garlic soup, chips, and salsa. All was delicious! The soup was hot, but with the serving of chips and saltine crackers it made the taste of the soup increase.
The fish fillets were fresh and didn’t taste frozen. The fries were delicious. The rice was my favorite, along with the queso quesadilla. The shrimps were yummy; though the fried oysters were OK. The salad was yummy too. I asked for mustard for dipping and they didn’t have any; so instead I asked for cocktail sauce and it was watery, not thick base. It was as they may have ran out of cocktail sauce, so they probably added water to the bottle and shook up it to mix in all the sauce and poured in it a plastic bowl. It wasn’t good.
If you ask for a lemonade, it is made fresh with squeezed lemons, sugar, and water. Nothing from those artificial mixtures, Country Made nasty lemonade, or Minute Maid… here it is done the right way.
The prices are affordable and well worth it. If you are a visitor of the city of SA, do come here and you won’t be sorry.

Poor service waited on food 45 min waitress never come to check on us got tired of waiting so I ordered my food to go really bad service

Don’t be put off by the looks on the outside of this great restaurant. We did almost turn around and go somewhere else, but I’m so glad we didn’t. Very fresh and delicious seafood and fun atmosphere. Service was slightly slow, but it was pretty busy. Overall, great experience.

At 7 Mares you can expect nothing but great things. Their food was delicious and the service was fantastic as well. We ordered 6 plates and everyone was happy with what they ordered. The portions were pretty generous and the food tasted fresh. My favorite was the tostadas. 7 Mares is the perfect Mexican style sea food in San Antonio — definitely coming here again!
5 stars for the quality of food and great service.

Couldn’t of asked for better service and food. Huge portions here. Try it all. We had the raw oysters with ceviche on top as an app, wife had the ceviche tostadas and I had the bacon wrapped shrimp which were stuffed with crab, both were great. Chips and salsa were great as well

Try the shrimp nachos!!! Can’t say enough about them. I was very doubtful but took note of other reviewers advice and by far one of the best items on the menu hands down. Take a sip of the Aguascalientes frescas, piña was my favorite. The fish tacos will provide you with a culinary night cap to leave you wanting to come back.

My first time here was for a Unilocal Elite event so it seemed only right that I visit when it wasn’t a special occasion.
For some reason I had forgotten that every meal with my mom can be a special occasion and lunch here was no different. Not just because of the company, but the staff was celebrating one of the chef’s birthdays and had live music to serenade him. My mom sang along and it was just the start of an awesome lunch.
We shared the Camarones Envueltos en Tocino and ordered a side of frijoles and guacamole to check both of those out too.
The shrimp consumme that comes with every entrée is tasty. The shrimp flavor was too strong for my mom, but I enjoyed it as a starter for the meal.
The entrée came with a salad, rice and fries! The fries are pretty standard, thick cut fries. The rice had a food flavor and was tasty with the guac and refried beans.
I forgot to mention that my mom ordered the frijoles thinking they would be borracho, but they only do refried here, so you’ve been warned. She did however really enjoy the beans with her rice and said it was the first time shed ever done them that way. This is pretty high praise from a native puertoriquena.
On to the main dish– the shrimp. I’d already tried them so knew they would be tasty and they did not disappoint this this. My mom loved them too. The bacon was nice and crispy on the outside and the shrimp were delicious and render on the inside. This is a must try if you like bacon and shrimp.
When our server Abigail asked if we wanted dessert my mom worked her magic and we each got a piece of birthday cake. Needless to say, the meal and service was great from beginning to end and my mom even took time to tell the manager that it was her first time there but it wouldn’t be her last.
High praise indeed.

Hung around after the end of the Unilocal Elite event. I had the shrimp quesadillas and the husband had the bacon-​wrapped shrimp plate. His plate also included rice and fries. Ordered La Catrina, their top shelf Margarita made with Don Julio Anejo. Delicious! Their micheladas are very good, too. The staff is friendly and helpful. A shout out to Rose and Rebecca for taking such good care of us during and after the event. Thank you.

Looks can be deceiving.
When I say that I don’t mean this place is worse than it looks, but I say it because this place is much better than its outward appearance. If you’ve never been here you most likely wouldn’t come here. But I’m so glad I did! The food was fantastic and they put out quite of a spread for us. The ceviche was hella good. And I don’t even like ceviche but I really dug this. One of the highlights of the evening was the owner named Alex, actually making ceviche for us. He was very knowledgable and explained what he was doing, how the flavors and ingredients paired together… very classy guy. The rest of the staff was super attentive and friendly. Not only did I fee like I belonged there, I felt like they actually wanted me there which goes a long way in my book. The bartender made what’s called a painkiller… dark rum with coconut pieces and something else… it was good.
But the highlight… the encore… the climax… was the bacon wrapped shrimp with cheese in the middle. This… was…damn. Like, have you ever taken a bite of something so good that you have to pull it away from your face and stare at it? The bacon wasn’t crunchy, it wasn’t mushy… it was perfect. The shrimp was big and… shrimpy. But that cheese! Ooooooooh! How did they get it in there? Who cares that bad boy was good!
So if you go, flip the menu over and look for the shrimp section. Underneath that look for the bacon wrapped shrimp with cheese. Then check it off of your bucket list, cause that is exactly where it should have been in the first place.
You’re welcome.