El Camaroncito Marisqueria

I’ve been looking for a marisco’s place in KC for quite some time and was stoked when I found this place.
I ventured out to KCK one Friday night with high expectations, I should have realized when I read the menu that it was not what I was really looking for. Acapulco and Veracruzan mariscos are very different from the citrus-​y mariscos I am used to having. The ceviche came in a tall glass served more as a shrimp cocktail (mexican) and it was very sweet. I was not digging the sweet taste. Also the salsa’s weren’t spicy — another trait of food from very Southern Mexico. My companion had the carne asada and that was really great, their beans and rice are yummy too.
The place is clean and spacious. The music is fantastic and when we left the place was hoppin’! The servers are nice and attentive.
I’ll give this place another try but I’ll not be ordering the ceviche again.

I absolutely love shrimp. They’re like little swimming steaks. Their flavor is the stuff of legend. I co-​host a massive cajun shrimp boil every fall, and I count the days over six months out. About ten years ago I discovered that KC is one of the best places in these United States to get tacos, tortas, sopas, and other authentic-​ish Mexican fare.
If I had known that these two brilliant concepts were combined in several places in KCK, I would have saved myself a great deal of trouble a long time ago. You see, Mariscos are a Mexican specialty that is far too often overlooked. I have been guilty of this, but I never will be again.
After a lovely but highly allergic happy hour on the patio at Breit’s in Strawberry Hill, one in our party insisted that we acquire some Mariscos on Central Ave in one of KCK’s predominantly and wonderfully, deliciously Mexican neighborhoods, so we made what haste we could to this beautiful unmissable stucco storefront just west of the corner of 10^th St.
The interior is a simple but very attractive affair with vinyl booths, wall murals, and terrible Telenovelas on the TVs. The only English you’ll read is the legal warning about raw or undercooked seafood and poultry on the menu and the «SMILE YOU’RE ON TV LOL» sign. The only English you’ll hear is if someone at your table speaks it. That said, it helps to speak some Spanish, but it isn’t absolutely necessary.
I had a fajita dish composed of shrimp, peppers, onions, rice, beans, hot sauce, chorizo, and chicken that was almost as good as the chicken at El Pollo Rey, which is to say it was the second best chicken I have ever had.
Four panels of the large menu are adorned with seafood and seafood medley dishes. You could throw a dart at the menu and you would experience three things:
1) You will love your dinner.
2) You will not spend a lot.
3) You will take half or more of your food home, to future-you’s intense delight and fortune.
KCK is filled with gems like this. There are a hundred great places I can’t even name within a mile of this place. Tonight, we just pulled a fish out of the pond. However, I still think we scored big, and I will be back. I still have the crab legs to try.

If you love Mexican food and you love seafood, have I got a restaurant for you! El Camaroncito Marisqueria is nestled in what is now a predominately Mexican neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas. You may not be up for the adventure. If you’re someone who must dine in fine establishments with white tablecloths and valets, you really should stop reading now. But if you’re someone who will happily belly up to a new experience, this might just be your cup of tea.
The hubby and I have been here several times to sample the yummy seafood. They used to have a Mexican seafood paella dish on their menu that was one of my favorite dishes ever. Sadly, at our visit today, it was missing from their menu, so I tried the camarones el diablo (spicy shrimp) instead. It’s a spicy pile of whole shrimp swimming in a tasty red sauce and served up with a bed of Mexican rice. For me, half the fun is getting all messy pulling the shrimp out of their shells, but for the hubby, he’d rather not bother. He prefers seafood cocktails and they have a couple of good ones here. Today, he had a lovely cocktail of shrimp, oysters and octopus swimming in a tangy chilled red sauce with a tiny kick and just the right amount of cilantro.
The décor is a a hoot. There are fake hanging flowers here and there and mismatched booths and furniture. On the back wall is a velvet painting mural that adds the perfect ambiance to the place. The outside of the place is beautifully painted in bright colors of the sea.
So here are some suggestions that will help you with your adventure:
Bring wet naps if you’re going to order something messy.
Bring cash. This time when we went, they were not accepting credit cards. They had a sign up that said so. In Spanish. You don’t want any surprises at the end of your meal.
They don’t bring you a check at the end of your meal. Just wander towards the front of the restaurant and they’ll help you out.
The staff speak little to no English. They have added English translations on their menu since the last time we were there, but if you’re the kind of person who is insistent that everyone in the US must speak perfect English, you will be very frustrated in this place. My hubby and I do fine here because I can understand and speak a little Spanish and we’re pretty patient when we know good food is on the way.
Parking is limited. There is a tiny parking lot that seems to always be full and street parking in front is often full as well. You might have to drive around a bit to find a spot.