New Morro Bay Mexican restaurant serves up tacos and more — with a view of the Rock
Take your Mexican food order to the second-story deck surrounding new Morro Bay restaurant Rock Tacos, and you’ll get a bonus: an expansive view of Morro Rock and the harbor that surrounds it.
The view is also dramatic from inside Rock Tacos, which held its soft opening at 1215 Embarcadero, Suite E, in February.
The eatery is located at the former location of Virg’s Landing bait shop in the Morro Bay Landing building, next to Harbor Hut.
The building’s deck is open to the public, but Rock Tacos’ owners hope hungry folks who take the staircase or elevator up to enjoy the view will be drawn inside by the restaurant’s tantalizing aromas.
Several families were at the deck’s tables on a recent March day, soaking in the sun and the sights while they noshed on tacos and other entrees.
Inside, Bruce and Joyce Hedrickson of Holland, Michigan, who spend six months of every year vacationing in Morro Bay, were sharing shrimp tacos, nachos, fries and guacamole. They also sampled the restaurant’s signature Rock Surf & Turf burrito, featuring shrimp and steak.
“It’s really delicious!” Bruce Hedrickson said as his wife nodded.
Morro Bay restaurant is first for couple
Rock Tacos is the first restaurant owned by chef Luis Cortez and his wife, Nadine Iniquez. Another dedicated foodie, their business partner Jose Ramirez, occasionally lends a hand in the kitchen.
Cortez, who was raised in Tijuana, has plenty of experience on the Morro Bay restaurant scene. He cooked for about a decade at Harbor Hut and spent eight years at House of JuJu.
Iniquez brings a background in business to the mix. She has an administration degree from Loyola Marymount University and spent years spent as the manager and bookkeeper at Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Guadalupe.
Until she met Cortez, Iniquez lived in Nipomo. Now, she said, “I’m in love with Morro Bay.”
Iniquez and her husband met online.
“Our first date was for breakfast at The Hungry Fisherman” in Morro Bay, she said. “We’ve pretty much never been apart since then.”
In celebration of the first movie they watched together, the couple tied the knot in a “Star Wars”-themed wedding ceremony at a Las Vegas chapel.
“Darth Vader was our officiant,” Iniquez recalled with a chuckle.
The couple, who live in Morro Bay, now have a 19-month-old son, Jose Emiliano.
What’s on the menu at Rock Tacos?
As the restaurant’s name suggests, tacos are at the heart of Rock Tacos’ menu.
Protein options include grilled steak, al pastor pork, chicken, shrimp, fish, mushrooms and nopales, or, cactus. Corn tortillas are the default, but flour ones can be requested.
Other modern Mexican food favorites on the menu include burritos, quesadillas, torta sandwiches and nachos, as well as Tijuana-style ceviche and shrimp-avocado cocktail.
On weekends, Cortez makes birria tacos and ramen.
Iniquez said the restaurant’s menu is based on her husband’s upbringing in Tijuana, where “there’s so much diversity in their cooking.”
“We want to bring a little flavor of Tijuana to Morro Bay,” she said.
According to Iniquez, everything on the menu is made from scratch, in house.
Almost all of the items on the menu are sold a la carte, so diners can mix and match main dishes and sides such as rice and beans or chips and salsa.
Burritos, however, are served as platters with rice, beans, cheese and choice of salsa.
Tacos range in price from $5 to $7, while burritos cost $15 to $16.50.
Rock Tacos does catering and the restaurant is available for special parties and private events.
According to Iniquez, Rock Tacos is still evolving.
She and her husband, who plan to hold a grand opening in May, want to get more TVs for the restaurant. A license to serve beer and wine is in the works, she said.
Rock Tacos is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
For more information, call 805-225-1819, email hr@therocktacos.com, visit therocktacos.com or follow Rock Tacos on Facebook.
