Long Beach’s new Ruta 15 mariscos restaurant is a culinary road trip through Mexico

Not even two months old, a Long Beach mariscos restaurant serving a variety of cocktails and seafood is making its mark along a main corridor in North Alamitos Beach.

A passion for traveling throughout Mexico while exploring different cuisines helped co-owner Richard Mosqueda and executive chef César Sánchez come up with the name for Ruta 15, the new restaurant on Seventh Street near Nebraska Avenue.

The pair were brainstorming a name and concept for the eatery when they realized they had both taken the same culinary trip along Federal Highway 15 — the primary north-south highway in Mexico, which spans nearly 1,500 miles from Sonora to Mexico City.

“That’s how Ruta 15 was born,” said Mosqueda, who also owns the neighboring La Taqueria Brand.

Diners who walk through the main entrance are met with a map of Mexico with key cities along Federal Highway 15 highlighted in vibrant letters. Fourteen cities — including Culicán, Mexicali and Guadalajara — are spelled out in the same colorful font on signposts displaying how far away they are from Long Beach.

Mosqueda has traveled large spans of Federal Highway 15 several times, stopping at key cities along the way for a full experience of Mexican culinary culture and how it varies by region.

He said his most memorable trip was on his way back to where he grew up in Guadalajara.

“I was here for 10 years and I didn’t go back for the whole 10 years to Mexico, so I was so hungry to just learn about my culture,” Mosqueda said.

Along the way, Mosqueda said he experienced a wide variety of food ranging from grilled red snapper — pescado zarandeado — in Nayarit, to black ceviche in Sinaloa and bean-flavored ice cream in Michoacán.

With Ruta 15, Mosqueda said he and Sánchez set out to offer a menu inspired by those foods.

Featured staples include enchiladas suizas, ceviche and shrimp al mojo de ajo.

There’s also different aguachiles, which originate from Sinaloa, served with a choice of red, green or black salsa accompanied by creamy avocado, Japanese cucumbers and julienne-cut red onion.

Another special, the duo of grilled fish comes with chochoyotes — fried masa balls.

Mosqueda said he tells customers that the dishes are not meant to copy the unique food from each Mexican region along Federal Highway 15, but rather are inspired by the offerings along the way.

Recently, an ex-wife of famous boxer Julio César Chávez Sr. stopped in to dine and gave a glowing review of the food, Mosqueda said. The ex-wife and her family told Mosqueda they own a restaurant in Culiacán.

Mosqueda has been working in restaurants since his childhood. He said he and his 11 siblings were given the choice to work on the family farm in Guadalajara or the family’s nearby taco restaurant.

“To me [the choice] was so simple because on the farm it was really tough,” he said.

A career with Sysco, the wholesale restaurant food distributor, led him to Long Beach and allowed him to open La Taqueria Brand on Seventh Street near Nebraska Avenue in 2020.

Despite opening two weeks before a mandatory COVID shutdown went into effect in Los Angeles County, La Taqueria Brand took in enough delivery orders to survive.

Sánchez was looking for work during the pandemic after cheffing at La Huasteca at Plaza Mexico in Lynwood. He brought his crew over to La Taqueria Brand and business picked up, Mosqueda said.

When La Ceiba restaurant, which was next to La Taqueria Brand but is now at 400 E. Anaheim Street, decided to downsize during the pandemic, Mosqueda purchased the space and initially used it for storage before deciding to renovate.

Now, the space features fresh seafood on ice, a full-service bar and walls with original paintings from Guatemalan artist Spaint.

The bigger kitchen space allows Ruta 15 to make the syrup for their raspados in-house by roasting coconuts, tamarind or pecans. Customers can choose to order raspados with or without alcohol.

Another unique drink from the bar are the miche-aguas, which come with or without alcohol in pineapple, horchata or cucumber lime.

Ruta 15, 1436 E Seventh Street, is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Wednesdays.