Coni’Seafood in Inglewood is the ultimate American success story

Coni’Seafood began as a small underground operation in Vicente Cossio’s backyard in 1986. Missing the seafood dishes of his native Nayarit, Cossio (who goes by the nickname “Chente”) prepared them behind his Inglewood home: grilled fish, aguachiles and ceviches representative of the oceanside Mexican state.

The quasi-legal operation grew and soon became untenable. Cossio had saved enough money to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant nearby, which he called Mariscos Chente. The restaurant became a neighborhood and critical favorite, and was a regular haunt of late Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold.

Today, Chente’s daughter, Connie, carries on the tradition. Using her father’s recipes for such dishes as pescado zarandeado (grilled snook), she runs the original Coni’Seafood as well as a second location near Culver City and a Coni’Seafood stall at the Fields L.A. food hall next to Banc of California Stadium.

Coni’Seafood, 3544 W. Imperial Highway, Inglewood, (310) 672-2339.