Fish Taco Journey, Part II: Sensational shrimp tacos sizzle in San Diego
Shrimp starred in many of the first seafood tacos I tried after moving to Southern California, and they will always hold a special place in my heart
Eating fish tacos was a totally bizarre concept for me when I — a New England-raised transplant — first moved to San Diego. But as a shellfish loving East Coaster, shrimp tacos took way less wrangling to get me to try.
And once I tried them, I absolutely fell in love. The joy I felt while eating my first shrimp tacos is what ultimately helped open my mind to eating fish tacos.
As I was tasting my way through fish and other seafood tacos across San Diego County last summer, shrimp tacos became a sort of litmus test in my judgment of restaurant quality.
Was the shrimp cooked so it was tender, not rubbery? Did the chef pair the delicately briny seafood with a complementary arrangement of toppings, or was the flavor drowned in mayonnaise? Did they bother to remove its intestinal tract during preparation, or was it left intact in an inglorious display of foul-tasting, muddy grit?
Rarely — but more often than I would care to experience — the latter, less desirable attributes of poorly cooked shrimp tainted not only the dish they were in, but also the whole meal at a restaurant.
When it was time to write this story, which I initially saw as one article featuring each of the 80-plus fish and seafood tacos I tried, I realized that unless I wanted readers to drudge through a dissertation-length diatribe on the subject, I needed to break it down into a multi-part story.
So let’s dive into the second part of this series on seafood tacos and discuss the good, not great and surprising shrimp tacos I ate, and where you can find them. Each one is rated on a scale of one to five taco emojis, with five being the best.
Make sure to comment below to share where your favorite shrimp tacos are from.
Shoots Fish & Beer
602 S Tremont St Unit 101, Oceanside, CA 92054
shootsog.com
Shoots Fish & Beer serves smaller, street-style tacos that can be eaten in two to three bites, but don’t let that taint your opinion of the restaurant as each taco is full of big flavor.
The San Miguel taco features an Ensenada-style battered shrimp layered with cabbage slaw, cilantro, cotija cheese and the signature shoots aioli sauce. The tortillas are in the ideal zone of being pliable and soft without falling apart when you pick them up.
This is definitely a taco worth traveling 45 minutes up the coast to try.
Rating: 🌮🌮🌮🌮
The Fishery
5040 Cass St, San Diego, CA 92109
thefishery.com
For more than 27 years, The Fishery in Pacific Beach has been selling fish dinners and seafood for home cooks on Cass Street in Pacific Beach.
At $19, The Fishery’s shrimp taco plate is one of the more expensive options on this list, but its generous portion size of two large tacos, tortilla chips and a side of salsa means the meal is well worth the price.
Starting with a tortilla layered with a blanket of crispy cheese, the sauteed shrimp are topped with salsa verde, pickled onion, a citrus-forward lime crema, cabbage and cilantro.
It is very saucy, but the cheese barrier keeps the tortilla from getting soggy. The citrus-forward crema and salsa verde play well together on the dish without one drowning out the other.
The Fishery is a great choice for a nice meal out — especially if someone in your party wants to eat something other than tacos.
Rating: 🌮🌮🌮🌮
Los Cuates Seafood and Bar
217 3rd Ave, Chula Vista, CA 91910
loscuatesseafoodandbar.com
If you’re headed to Chula Vista, make sure to stop by Los Cuates Seafood and Bar for a round of tacos.
During my visit, I tried two styles of shrimp tacos, the Ensenada-style and the governador [sic].
Los Cuates’ shrimp taco is made with a light, crispy batter that gains extra flavor from a combination of beer and yellow mustard with shrimp that is juicy and not overcooked.
It’s topped with crunchy cabbage, and a bright pico de gallo, and served with chipotle aioli on the side so you can add as much or as little as you like.
Meanwhile, cheese oozes out of the governador, leaving a crispy veil around the edge. The bell peppers are cooked to perfection, and the tortilla has a nice crispy texture.
Rating: 🌮🌮🌮🌮
Not Not Tacos
550 W Date St suite b, San Diego, CA 92101
notnottacos.com
Sometimes one finds themselves in a food court in Little Italy on a Saturday afternoon, looking for a bite to eat while sipping on a cocktail and waiting for your reservation at another restaurant.
And in this hyper specific situation, sure, order a shrimp taco at Not Not Tacos in the Little Italy Food Hall.
I have had other tacos at the shop opened by Sam the Cooking Guy that I enjoyed, but always just enough so that I don’t feel like I totally wasted the $5 to $7 spent on them. Mostly, I just walk away feeling like the menu was designed by stoned college kids perusing the long defunct thisiswhyyourefat.com.
For the purposes of this story, I ordered the Kelly's shrimp taco. The sauteed shrimp is tossed in Old Bay seasoning and served atop a flour tortilla with shredded red cabbage and some red chili slices.
While the menu said there was chipotle cream on the taco, it was indetectable to both my eyes and tongue, and it also lacked the micro cilantro listed on the menu. Although the Old Bay seasoning gave the shrimp flavor, it just felt like a very gentrified taco, but I guess that’s very on brand given the stand’s name.
Rating: 🌮🌮
Karina's Ceviches & More
3731 India St B, San Diego, CA 92103
karinasseafood.com
I was excited about trying the fish and shrimp tacos at Karina’s Ceviche & More, given how great the California burrito was at the Mission Hills spot.
Despite the lackluster salsa that comes out with tortilla chips while waiting for food — it tastes like tomato juice with flavorless chunks in it — the seafood tacos at Karina’s are very good.
For shrimp, I went with the gobernador taco, a very juicy and flavorful version full of green bell peppers and a decadent heap of melted cheese.
Rating: 🌮🌮🌮🌮
La Reyna Del Sur Mariscos 2
4404 Texas St, San Diego, CA 92116
instagram.com/lareyna_delsur_
Drive around San Diego County for long enough, and you’ll realize that mariscos food trucks are regularly parked in the same place, as is the case for La Reyna Del Sur Mariscos 2.
Located in a convenience store parking lot on the corner of Texas Street and Meade Avenue, I drive by this more than any other La Reyna location.
While I thought the gobernador could use a little more cheese, being loaded with lots of shrimp and vegetables is a nice compromise. Stewed vegetable slices — including red and green bell peppers, red onions and celery — make the taco a little soupy and messy, but being served with a double layer of tortillas and a side of chips means there’s plenty of carbs to sop up the broth.
Rating: 🌮🌮🌮🌮
The Taco Stand
3000 Upas St #105, San Diego, CA 92104
letstaco.com
The Taco Stand in North Park has been one of my favorites shops to grab tacos in my neighborhood for a while, and the restaurant’s camarón taco is among my favorite things to order here.
It has a little kick of spice, served with some nice gooey cheese, creamy avocado, crunchy cabbage and chipotle salsa. Simple, tasty and always a great choice during a visit to any of The Taco Stand locations.
Rating: 🌮🌮🌮🌮
Mariscos La Chalupa
3030 Grape Street, San Diego, CA 92102
mariscoslachalupa.com
I have walked by the Mariscos La Chalupa taco truck in South Park many times, and when researching this story, finally decided it was time to make a visit.
First, I sank my teeth into a fried shrimp taco that was crispy and topped with cabbage, mayonnaise and pico de gallo. I really liked the batter, and adding salsa gave it a nice kick of heat.
While there were several fish tacos I really liked there and would totally order again (read more about those next week), the gobernador was not my favorite.
It was served with thick slices of vegetables and melted cheese, which I liked, but upon further inspection after taking my first bite, I realized the shrimp were not deveined. I’ll likely go back for the fish tacos, but will skip the shrimp ones because of this.
Rating: 🌮🌮
Oceano's Seafood & Sushi
4538 Bonita Road, Bonita, CA 91902
oceanosbaja.com
After announcing I was working on this project, I kept hearing over and over again about how I needed to try Oceano’s Seafood & Sushi in Bonita, and the many suggestions did not disappoint.
I thoroughly enjoyed each of the tacos we had at Oceano’s, and the gobernador was no exception.
Folded into a grilled corn tortilla, the grilled shrimp is accompanied by red and green bell peppers, red onion and cheese for a tasty treat. I really enjoyed the slight crunch to the tortilla paired with the tender shrimp folded inside of it and the bell peppers were nicely caramelized.
Rating: 🌮🌮🌮🌮
TJ Oyster Bar
4410 Bonita Rd, Bonita, CA 91902
tjoyster.com
After finishing up our meal at Oceano’s one afternoon, we walked a block over to TJ Oyster Bar for a second round of tacos. It was a busy Sunday afternoon, so we had to wait about half an hour to be seated at a table, but that was fine given we had just eaten a few tacos.
The taqueso shrimp taco with its layers of melted cheese and grilled bell peppers was delicious and very similar to a gobernador.
In concept, I really liked the idea of the garlic shrimp taco, but I wish it was a little more garlic-forward.
Next time, I would still go with the taqueso and skip the garlic shrimp taco, but there will surely be a next time.
Rating: 🌮🌮🌮
Rubio's Coastal Grill
4504 Mission Bay Dr., San Diego, CA 92109
rubios.com
Given Rubio’s Coastal Grill’s place in helping to popularize seafood tacos in the United States, I of course had to stop by the original Mission Bay location to grab a couple tacos for this story.
Almost every time I visit Rubio’s, I order the gourmet shrimp taco, which pairs the grilled seafood with cheese, bacon and avocado.
On this particular day, the bacon was a little chewy instead of the crispy texture that normally graces the taco, but since I have had it made well so many times and at so many locations, I’ll still order it again.
Rating: 🌮🌮🌮
El Viejón Seafood
4619 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111
elviejonseafood.com
Some places are totally worth dealing with the stress of navigating one of the crowded strip mall parking lots on Convoy Street, and El Viejón Seafood is among that list.
El Viejón Seafood’s gobernador was the best taco of this style I have had in San Diego, and one of the top reasons to make a visit.
It includes celery — just enough to give a good earthy flavor without overpowering the other components — and the crispy fried onions are a lovely touch. The taco is incredibly flavorful, and by using chopped shrimp instead of whole ones, it ensures you get shrimp in each bite.
This article is about shrimp tacos, but I would be negligent in not mentioning that the birria taco is super tasty, too. It pairs well with the gobernador for a twist on a surf and turf meal, so I feel like I can comfortably say this is not too much of a non sequitur.
Rating: 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮
Fish Guts
2222 Logan Ave, San Diego, CA 92113
fishgutsca.com
Nestled in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego is Fish Guts, a restaurant known for its commitment to using locally caught seafood, superb fish taco construction and closing early in the day after selling out every item on their menu.
In part III of this series, we’ll talk about their fish taco (spoiler alert: it’s divine!), but for now, let’s focus on De Coco, my favorite of the shrimp tacos I ate in San Diego.
This taco features a single, giant prawn that is coconut battered and fried to perfection. It has an incredible crunch when you bite into it and doesn’t leave the tongue feeling like it’s coated in grease.
Instead of being drizzled with sauce, the sliced cabbage is coated in the smoky, chipotle aioli, meaning each bite has the perfect combination of sweet and spicy flavors.
Rating: 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮
Up next: Let’s talk about ice, ice baby — a key ingredient in most craft cocktails — and making the perfect old fashioned, both with and without alcohol. Plus, our seafood taco journey continues next week with our spotlight turned to fish tacos, so make sure to subscribe to continue the adventure.