Catch of the Day: A Foodie’s Fish Taco Tasting Adventure in Ensenada

We only had one day in Ensenada during our weekend escape to México. We had been to Ensenada a few times before now and wanted to do something different on this visit. What we came up with was a fish taco tasting tour.

It is pretty much universally agreed that the fish taco — at least the fish taco as we know it today — originated in Ensenada. What better place to create your own fish taco tasting tour than in Ensenada, the birthplace of the fish taco!

What is a fish taco?

According to the history I’ve found, the Ensenada, or Baja-style fish taco employs an offshoot of the tempura process that Japanese fisherman brought with them to México. The people of Ensenada took this technique and made it their own.

The fish taco we have today is a taco that contains a piece of fileted fish that has been battered and fried. Angel shark (angelito) is a commonly used type of fish because it holds up well during frying. Dogfish (cazón) and Mako shark (my favorite) are also used. Cod, pollock, halibut, and whitefish are other options. Some eateries offer grilled fish. Me, personally, I prefer the battered and fried kind.

The taco is then topped with cabbage (sometimes lettuce), maybe some cotija cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream or citrus/mayonnaise crema, and served on a corn tortilla. (Some places offer flour tortillas as an alternative.) Variations on toppings, salsas, and other condiments help each stand establish its own unique, um, flavor, as does the type of fish used. The batter is another ingredient that makes each stand or restaurant unique.

Our Fish Taco Tasting Tour

As I said earlier, we’ve been to Ensenada a few times before. On one of those visits we went kayaking at La Bufadora, or The Blowhole. After our time on the water, our guide took us up to the open-air market above La Bufadora and told us to try the fish tacos at a place called Lidia’s La Michoacana Taquería (the full name may not be on any of the outdoor signage) next to the parking area. And it was there that the unexpected happened: Lidia’s made me fall in love with fish tacos.

I figured this time, since we’re creating our own fish taco tasting tour, Lidia’s would be a great place to start. Now I’d be able to see how their tacos compare to other fish tacos around Ensenada.

After a couple of fish tacos from Lidia’s, we had some time to walk around the outdoor market and down the pathway leading to the overlook of the blowhole. Numerous vendors were offering samples of churros hot out of the fryer. Of the half-dozen or so samples we tried along the way, we found the best churros to be at the last vendor on the right, at the bottom of Restaurant Blanquita. They were even better than the ones we tried during our previous visit, which, until today, we thought were the best we’d ever had. My wife and I pretty much ate our way down the pathway to La Bufadora overlook.

Arriving back in downtown Ensenada, we went in search of a place called La Guerrerense. La Guerrerense popped up during an internet search for fish tacos in Ensenada. A member of the housekeeping team at my job also recommended them. They have been in business for 60+ years and are internationally known. Anthony Bourdain even ate there. But when we found their cart, we were disappointed to learn that they only make tostadas and ceviche — no fish tacos.

So off we walked up Calle Primera. About one block later, we came upon a restaurant called Mariscos Playa Azul. Mariscos Playa Azul, established in 1964, is another place that’s been around for 60 years. What attracted me to Playa Azul was the building itself. The many shades of blue inside and out. The attention-grabbing anchor inside. The logo. The murals. Interest piqued, I decided we should try them out. We ended up getting a full lunch plus beer.

The final stop on our fish taco tasting tour was a small stand simply called The Original Fish Tacos Ensenada, or Los Originales Tacos de Pescado de Ensenada. Fish Tacos Ensenada was listed by the Street Gourmet LA blog as the number one fish taco in Ensenada. Because they said it was the best, I made sure to put them on my list of places to check out during the tour. I looked forward to testing Street Gourmet LA’s claim.

Actually, this was my second time coming to this stand. The first time, I had trouble finding it. That was my fault. I took off down a street with no signs thinking I had learned my way around the downtown area. Wrong! By the time I finally found it, I had only a few minutes to get my tacos and had to literally run back to the meeting area before the bus left. I did not have time to enjoy the tacos, which were lukewarm by the time I finally was able to eat them.

This time I knew exactly how to get there. And this time I had time to relish the tacos.

Hussong’s Cantina

From The Original Fish Tacos Ensenada, I suggested to my wife that we take a casual stroll up to the original Hussong’s Cantina for a bit of nostalgia… and a taste of their margaritas. Supposedly, the margarita was invented here at Hussong’s. I wanted to go straight to the source and try the original. A margarita would be the perfect finish to a day of eating fish tacos.

Depending on who’s doing the pouring, you may end up with a tequila-laden margarita. We did. It did come in a small glass, but you should probably still be careful with this.

As we left the cantina, I pointed out to my wife that on this one street: 1) our parents would’ve hung out here at Hussong’s, 2) we would have partied at Papas & Beer across the street (I did back in the late-80’s), and 3) down at the corner, our son and daughter-in-law would have gotten turnt up at Mango Mango. (I heard Mango Mango closed down during the COVID 19 pandemic and has not reopened.)

Hussong’s has been at this spot in Ensenada since 1892, and is still a great place to hang out.

The results

How did each taste? Which place makes the best fish tacos? In ascending order:

The La Guerrerense cart doesn’t have fish tacos so I can’t honestly rate them. They make my list as an honorable mention here because of the endorsements of friends, internet recommendations, and La Guerrerense’s reputation for serving fresh, tasty seafood. Though we did stop here, we didn’t get anything because, well, this was a fish taco tasting tour and the cart doesn’t serve fish tacos. But their restaurant, Sabina, does.

In third place is Mariscos Playa Azul. We kind of ordered off menu. For the fish, Playa Azul used sea bass in the tacos we got. Sea bass is a delicately flavored fish. Unfortunately, the hearty, handmade yellow corn tortillas, better suited for an al pastor or carne asada taco, overpowered the taste of the fish, as did the batter. I couldn’t really taste the fish at all. The condiments just exacerbated the problem. I probably should have tried a different type of fish. I left a bit disappointed even though the rest of the meal was pretty good.

Second place goes to The Original Fish Tacos Ensenada. They used Mako shark today. Usually, they use cazón. The batter on the filet itself was slightly greasy, having been taken out of the fryer and allowed to drain for only a few seconds. The large, plump Mako filet held up well during frying and remained moist and firm yet not tough. You could tell the lady who cooked my order today had some experience frying fish. The perfectly crunchy batter was a tiny bit saltier than I would’ve liked, but it didn’t negatively affect they taste of the fish. I could also taste a bit of the batter’s seasoning.

A mind-numbing number of condiments are available on the cart: cabbage — both pickled and fresh — pickled carrots, radishes, limes, etc., plus a row of half dozen or so different salsas that I understand change often. A few of the salsas are the owners’ own unique creations. I placed a different set of salsas and condiments on each taco. (The cooks can offer suggestions as to which condiments to put on your taco if you ask them.) After consuming them all, I couldn’t really pick a favorite combination; all were good. And I was glad I was able to take my time and enjoy them this time.

And the winner is: Lidia’s La Michoacana Taquería! At Lidia’s you can watch your tacos being prepared right in front of you. Handmade tortillas are made right there on the premises. Plenty of salsas and condiments to satisfy every palate.

Lidia’s uses whitefish filets. The fish was very light. The batter itself was lightly fried to a perfect golden brown while preserving the flavor of the fish. I think it was the way the combination of the cabbage and crema complimented the battered whitefish filet that stole my heart on my first visit; and kept a lock on it this time.

Pro Tip: Lidia’s is no longer a secret known only to locals and tour bus drivers. They often get very busy, especially on days when the cruise ships are in port. On the bright side, the staff has the cooking and serving down to a science so the line moves pretty fast.

Why did we only visit three eateries for fish tacos? I would love to have tried more places but all those tacos we did eat, plus sides and beer at Playa Azul, plus countless churro samples at La Bufadora filled me up. Even though we did a lot of walking, that was a lot of food to eat over the course of only seven or eight hours.

You can probably guess that there are plenty of restaurants, stands, and carts that serve fish tacos in Ensenada, being that it is the birthplace of the fish taco and all. And you would be right. No doubt I need to return to Ensenada and try out a few more places for my next fish taco tasting tour. Sabina will be one of those places. Do you have any other suggestions?

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