Blue Water Seafood Market and Grill

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — If you live in San Diego, you will know Blue Water Seafood for selling some of the best fish in town. You will also recognize it for the line that often snakes through its long, narrow lobby out the door and onto the sidewalk. A visit here is simultaneously the best of times and the worst of times.

The idea is that you pound the pavement to pick a fish which then spurs a million questions about marinades and preparation, all code for whether you want your entree as a sandwich, salad, plate, or taco. Each order gets hand-written and punched into the single point-of-sale, a method that’s slow as blazes and causes the perpetual backup down the block. The ‘Blue Water is not a fast food restaurant’ sign behind the counter isn’t kidding. 

Quibbles about inefficiencies aside, the seafood plates here are the way to go, easily half a pound of fish served over steamed jasmine rice with a side salad. A typical mouthful of snapper, mahi-mahi, or halibut will be the texture of fluffy mousse and have a mellow taste of the sea. If you opt for salmon, this is marbled liberally with white ribbons of fat and impossibly rich. Any of these can get muddied a bit with the applied marinades, like the lemon-garlic butter which is more butter than it is lemon or garlic, and it does little for me overall.

This is also the place for fried fish of all types, like calamari or snapper between two soft buns, or batter-fried shrimp nestled in mini taco shells with all the usual fixings. These are moist and a little chewy with an expertly fried crust. As with anything here, they don’t skimp on the fish. Oysters on the half shell are a special highlight, always plump and fresh in a fine, briny juice. As an appetizer with a little spritz of lemon, these are simple and first-rate. 

Oddly enough, despite the freshness and the vastness of the menu, it is easy to make the wrong choice. Other frequent specials like scallop ceviche and salmon poke are good but not great. Though the fish is never less than impeccable, these are best saved for specialized Mexican and Peruvian restaurants where they’re more skillfully marinated and prepared. 

Mitch’s Seafood nearby in Point Loma is a similar concept, though the approach is more à la carte and they cook their stuff on the plancha, a style that can lend itself to a slightly bitter aftertaste on the outer crust. If asked to choose, I tend to prefer the clean and straightforward cooking at Blue Water Seafood more.

Written by Joy

Thanks for reading. The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, California is home base, but thoughts are from all over. Reviews and photos help to highlight wonderful (or not) food experiences from around the world.

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