A lot of people who come through La Paz tell us the seafood here is some of the best they have had anywhere in the world. We agree. It comes down to three things: the variety coming out of the Sea of Cortez, how fresh it is, and the Mexican kitchens that cook it.
Why the Seafood Here Is So Good
La Paz sits on the Sea of Cortez, with the Pacific a couple of hours across the peninsula. The clams, oysters, fish and scallops on the menus here come from the water around town. Add Mexican cooking on top of that, from a simple ceviche with lime and chile to a slow-grilled octopus, and you get a seafood town that is hard to match.
Almejas Chocolatas
The chocolate clam is named for its smooth, brown shell, and it is a Baja California Sur specialty. La Paz Bay is one of the three areas, along with Ojo de Liebre and Magdalena Bay, that land almost all of the state's chocolate clam catch.
Order them natural, opened raw and served with lime and chile, or rellenas, stuffed and baked in the shell. At Restaurante Bar La Concha on Playa El Tecolote, ask for Lupita and Onsolo and tell them Evan sent you.
Oysters Farmed Right Here
Pacific oysters are farmed in and around La Paz Bay. The Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS), here in La Paz, runs a program that has given local oyster farmers more than 15 million oyster seeds over the past five years. You will see them on the half shell with lime and salsa, or in a coctel.
Oysters have a long history in La Paz. The town was known for its pearl oysters for centuries, and at Perlas de La Paz you can watch how pearl oysters are seeded and grown.
Tuna and Jurel
Yellowfin tuna and jurel (yellowtail) both come out of the Sea of Cortez, and in La Paz they are often served raw: sashimi, tostadas and aguachile, with lime, chile and sometimes soy. Ask for the callo de hacha too, the local pen shell scallop.
A Mix of Kitchens
Baja cooking mixes Mexican tradition with influences from all over. Chef Miguel Ángel Guerrero named one version of it Baja Med: Mexican flavors with Mediterranean ingredients like olive oil and wine, and Asian techniques that came with Baja's Asian communities. In La Paz you see that mix on one menu. At El Paceñito it runs from the Torre Diabla, a stacked seafood tower, to tuna sashimi.
Where We Eat
These come from our own list, the places we send friends and guests:
- El Paceñito (there is also one on the Malecón): our favorite mariscos in town. Order the Torre Diabla, the sashimi atún, the callo de hacha and the tacos Balandra.
- Restaurante Bar La Concha on Playa El Tecolote: chocolate clams, rellena or natural. Ask for Lupita and Onsolo.
- Mariscos El Toro Güero: seafood under a huge palapa. Try the pulpo zarandeado and the almejas rellenas.
- Mariscos Los Laureles: local and family owned, on the Malecón. Order the pescado entero, and say hola to Aldonza.
- 32 Sabores: order the camarones ranchero.
- Dalí: order the tuna tataki.
- La Mentita: awesome breakfast and service. Try their tuna bowl.
- Also good: Marisquería Los Plebes, Mariscos El Molinito on the Malecón, and El Maviri.
All of them are in our La Paz guide, along with our favorite taco spots.
Make a Day of It
Our Isla Espíritu Santo and Balandra tours include fresh ceviche on the beach, and on a fishing trip we will help you plan the fish fry.
See Isla Espíritu Santo → See Fishing →