Beer-battered white fish, fried golden, served on warm corn tortillas with shredded cabbage, white sauce, salsa fresca and a wedge of lime. The Baja-California original; San Diego made it national in 1983.
The fish taco crossed the border with surfers and fishermen from San Felipe and Ensenada, where Baja-California fishing villages had served beer-battered fried fish in a tortilla for generations. Ralph Rubio brought the dish back from a 1973 spring break trip, copied the recipe over seven years and opened the first Rubio's Deli-Mex at a former Orange Julius on Mission Bay Drive in 1983, selling fish tacos at 99 cents. The Rubio's chain put the dish on the national map; San Diego is now the American capital of fish-taco interpretation, from beer-battered originals to grilled mahi mahi at Oscar's and ceviche variants at Blue Water Seafood and Mariscos German trucks.
3 editor picks for Fish taco in San Diego, ranked by editorial score. All San Diego signature dishes · Fish taco across every city.
Tacos El Gordo ★ 4.7
chula-vista · 556 Broadway, Chula Vista, CA 91910
Tacos El Gordo on Broadway in Chula Vista, San Diego, the canonical Tijuana-style adobada trompo carving handmade corn tortillas until 4am on weekends.
Lola 55 ★ 4.5
east-village · 1290 F St, San Diego, CA 92101
Lola 55 is modern bib gourmand taqueria tucked into a quiet f street block behind petco park, more reservation-friendly than the bigger names.
Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop ★ 4.2
mission-hills · 1810 W Washington St, San Diego, CA 92103
Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop in San Diego is the Mission Hills Mexican-wrestling-themed taqueria on Washington Street, the Diners Drive-Ins and Dives stop.