San Diego is a city known for it’s ideal weather, beautiful beaches and delicious fish tacos. While the first two are certainly nice, you know which one of these got me most excited on my recent trip (it helped that it was a little chilly). Below are my 4 favorite taco spots spanning different parts of the city along with a with a few bonus dishes should you get tired of eating them. Just kidding, that won’t happen.
Puesto 1026 Wall Street, La Jolla
Puesto was the top pick from a foodie friend-of-friend who lives in the SD so I knew from the start I would be making the 25 minute trip up to La Jolla. La Jolla, while technically part of San Diego, feels like you’ve entered a posh suburb. Everything from the architecture to the shops are a just little nicer. This is probably why the seals come here to birth their pups every year. Come between Mid-December and Mid-May and you’ll find no shortage of them laying on the rocks. Check me out.
But unlike most suburbs, La Jolla is actually a good place to go for food. And despite what you’d expect from my description, Puesto is a completely casual restaurant with funky colored walls and big wooden tables. No matter where you’re staying in San Diego, it’s worth coming up for lunch and walking it off on the beachside cliffs. Here’s what you should get:
Zucchini Soup 
Normally I’m saving room for tortillas and guac while at a Mexican restaurant so I skip what are usually mediocre soups. But my brother’s wife firmly believes every meal needs to start with a warm bowl of broth so you know it’s coming. This creamy, spicy bowl was amazing though. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that it comes with a couple quesadillas.
Zucchini & Cactus Taco (left) 
In an expected twist, this vegetarian taco was actually my favorite. The mix of the cheese, corn and cilantro-tomatillo salsa was perfect and unexpected. I’ll be trying to replicate this at home this winter. Anyone got some cactus?
Cochinita Pibil (right) The slow roasted pork is the one we all ordered. The meat melts in your mouth and the papaya salsa packs a nice sweetening element. Shockingly, my one complaint is there may be too much fried cheese(!) wrapped around the meat. Can’t believe I said that.
Lobster Taco One thing I love about this place is all the tacos here come in completely unique preparations. The texture added by the crispy onions is great. The underlying black beans, avocado and jalapeno pico make it unlike any other fish taco I’ve had. Get it.
Oscar’s 703 Turquoise Street, Pacific Beach
My vision of San Diego coming in was an endless coast of beaches lined with surfers and shacks hawking fish tacos. While the first part was pretty much correct, bars, condos and surf shops have taken up most of the beachfront real estate. But a block-and-a-half inland in Pacific Beach (“PB”) you can make your (almost) beachside taco shack dreams come true.
Oscar’s is a wooden hut located with little more than a counter and a few long tables inside and out you’ll be fighting for once you order. The menu consists primarily of seafood tacos with a few Mexican other bites thrown in. They come on freshly made corn tortillas with onion, cilantro and probably the most generous helping of avocado I’ve ever seen (this would easily be a $3 upcharge in NYC). There’s also a few homemade salsa’s and cremas on the table. These are the ones I tried:
Shrimp & Chorizo Anytime you can get big pieces of fresh shrimp on a taco I’m excited. But throw some spicy hunks of chorizo on there and I’ll never say no. Neither should you.
Tuna Asada At first we weren’t sure this was actually tuna as the spicy-sweet asada flavor overwhelms. But no matter, it’s delicious.
Smoked Fish Taco 
I’m a man who loves his smoked fish. And this is definitely some of the good stuff. But somehow covering it in all those taco fixings seemed more of a shame than genius invention. It’s one of their most popular though, so you may feel differently.
Wonderland Ocean Pub 5083 Santa Monica Avenue, Ocean Beach
Wonderland is where you go for your tacos with a view and a party. It lies on the second floor across the street from the beach in Ocean Beach (“OB”) and features counter seating at it’s wrap around windows. Apparently it turns into more of a bar later at night, but on a Sunday afternoon it was the perfect spot to take in both waves and football. The fish tacos are solid, although I would argue the ceviches are the must order here.
Mac Daddy Ahi Poke Spicy, soy marinated ahi mixed with seaweed is a must order now matter how bad you want tacos. It’s also a surprisingly generous helping.
Fresh Fish Ceviche This a pretty traditional ceviche, made with Mahi Mahi and ample slices of avocado. You certainly won’t regret it.
Lobster Taco A pretty traditional fish taco preparation with lightly fried lobster, pico, cabbage, cilantro and crema.
Scallop Taco Lightly fried and slightly spicy scallops were a welcome twist on the seafood taco. It comes with the same traditional toppers.
Blind Burro 639 J Street, Gaslamp
At some point you may find yourself in the downtown Gaslamp Quarter when your fish taco craving strikes. While you may not have a view of the open seas, fear not as good tacos are still abound. Check out the Blind Burro and be sure not to miss the Azteca – a mezcal margarita with a side of beef jerky.
Mahi Mahi Taco Mahi Mahi is quite popular in SD and it’s a good firm fish for Mexican style cooking. This is a pretty standard fish taco, but it’s done well.
Al Pastor Taco 
The al pastor itself was a little dry, but this one redeems itself with the pineapple and tomatillo-avocado salsa.
Street Corn Off the Cob As the name implies, they’ve basically taken Mexican Street Corn (corn with spices, queso & lime), put it into a bowl and added a little crema. No matter what your order, a side of this should be on every table.
Not Tacos, But Must Visit: Tuna Harbor Dockside Market
Every Saturday from 8-1, an open air fisherman’s market runs on a dock in the harbor near downtown. It’s worth coming to have a look at the fish, many of which you’ll rarely see on the East Coast. Whole swordfish, rock crabs and opah (a delicious fish similar to tuna we cooked up that night) make up some of the delights to be seen here. But the one thing to eat on the spot is the Sea Urchin below.
Fresh Uni When you enter the fish market, walk to the end and look for these guys on the right. You get to pick out your urchin and watch them kill and clean it right in front of you. At $12, its quite a steal versus buying this stuff in NYC. It’s good on it’s own, but they have a variety of accompaniments to top it with. I recommend the soy sauce in the bottle with only Japanese characters on it and a little hot sauce.
