Mariscos Negro Durazo: Mexican Seafood Galore!

The restaurant’s official name is “Mariscos Negro Durazo: La Catedral de los Mariscos” — the cathedral of seafood. It may not be the best choice of name to attract the non-Spanish-speaking patron, but this is definitely where seafood worshippers can find authentic Sinaloan-style dishes, no matter what language is being spoken.

Also not helping the name, however, is that it's the same as the infamous Mexico City police chief, Arturo “El Negro” Durazo, who went to jail for serious crimes. But Mariscos Negro Durazo isn't named for the bad cop. The restaurant got its moniker from the owner, whose skin tone was a little darker and so he was given the handle El Negro. It is a fairly common practice in Latin America to have a nickname based on your physical characteristics; for example, a skinny person would be called Flaco.

Then there is the decor, which can best be described as Chuck E. Cheese pays a visit to Bikini Bottom.

That said, I can say that the service is great, and serves delicious, fresh seafood prepared in the style originating in the Mexican Pacific coast state of Sinaloa.

The restaurant opened its first establishment in Tijuana decades ago and became very popular. It grew to be a chain of five restaurants: three in TJ, one in Chula Vista, and the newest in Lemon Grove, which opened just a year ago.

If you’ve never tried it, Sinaloan-style seafood is scrumptious. It features fresh treasures from the ocean which can be prepared in a variety of different ways. Mariscos Negro Durazo offers ceviches and seafood cocktails made from choices of abalone, shrimp, crab, and more. Hot from the kitchen you can get any manner of seafood, crowned with the unbelievably rich sauces of the Sinaloan region. You can even have Lobster Puerto Nuevo style, or a carne asada steak ... so many choices.

My two dining partners and I decided we would all try something different. My choice for a starter was a fish ceviche tostada. For the main course, I selected a fish fillet grilled in garlic and butter, which was accompanied by white rice and salad. One friend had shrimp enchiladas, served with rice and beans. The other decided on the lunch special of breaded shrimp with salad and rice.

The ceviche tostada was quite tasty. The required soda crackers and extra tostadas were on the table to help us eat up all of the big scoop of lime-marinated fish. My filetes de pescado al mojo de ajo came loaded with garlic and was nicely grilled. The firm, flaky fish was perfect with the included homemade corn tortillas: just fill tortilla with fish, add squeeze of lime, squirt on one of the four provided salsas, and eat. So good. The rice included a little dice of mixed vegetables, and the salad was typical and traditional.

I had a healthy sampling of the enchiladas. They were stuffed with spicy shrimp, and covered with lettuce, Mexican sour cream and shredded cotija cheese. Totally delicious, with just the right amount of heat.

My other dining partner did not share … but I will take her word that the breaded shrimp were fabulous.

All in all, we were not very adventurous diners in a place were you can get charbroiled octopus and marlin tacos. You could even step out a little more by trying the aquachile bearded shrimp in either a red or green sauce. I’d like to come back to try the baked potato filled with spicy shrimp, along with many of the other unique menu choices.

Mariscos Negro Durazo is located at 6954 Federal Boulevard, at the corner of College Avenue. They take credit cards, and are open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m.–midnight. Beer and wine is served, and live music is featured on the weekends. Food to go is available, and you can call in your order to 619-337-7704. For menus and further information, check their website.