November marks 12 years for the Pacific Beach Fish Shop, which started out there and has since spread to Point Loma and Encinitas.
The menu offers a boatload of fresh seafood selections to choose from. Patrons are encouraged to come in and build-their-own taco, sandwich, salad, or plate by selecting their cut of fish, sides, and marinade. Diners can dive into some Fish Shop favorites, such as its award-winning TKO taco, or the grilled mahi-mahi marinated in homemade seasoning topped with tropical mango salsa.
The seafood restaurant at 1775 Garnet Ave. is also known for its coconut shrimp coated in-house. That menu item is made from shredded coconut batter and deep-fried until it’s golden and crispy.
“One of our owners here, Billy Ramirez, was the one who found this location in 2010, and opened it on Nov. 1, when there was no seafood here in Pacific Beach,” said Fish Shop district manager Larry Alva, who had been working at the PB Shore Club, and seized the opportunity to manage a new seafood restaurant. “We have a fast-casual kind of restaurant set up here.”
Alva said it’s encouraging that the restaurant is successfully emerging from the pandemic. But he added they are now faced with supply-chain issues and costs going up.
Alva said Fish Shop’s seafood comes down from Los Angeles. “We get deliveries three or four times a week on the fresh fish that comes in here,” he said. “Everything we make in-house. Everything is fresh. We make our own marinades, dressings, etc. We’re very fortunate with the staff we have, and have been able to retain a lot of our kitchen staff.”
The menu at the Fish Shop includes ahi tuna, mahi mahi, albacore, diver scallops, jumbo shrimp, red snapper, salmon, sea bass, swordfish, and yellowtail. Those fish varieties are served with a choice of a taco, sandwich, salad, or plate. Also on the menu are lumpia, crab cakes, fish and shrimp n’ chips, shrimp cocktail, sashimi, fried calamari, oysters, stew, clam chowder, and shrimp and mahi mahi ceviche.
“Being here 12 years, we have a great following of regulars, that’s really helped us out,” said Alva of current affairs at the seafood eatery. “We have a great customer base, and people were really supportive during COVID. They were buying local, seeing that we were doing things right. This summer was great with the tourists coming back in. And even now with it getting slower (in the fall), all the regulars are coming back.”
Of Fish Shop’s appeal, Alva said: “We’ve always wanted to be very food-orientated, and that’s what we’ve really done a great job doing here, with our staff, with our customers who come in. You feel really relaxed. You come in, you get good healthy food. Our folks in the kitchen take great pride in what they put out. You can also come in and socialize with other people in here.”
Alva said Fish Shop’s Point Loma location at 1110 Rosecrans St. has been open since 2018.
Are we going to see more Fish Shops around in the future?
“We’re hoping to,” replied Alva. “The owners are always looking for spots, possibly in Little Italy or East County. The hardest part is the rent, making sure you find the right place, where you can find the right numbers to make sure that you’re profitable.”
PB FISH SHOP
Where: 1775 Garnet Ave.
Info: thefishshops.com, 858-483-1008.
