Mariscos Del Puerto — Restaurant in San Antonio

I went there on a Friday afternoon during lent and I had tried to call to place an order 20 times , not exaggerating at all I want to pick up and go cause I was on lunch. I could not get through and so I ended up going to the restaurant in person and was told I had to call in my order . I advised the waitress I had tried several times to which I was told she has answered every call, not sure why she thought I would lie to her but I just took it. At this point I was allowed to give my order after she handle 3 other customers. I order a fried fish and a ceviche for my father and wife then a deep fried red snapper for myself. The waitress advised it would be about 10 minutes for my fish and I was okay with this. Side note the fish broth you get here as a dine in and the fried red snapper are amazing this single event will not stop me from going back but this event has been something I felt strongly to convey. So food is ordered and I am waiting so it’s roughly 12pm again Friday during lent, I have a couple conversations with other customers as I wait and it’s now about 25 minutes since I ordered mind you I was told 10 but I am not trying to start a fuss I know what the restaurant is going through I have been in the culinary field for 20 years so I am giving them the benefit of the doubt. However after 40 minutes I need to say something I am in a one hour lunch and have a meeting right at 1 so I need to get going and the waitress keeps stalling it’s almost done it’s almost done. Finally after 50 minutes she begins to bring my food and tells me this is everything it the red snapper she needs to package it up , okay no problem. Well for the next 15 minutes she continues to serve everyone the meals as I wait for my last plate to come and it’s frustrating because if all you have to do is package it for 15 minutes my fried fish is just sitting there , that’s not okay. My hour long ordeal I am sure is not the norm as I said I really enjoy the food here and the service is usually on point I guess this day was a one off but don’t put one customer on the back burner because you have others all customers are equal and deserve the best...

Since the month had a "R" in it (September), we thought we would stop in and have some oysters on the half shell. Not a whole lot of English spoken here so I dusted off my Spanish and conversed with the waitress and manager about the freshness of the oysters. The manager brought out the oyster tags which showed one bag was from Brazil(!!!) and the other from Louisiana and expired in 2 days. We took a chance and ordered a dozen. Some medium some small, the baker's dozen was mostly fresh tasting, but for a few that were a bit past their prime. Be advised, they do not have any horseradish for adding to your sauce. The oysters were served with the sweetish tomato "soup" that is used to make their cocktails. Not my ideal, but we managed with some heavy lime spritzing.

The fried shrimp are a good size with a light corn meal batter and very good. The cook here definitely knows what he is doing with seafood. Best in the city? . . . h-m-m-m-m. That's a rating people tend to use a little too freely. I would say the food has been good the 4 times we have been and leave it at that. I will say that it is harder to find this type of well prepared Mexican coastal seafood in the city with only a handful of other places that I can think of quickly.

Those whom have never been to Mexico and to some of the humble restaurants there may not want to stop here. Not a lot of money is spent on decorations or furniture and there may be a fly or two, That aspect may upset some enough to exaggerate about the cleanliness of the place. And this place definitely has that south of the border feel in ambiance and language spoken. So, this little kitchen will be a fun vacation-reminiscent restaurant for some and a scary little place for others. I think it's definitely worth your time and pesos, however, given the...

New favorite restaurant in SA. Hope I don't ruin this for the local regulars, but this place is fantastic. It's a hole in the wall, which is my favorite. The moment you enter, you feel the warmth and see the smiles on everyone's faces. Paola waited on us and was so nice and sweet. We started with Jamaica for my son and after one so he said 'Daddy, this is soooo good...you have to try this.' I had an Arnold Palmer and Paola even asked if I wanted sweet or unsweet tea....bonus points right there. It was really good.

We then started with the Ceviche Mixed (fish and shrimp) and it was incredible. So much flavor, and their homemade chipotle sauce and homemade avocado sauce (spicy) bottles were really good.

They also brought out two small samplers of their caldo de marisco, which had great depth of flavor. Really wanted to order that, too.

We then ordered the shrimp burger (much bigger than expected, in a good way, as most restaurants skimp on size) for my little boy, and after the first bite, he just closed his eyes, smiled, and said 'Oh my gosh this is soooo goooood.' I knew my tacos were going to be legit. I ordered the Taco Tocineta and the Taco Camaron del Tio. The Tocineta was so good and held together so well. The bacon wrapped shrimp inside were delicious. The del Tio was the one I was really looking forward to, and it was crazy good. The sauce inside was incredible.

Got the bill and it was very, very reasonable. Worth every penny.

We left stuffed and with huge smiles on our faces.

Go and treat yourselves, and thank me later. We will be back here over and...