Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill — Restaurant in San Diego

Blue Water Seafoods is known for their notoriously long lines and wait times, partly driven by its popularity, and mostly due to its inefficient pen & paper ordering system. I do not do long lines so, during my recent visit, I made sure to come during what I expected to be a slow time. Arriving here at 3:20pm on a Thursday afternoon, I experienced no wait at all before my order was taken.

My "New England Clam Chowder" was provided to me immediately to eat while I waited for my grilled dishes. To me, this chowder was inedible. To you? You probably won't mind it, but I don't know how anyone can objectively tell me this is a good cup of soup, because it's just not. Most other people seem to not mind it, with even a few other Yelpers going as far as to say it's the "best ever" in their reviews. I grew up in New England, and I thus can't get my mind past how terrible the texture of the broth is. There's a not-so-fine line between "creamy" and "sludgy," and this chowder is the latter. A great chowder has a frothy broth of cream that still tastes fresh. The delicate clams and their briny juices are supposed to provide the flavor in a chowder. Here, the broth is mud-thick and tastes primarily of salt and flour. I'm sorry, but this should not be eaten. Don't order this.

The "Grilled Mahi Mahi Taco" is good, even if it is overloaded with vegetal toppings, what seems to be a garden's worth of tomatoes and a full head of shredded cabbage. The green onions and small amount of red onions on the taco are fine, but there's too much other stuff. According to the description, there's some shredded cheese somewhere in the taco as well. Maybe I'll find it, if I dig deep enough?

Once I got to tasting the grilled mahi mahi itself, it was delightful, and Blue Water's delicious preparation of very fresh fish is the reason why it is so beloved by San Diegans. The mahi in my taco had handsome grill marks on it, with its flavor enhanced by the sweet marinade that has been cooked onto its surface. The mild white corn tortilla was not bad for a seafood market, in that I mostly didn't notice or react to it, even if obviously was not made in-house. The white sauce used here is sour cream-based and bland. I found myself squeezing the juices from my lime wedges into the taco and reaching for the bottled Cholula; there are no salsa frescas available here unfortunately.

I much preferred the "Grilled Jumbo Scallop Taco," which had all of the same challenges as the mahi mahi taco, but I was willing to forgive them perhaps because I'm a scallop fiend, and the scallops served here are large, buttery, delicate and, above all, delicious. Yes, my scallop taco cost me $10, but it was worth it. I would have paid more than $10 for the four ounces of scallops alone at...

I'm not usually the type of person to post a negative review but I'm going to remain constructive with my critique. First off I'm aware that I may not look like the most approachable person but still no excuse for how I was treated. I walked in and was greeted by a staff member I noticed the large tip jars in front on display for everyone to see. Mind you I've worked in the service industry before and I'm well aware that people often grab money from the tip jars. I eyed the tip jars because like I said it's on display at the counter and it's hard to miss, it was also full so that's another reason it's hard to not stare at a pile of money in front of your face. Anyway I can tell the girl at the register noticed, perhaps she assumed that I grabbed some money from the tip jars and decided TO ADD A TIP on her end as a form of payback. So I approached them about the situation and they were not able to provide me with a receipt in which the tip was added and voided. I was visibly bothered by this situation. Also it's not the first time I experience this at this establishment I was treated similarly another night by a pregnant lady who put the tip jar away as I approached. Perhaps I look like someone who stole from here before? Or maybe I just look like someone that steals? Anyway I have NEVER received this type of treatment anywhere else. I've been an ongoing customer here since 2019 and the food has always been good but the service has definitely declined. Mind you it's a 20 minute drive to get there from where I live. To top it off my sandwich had a hair in it. Maybe I deserve that for advocating for myself in an assertive but demanding manner. It's hard to not be visibly bothered by being treated this way and I believe if I was a thief I should get treated much worse. In conclusion I work hard for my money too, just like everyone else! And I don't want to spend my money here any longer. I wouldn't put it past them to have messed with my food either. If you are willing to risk the staff being in a good mood stop on by, the food is not too bad, it might not be...

I really like fish tacos and onion rings so if they're on the menu, I'm ordering them. I ordered cod fish tacos and a side of onion rings and wasn't impressed.

The taco contained a large chunk of battered fish covered with a melody of coarsely chopped, blah tasting red onions, cabbage, tomatoes and scallions, covered with a drizzle of watered-down, flavorless mayo type white sauce, sitting upon a flaccid flour tortilla that required two hands to stop all the ingredients from falling out when you tried to pick it up. It was more like a Sloppy Jose taco. The easiest way to eat this would have meant breaking culinary law by using a knife and fork. Bite after bite I was aware of nothing special. Oh BTW, it came with a green sauce that I couldn't identify the taste of.

Now I wanted to try the taco with the sauce, but I didn't want to pour the sauce over my taco in case I didn't like it on the taco, so I held the taco and dipped it into the sauce. Turned out messy and frustrating. Needless to say I didn't like the tacos and it wasn't the fish, the fish was really good just the rest of the ingredients lacked flavor, seasoning.

The onion rings were coated in a coarse breadcrumb crust, kinda like the frozen rings you can buy at a grocery, taste like'em too.

Service was fine because there wasn't much needed. You stand in line, place your order and grab a seat, just like you do in McDonalds. One thing I can't understand is why these places don't have comfortable seating. The out-front seating is tilted and I had the displeasure of having my side of the table at chin level. Memories of childhood dinners flashed as I asked the waitress for a booster seat. Could have eaten no-hands without bending over. Kinda like a pie eating contest, except with tacos.

Can't judge a restaurant in just one experience, I will return. All-in-all I enjoyed the companionship of my friends, without sharing...