Mariscos La Playa — Restaurant in Santa Fe

What an incredible find! I was basically biding time until I could access my Airbnb reservation in Santa Fe. So, I was fairly aimlessly driving around the city, just getting a feel for the place. I was so excited to see a Trader Joe's! I immediately turned into the shopping center and found a place to park and google lunch. Lo and behold, right in front of me was Mariscos La Playa. Due diligence was called for so I googled it, of course, and I was impressed by the many good reviews they had.

I walked in and was immediately greeted by a charming young waitress who told me I could sit anywhere that was free! I found a booth and sat, eagerly awaiting the arrival of a menu. In the meantime, I was served with a water, chips and 3 different (and very tasty) salsas. The menu arrived and it was a struggle for me to read - not their fault! I'd forgotten to pack my readers so it was an effort to decide what I wanted. I eventually chose the Mariscada Caliente which was an assortment of seafood and fish served with rice and potatoes. Plus a few corn tortillas. When it arrived, it was not at all what I'd expected but by the first mouthful I was utterly delighted! I took my time savoring the meal but knew I would leave half to take home for dinner. I reheated it this evening and it was just as delicious as it was the first time I ate it!

If I have time, I will definitely go back before flying back home. Lovely establishment; helpful and friendly waiters and great food at a reasonable...

Honest Reviews The restaurant is small and very hot inside. It looks ok inside. We ordered a cocktail shrimp large and small. I had the small and i felt it was more than enough. They offered free chips & pico de gallo, water down refried beans & guacamole salsa i believe. For lunch we ordered combination shrimp that came with a variety of shrimp on a bed of white rice. The shrimp was ok and the rice. We also ordered a small mixed fish soup small . The small was more than enough. Unfortunately no flavor and much to be desired. To drink I ordered a freshly squeezed lemonade that was really good. Overall the food had much to be desired. The servers are nice and attentive & bilingual. Shrimp cocktails were good and the shrimp cleaned. I would maybe visit again for the shrimp cocktail & lemonade. They do serve beers for those looking or wondering

I remembered that I ate at this restaurant in Albuquerque on San Mateo north of McLoud. I believe same owners. Restaurant in Albuquerque the food had better flavor and both the shrimp cocktails were good at both locations. I was also told Mariscos costa Azul are relatives of the owners. But Mariscos costa Azul are too lazy to clean their shrimp. I believe it's unbelievable...

Dropped in at about 2pm on a Friday. More than half of the tables in the main section were occupied. The secondary section was not available for seating.

The chips and salsa were excellent. The Pico de Gallo was just right for me, closer to medium than mild. The white dip is based on the Pico de Gallo but with avocado and cream. The refried bean based dip is very mild and good for cooling off my tongue.

I had two of the Tostada de Ceviche (Pescado) and the Caldo de Pescado (fish soup). The soup was very good but the ceviche was excellent.

My wife had the shrimp fajitas. She said they were excellent and was impressed with how tasty the flour tortillas were.

Service was great. The waitress explained things for us and asked questions that we didn't think to ask.

There is a fee for paying by credit card, but it's not a surprise if you're paying attention. There is a sign right by the door and one on the opposite wall telling you there will be a charge.

The restaurant is part of a strip mall, with the restaurant being an older part of the facility. While there is limited parking next to the restaurant, there is plenty of parking in the main mall lot. I drive a crew cab long bed truck and had no...