La Cahua del Yeyo

Baja is known for splurge seafood at affordable prices, but locals prefer to eat everyday seafood at one of the down-home mariscos (seafood) shacks. La Cahua del Yeyo is a dive where you can dive into Sonoran seafood classics for about one-third of the price of sit-down seafood restaurants in town. Atmosphere is spare and tortillas aren’t made fresh, but the fish and excellent salsas and dressings make up for these compromises.

Sonoran seafood is a bit funkier than familiar Baja classics. No fried fish tacos here. The specialties are blood sausage, manta ray, and strangest of all, tuna fin (aleta). Aleta has the texture of raw clams and an even stronger flavor of the sea. It’s an acquired taste, but one that grows on your after a few tacos. We like them so much that we now will scold our fish monger for throwing them away. Because of the gelatinous texture of the fin, we recommend getting it in a combinado con aleta taco which also will include firmer manta ray and stewed vegetables. It’s strange that shark fin is an expensive (and environmentally irresponsible) delicacy and tuna fin tacos can be had for pocket change. Take advantage of it! 

Our favorite taco here is octopus and olive. It’s rich with olive-oil flavor, the octopus is tender, and salty olives are a great Mediterranean touch. This is a semi-gourmet taco at street taco prices, and one we look forward to returning for. Also recommended are tacos dorados. Although they don’t have much inside beyond the faint taste of fish paste, they offer a crunchy contrast to other tacos.

Do get soup. It starts with a rich shrimp-based broth and can include any number of marine animals. The rich soup itself is one of the best consummes we’ve tasted in Mexico

It’s best to stick to house specialties. The marlin and shrimp taco gobenador (with cheese and cream) is overly dressed, and the marlin is dry.