MesaMar Restaurant Review

Chef and owner Fifi Molina of Mesamar has developed an interesting seafood menu with a fusion of Latin and Japanese influence. Open for customers to view on display are fresh fish on ice that will be prepared for the day. Being able to see the fish that you are about to eat on display adds a nice touch to the eating experience, an element not present in many restaurants. If you choose a fish entree, the waitress will bring to you the fish that was chosen for you so that you can approve of the selection. Another excellent touch added by MesaMar! The restaurant  is said to purchase their fish and shellfish daily to ensure the highest quality and freshness of ingredients.

 

 

What you’re getting:

Start off with Tacos from the Sea. Definitely go with the Lobster Tacos and the Tuna Tacos.  The lobster and tuna are both marinated in a yuzu dressing, sweet chili, cilantro and red onions. The tacos from the sea were surprisingly good… Lobster and tuna tacos sound yummy, but these were OUTSTANDING! You get one taco per order and the tacos are small bite sized, akin to sliders. The lobster taco comes with a creamy spicy sauce and garlic and the tuna taco comes dressed in a cilantro sauce. Both tacos come in a hard crunchy fried shell that complements the flavors of the fish, shellfish and sauces extremely well. These are THE must get appetizers from MesaMar, you won’t be disappointed!

 

 

An excellent choice for entree are the Grilled Langoustines. The grilled langoustines are colossal tiger prawns that are grilled with olive oil and garlic butter. They have a reminiscent lobster flavor with a slightly sweet flavor profile. Squeeze a little bit of lemon on the langoustine meat to enrich the flavor of the shellfish. The fresh lemon juice adds a subtle freshness and crispness to every bite, adding another layer of flavor to the prominent garlic butter taste. Personally, I enjoyed eating these langoustines more than I enjoy eating lobster. I highly recommend that you try MesaMar’s langoustines, they were one of the best dishes served.

The Sweet Miso Black Cod is another superb option for an entree. The Black Cod is marinated in a homemade sweet miso sauce and then baked in the oven. The sweet miso black cod was cooked perfectly, flaky and broke apart easily. The sweet miso marinade made all of the difference though, it adds such a deep level of flavor and hugs onto the flesh of the fish very well. The Sweet Miso Black Cod conveys the Asian influences in MesaMar’s menu. This is a must get dish, the flavors are top of the line!

 

The Catch of the Day: Hog Fish  comes out in a beautiful presentation. The fresh fish is fried whole and cut into chunks or filleted and grilled with olive oil and garlic butter. Both the grilled and fried hog fish were excellent, choosing one over the other would come down to personal preference. The grilled fish has the distinct garlic butter flavor with a marvelous seasoning. It was also light, it felt as if I was eating something healthy. I personally enjoyed the grilled fish over the fried for these reasons.

The Catch of the Day comes with sides, I recommend the white rice and beans. The rice is far from plain and boring. The rice is seasoned well and the addition of golden raisins, adds a sweetness to every bite. Odd as it might sound to have the sweetness of raisin in rice, it it pairs extremely well with both the beans and the fish. Traditional Latin influences in the menu, albeit with a slight twist, can be seen with the side pairings of rice and beans. You can also add tostones that comes with a butter based sauce for dipping.