Having gone to the famous mariscos street food stand that is La Guerrerense Carreta on a previous…read morevisit to Ensenada, and eating seafood tostadas standing up with my brother in a street alley while having various juices dribbling down my chin, I knew how good the seafood tostadas here could be. But figured I needed a better way to eat it while visiting Ensenada again with my wife. So this time, went to the nearby sister restaurant, Sabina. It's named for the owner of the original food stand, and there are a lot of pictures of her with other celebrities who appreciated her talent in creating seafood combinations.
The Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant is within walking distance from the cruise port, and is located in an area with a lot of other restaurants and shops. We came there soon after it opened around 10 am, and had the choice of indoor or outdoor seating. We showed that we were coming from California, by choosing indoor seating. We were given colorful menus and suggestions. We also got complementary chips and salsa, with 4 different varieties of her famous salsas being served. I tried all four of them, and two of them were way too hot, even in moderation. I did really like the green salsa, which tasted more like a simple guacamole. It also came with thinly slices of lime...each small slice producing so much more juice than any lime we get in California.
My wife doesn't like raw seafood, so chose garlic shrimp (Caramones al Mojo de Ajo for Mex$405). There were plenty of jumbo headless, shell-on white shrimp, with the butter sauce being very light and not too garlicky. It came with a very good rice pilaf and sauteed vegetables (mostly squash which neither of us are a fan of). I went with 3 choices from the 5 selection 'Champion' list: 1. Erizo con Almeja (Sea Urchin with Clam for Mex$230) - winner of LA Street Food Fest 2011 for Best Original Showmanship 2. Caracol con Lajas de Caracol (Mixed Ceviche with Sea Snail for Mex$209) - winner of LA Street Food Fest 2012 for Best in Show 3. Singapur (Mex$209) - winner of LA Street Food Fest 2013 for unknown category). All three were piled high with fresh seafood, embellished with perfectly ripe avocado slices. None of them needed additional salsa, but adding a squeeze of lime enhanced. My favorite was the Singapore and would try the other two tostadas on the winners list the next time. The best way would be to order all the tostadas and split amongst a group of 4 or 5 friends (there are 6 other special tostadas and you can also create your own with the fresh seafood ingredients). Got two bottles of water (Mex$75 each...not cheap) and a local beer (Vera Niega Mexican Ale, a bottle being Mex$110) that was excellent.
Service was attentive and friendly throughout, with multiple servers (Horacio and Antonio) attending to us, all trying to make sure we had a good time. Credit cards are accepted, using a modern tableside POS, and I was happy to pay a gratuity over what is customary. Bathrooms are modern, with individual stalls (most of them gender neutral) all sharing a nice common set of sinks.
My wife and I left in fine spirits and it was beginning to fill up more as we left (all dining al fresco, of course). Dining at the nearby original food cart is worth the initial experience, but there is something to having food this good in a sit-down restaurant. Sabina is that place.
