El Fish Marisqueria
The Tostada Ensenada comes piled with crab salad, shrimp and octopus under a spicy salsa macha, and the MICHELIN inspector's instruction is to eat it with your hands.
Why go
The guide's advice on ordering is to start in the para empezar section and treat it as a spread, because that is where the marisqueria cooking sits before the menu leans contemporary.1 Hillary Reinsberg's account fills in the range: lobster tacos, tuna tostadas, grilled oysters, a clam chowder tortilla soup, and whole fish.2 The room is warm and modern with a bar that pulls in locals for cocktails and zero-proof drinks. It sits a few blocks from Lincoln Center, and Reinsberg says that is what it is for: somewhere upscale before the ballet or the opera.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Tostada Ensenada, then work the para empezar section. The guide calls the tostada
bold, generous and best eaten with your hands.
1 - Avoid: giving up without a reservation.
Didn't snag a reservation? The raw bar is ideal for walk-ins or solo dining.
1
What locals & experts say
- Hillary Reinsberg, The Infatuation, 23 February 2023, rated 7.8:
This Mexican seafood spot on the Upper West Side serves a lot of delicious things from the sea in a lot of formats... it's a smooth operation that's a bit more elegant than their other spots.
2 - MICHELIN Guide New York, read 3 September 2026: in the selection, no star printed.
Quality seafood drives the menu, and while some plates lean contemporary, start with the para empezar section for a proper marisqueria-style feast.
1
Good to know
- Timing: dinner only.
- Booking: worth reserving for a table. The raw bar takes walk-ins.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Kenji and co went here recently"
Verdict
could-visit — El Fish is in the MICHELIN selection with no star, and Hillary Reinsberg rated it 7.8 in February 2023. The Tostada Ensenada is the dish. The raw bar takes walk-ins and single diners, and Lincoln Center is a few blocks south.