Mariscos La Costa

La Costa is not a place for the shellfish-shy. Located in the heart of the Fruitvale District , home to Oakland’s largest Latino population, this taqueria is the wet dream of seafood. La Costa is a no-frills joint, somewhere between a taco truck and a fast food drive-through. You order from a menu painted on the wall above the front counter and the friendly guys at the window take it all down; within minutes your number is called in Spanish and you have a tray of mouthwatering mariscos in front of you.

Tostadas and seafood cocktails are the specialties of the house. The tostadas are topped with ceviche, fresh prawns, huge pieces of octopus, or any combination thereof. The seafood is crazy-fresh and the Cadillac version, with whole prawns and giant morsels of octopus tops out at $3.75. Criminally cheap in my book.

I haven’t yet tried the seafood cocktails but they look great and seem to be de rigueur for any order. They don’t resemble the shrimp cocktail most of us might be used to; these are more soup-like and are served in a giant plastic cup with grated cheese and all manner of seafood floating about in the gazpacho-like broth. A medium-sized cocktail will run you about $7.50 which is quite a deal considering the amount of goodies they cram into one cup.

Speaking of cocktails, there are none here. BYOT (tequila) if you have a hankering for the chile-suppressing power that only hard liquor can provide. Also, the dining is alfresco so carry a sweater if there’s a chill in the air. Better yet, bring that flask of heart-warming tequila!

Another perk: oysters are $1 each and they’re big & meaty. Again, not for the faint of heart when it comes to the fruits of the ocean. If you do decide to bring along some die-hard carnivores there are items on the menu to appease such as lengua and carne. But understand that these are mere distractions. At La Costa, seafood is the name of the game.

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Mariscos La Costa (Reviews & Map)
3625 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94601
510.533.9566
Hours: 9am-7pm Daily