Mariscos Chihuahua - Tucson, AZ

Posted By Michael Stern on January 3, 2002 4:50 AM

As the name of this restaurant translates, seafood is the specialty: oysters raw or cooked, fish grilled or fried, stews and soups; but it is shrimp that star. The menu lists a dozen ways with shrimp, including cool cocktails and “drowned raw,” meaning ceviche-style, i.e. cooked by immersion in a lime marinade to breaded and fried.

We stuck to the basics and got an order of cooked shrimp in garlic sauce and an order of shrimp endiablados, which means extremely hot. And if it isn’t hot enough, each table is set with about a half-dozen bottles of hot salsa of various kinds to make it explosive. The shrimp are presented in a most appetizing way, strewn across a field of crisp French fries on a broad fish-shaped plate that also holds a mound of rice, a green salad, and a warm tortilla wrapped in foil. They are medium-size shrimp, firm and moist and delicious, and there are LOTS of them on the plate, maybe two dozen per order. They are served with the hard tail still on, providing a nice handle for picking them up and nabbing one good mouthful. What’s great about the presentation is that whatever the shrimp are sauced with – be it garlic butter, soy sauce, oyster sauce, or that devilish endiablados – seeps down and flavors the French fries that are their bedding. That means that as you approach the end of your shrimp, you then get to savor these good, crisp fries infused with whatever flavor it was that made the shrimp.

Beverages include excellent presweetened (and lemon-flavored) ice tea as well as horchata, the locally-favored sweetened rice milk. A large cooler in the center of the dining area holds bottles and cans of Dos Equis, Tecate, Corona, and Bud and Bud Lite.

Mariscos Chihuahua is a big, bright place with sunlight streaming in picture windows all around, illuminating a tempestuous seascape mural that covers one wall. The staff are friendly; and the tape player belts out Mexican tunes that make every meal feel like a celebration. There are two other Mariscos Chihuahua in Tucson. The others are located at 1009 N. Grande Ave. and 3901 S. 6th Ave.

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Posted By Tom Lewis on October 7, 2011 9:57 PM

As you walk towards the door of the restaurant, you immediately get the sweet smell of cooking shrimp. Chips, crackers, limes, and salsa are provided when you sit down. The restaurant is very clean and the staff welcoming and attentive. The menu conveys that this is a serious place for seafood: ceviche, oysters, shrimp, octopus, fish, various seafood cocktails, and seafood stews.

I ordered camarones rellenos (shrimp stuffed with a creamy white cheese, wrapped in bacon, and then fried). The entree came with rice, salad, and French fries, and I ordered a horchata to drink. The eight shrimp were cooked perfectly and needed just a squirt of fresh lime juice to really set them off. I would have liked the salad a little more if it had ripe instead of pink tomatoes. The serving size left me with no room for dessert.

There were several families sharing large platters of raw oysters, seafood platters, and servings of ceviche. The restaurant is a must do when you crave serious seafood during your visit to Tucson.

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Camarones Rellenos

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Posted By Stewart Dean on October 3, 2011 2:33 PM

Another Roadfood score. I had the battered, butterflied and bacon-wrapped shrimp; my wife had shrimp in oyster sauce. We both loved the sweetened rice milk drink. GREAT place.

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