La Guerrerense is a legendary street cart in Ensenada, Mexico, famous for its fresh seafood tostadas. Its status was cemented in 2012 when Anthony Bourdain declared its tostadas to be the best in the world.
Run by Sabina Bandera, whose family have had the cart since 1960, its most famous tostada is a sea urchin ceviche with a clam on top.
When we visited in 2016, we were unaware of Bourdain’s earlier visit. We only learnt about that later. As oyster lovers, our attention was drawn to the sign for oyster cócteles.
I asked the guy serving what type of oysters they were, and he said Ostión which I soon realized just meant oysters. Eventually he revealed they were from San Quintín, Baja California’s biggest and best known oyster producing region.
The oysters we tasted at the La Guerrerense street cart were meaty with a mild, sweet flavour and vegetal/cucumber notes.
If you have the chance to visit San Quintín – sadly we haven’t yet – there are numerous waterfront restaurants and rustic spots where you can experience the local oysters. La Ostionera de Bahía Falsa and Mariscos El Coyote are among those where you can try them raw (with lime and salsa if you wish), cooked in dishes, or grilled various ways.
In Ensenada, which is on the Pacific Ocean a couple of hours’ drive north of San Quintín, we enjoyed not only the humble La Guerrerense street cart experience but also a wonderful fine dining experience at Manzanilla.
This portside restaurant is run by celebrity duo Benito Molina and Solange Muris who appeared on the Mexican series of MasterChef. Sumptuously decorated with hot pink chandeliers, marble tables and wingback chairs, their restaurant marries Mexican styles, flavours and textures with Mediterranean influences.
Tasting menu
Our tastebuds amused with one of the best margaritas I’ve ever tasted, we enjoyed a six-course tasting menu that highlighted the bounty available in Baja waters, including Kumamoto oysters, abalone and chocolate clams, along with fabulous produce from the surrounding Valle de Guadalupe.
The oysters were served in a variety of ways, with mignonette, raw with pig’s feet salad, and grilled with crisp fried spinach. The dainty chocolate clam (named for the colour of its shell, not its flavour) was topped with gorgonzola cheese.
The abalone was served two ways, one with a white wine-infused tomato sauce, and the other with soy sauce and ginger. Adobe Guadalupe Uriel 2015 Rosé was a wonderful match for these first few courses.
Benito learnt many of his seafood techniques in Brittany, France, and he and Solange have cooked at events with some of the world’s best chefs, including Danish chef René Redzepi and Spanish chef Juan Mari Arzak. We can highly recommend Manzanilla for an outstanding seafood experience. You can read our full Food Wine Travel story on Manzanilla here.