Mariscos El Molino

Mariscos El Molino is a neighbourhood seafood kitchen on Calle Guillermo Prieto in La Paz, Baja California Sur, several blocks back from the Malecon, and belongs firmly to the working city rather than to its visitor economy. The operation runs on the same logic as the best mariscos places on this coast: buy early from the La Paz fleet, cook simply, sell cheaply, and close when the product is finished. Ceviche verde at roughly $8 is the plate to order first, fish cured in lime with serrano, coriander and cucumber, sharper and greener than the tomato-based versions common elsewhere in Mexico. Marlin machaca tacos at about $6 for three use the dried and shredded marlin that is a specific Baja California Sur preparation, cooked down with tomato and chile, and the mixed seafood cocktail near $10 layers shrimp, octopus and oyster in the tall-glass format. Tostadas, whole fried fish and shrimp preparations complete a short board written on a wall. Portions are large and the pricing is genuinely local. The dining room is functional: tiled floor, plastic chairs, long tables, ceiling fans, a radio and hand-painted signage, filled at breakfast and lunch with fishermen coming off the water and families from the surrounding streets. The noise is conversational and constant, dress is irrelevant, and no reservations exist. Drinks run to beer, micheladas, aguas frescas and soft drinks. Hours are 7AM to 5PM daily, and the early start is worth noting because seafood breakfast, ceviche and machaca before nine in the morning, is normal here and is when the room is at its most local. Cash in pesos is the practical payment. The location is a short taxi ride or a 15-minute walk from the La Paz waterfront, far enough out that the clientele stays residential. Regulars tend to order across several small dishes rather than committing to a single plate, which suits the format and keeps the ceviche and cocktails arriving in sequence rather than all at once. The wall board changes with the day's purchase, so the printed items are less reliable a guide than asking what came in that morning.