La Corriente Cevicheria Nais

La Corriente Cevicheria Nais is a Tijuana ceviche house that has grown to several branches across the city, with the best-known on Boulevard Sanchez Taboada in Zona Urbana Rio. The name refers to the cold California Current that runs down the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula and makes its shellfish so good, and the kitchen is built entirely around raw and cured seafood dressed in the northern Mexican idiom of lime, chilli and salt rather than the softer Peruvian style. The room is bright and informal, painted in blues and whites with tiled counters, tightly packed tables and a service that runs from late morning to early evening only. The aguachile negro is the plate that defines the kitchen, shrimp cured in lime and dressed with a black chilli and soy-darkened sauce that is considerably hotter than it looks. Alongside it come green aguachile, tostadas of seared tuna, callo de hacha scallops served raw with cucumber and citrus, marlin and octopus preparations, and a mixed ceviche for the table. Portions are generous and designed for sharing, and most plates cost between 130 and 280 pesos, which makes a full meal for two comfortably affordable. Drinks are the expected accompaniments: Baja craft beer, micheladas in several styles, clamato preparations and a short list of white wines from the Valle de Guadalupe. There is no dress code and no reservation system; diners walk in and wait briefly at peak lunchtime. The room is loud in an amiable way, with families, office workers from Zona Rio and groups sharing towers of seafood. Service closes at 7PM daily, which follows the Mexican coastal convention that raw seafood is eaten in daylight, and the best plates are usually gone by late afternoon on busy days.