Mercado Negro, Ensenada

Mercado Negro is Ensenada's working fish market on Blvd. Teniente Azueta, set back from the fishing fleet's docks in the Zona Centro. The goods sold are almost entirely seafood: fresh fish and shellfish sold whole or filleted, smoked marlin, canned abalone, dried shrimp and octopus, and ceviche and shrimp tostadas made to order at stands built into the market itself. Vendors are Ensenada fishing families and cooperatives selling their own catch rather than outside distributors, so the ratio of authentic local product to tourist packaging is high; smoked marlin and canned abalone are sold as much to visitors as to locals restocking a home pantry. Fresh fish and shellfish are priced at the day's market rate and are not negotiable, though there is sometimes room to negotiate on packaged goods like dried shrimp; the market runs almost entirely on cash, with few if any card machines. The crowd is a mix of Ensenada residents buying the day's catch and cruise-ship visitors on port days, with mornings the busiest and best-stocked time before the freshest fish sells out. The ceviche and tostada stands at the market's edge let visitors eat on the spot, and the view over the fishing fleet just behind the stalls is part of the experience. The must-visit corners are the smoked marlin and canned goods counters for take-home souvenirs and the tostada stands for a meal made from the same catch on sale.