REELING IN ACCOLADES
MABEL’S GONE FISHING, SAN DIEGO’S NEWEST MICHELIN-RECOMMENDED RESTAURANT, LURES DINERS WITH GREAT FOOD AND WELCOMING ATMOSPHERE
Since Mabel’s Gone Fishing restaurant-bar opened in North Park a little over six months ago, it has been showered with love from locals and the national press.
In December, Eater.com named Mabel’s to its 2022 list of the top 15 new restaurants in the U.S., and last week the Michelin Guide added the Spanish-style gin and oyster bar to its California list of recommended restaurants. I had yet to visit Mabel’s, so I hurriedly made a reservation to get in before it became impossible.
Last Friday evening, I set out from my home in North County in a rainstorm so heavy that the freeway was partially flooded and traffic came to a standstill. It would take me almost two hours to make it to Mabel’s, so I called ahead from my car asking if it would be possible to delay my reservation. The man who answered the phone, Andrew, said he couldn’t find my reservation in the system, but he’d save two seats at the bar anyway. To my embarrassment, I discovered when I arrived that my reservation was for Saturday, but the kindness Andrew and the rest of the staff showed me and my lifelong friend — whose husband passed away two weeks earlier — put us both in a sunny mood.
That friendly can-do spirit, shared by the bartenders, servers and cooks at Mabel’s, is what make it such a popular neighborhood hangout. The food? Yes, it quite good — particularly the side dishes and dessert — but the service and atmosphere make it an experience. My friend and I appeared to be the only people over age 40 that night, and the noise level was high for our taste, but the intimate, near-cheekto-jowl seating was a welcome change for me, after three years of pandemic isolation, and especially for my newly widowed friend.
Not sure what to order? The staff will take their time walking you through the dishes and drinks on the menu. We got two shared plates and split an entree and dessert and were both too full to finish.
A great starter is the
house-smoked mackerel ($11), served on an olive-oilsprinkled, thick-cut slice of house-baked sourdough bread. The generous slabs of fish have a pleasing salty and buttery flavor and firm texture. We also ordered the fried potatoes ($16), which are baked and slightly smashed and given a quick fry, then topped with a smoked and garlicky crème fraîche topped with salmon roe. I’d order both again to make a satisfying dinner.
Following the Michelin recommendation, we ordered the house special, swordfish schnitzel ($40), a large swordfish steak doused in a salty crackerlike coating and fried. While we enjoyed the side of shaved fennel and salsa verde and cream sauce, the fish was heavy and too salty for our taste.
For dessert, we split a hearty slice of Basque cheesecake with cajeta (Mexican caramel sauce), and it was worth the $14 price. Basque cheesecake is less sugary and has a souffle-like interior, caramelized top and no crust. This one is feather light, with a slight and pleasing hint of salt.
Mabel’s menu also includes raw oysters and locally caught tuna, salumi, sausage, salads, grilled and roasted vegetables, shellfish, and grilled and fried fish. The gin-forward $16 cocktails have a Spanish flair. House favorites include the gin and tonic made with Nordés gin from Spain, lemon juice and sage, and the La Rambla made with Fords gin from London, Braulio liqueur, passion fruit, grapefruit and lemon juice.
We enjoyed our visit, and my friend — who lives in University Heights — said she looks forward to making Mabel’s one of her new neighborhood hangouts — not just for the food, but for the welcoming sense of community she found inside.