Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Lunch near the track a good bet

North County Fish Market — away from the beach but still a catch

The Fish Market's saffron black mussels with butter and wine sauce were delightful.
The Fish Market's saffron black mussels with butter and wine sauce were delightful.

The Fish Market on the border of Del Mar and Solana Beach has been a go-to spot for me since it opened in 1981. It’s more laid back than the coastal restaurants on the beach, giving off more of a local vibe. The dining room is large, with tiled floors, so it can be noisy, but not in a annoying way. Large photos of big fish and fishermen line the walls, and a case of fresh seafood is on sale at the front door.

Place

Fish Market

640 Via de la Valle, Solana Beach

The Solana Beach/Del Mar Fish Market has been open for 35 years and counting.

The Del Mar racetrack is across the street, and maybe that’s why it feels less fancy and less touristy than the Fish Market on the harbor. Whatever the reason, I’m glad my friend Ruth thought of treating me there for my birthday.

Sponsored
Sponsored

We grabbed a booth in the back so we could catch up on writing and life and not disturb the other customers. We made sure to tell our server we were going to camp out for a bit, and she seemed fine with it.

Seafood is a good bet at the Solana Beach Fish Market.

We were both starving and ordered quickly, but not before Ruth ordered a bottle of my favorite — and expensive — chardonnay, Rombauer. The only complaint I had about the wine is that it wasn’t placed in an ice bucket to stay cold. For $78 a bottle, was a little ice too much to ask?

Our food came quickly, and Ruth dug into her saffron black mussels. I’m not a fan, but she declared them delightful. They were served in a butter garlic sauce with wine. I watched her as she soaked up the juices with the toast that accompanied it. I was glad the mussels were fresh. Have you ever smelled a bad mussel? It’s not something you would forget.

It's all about the seafood at the Fish Market, but the chicken — not from the sea — is great too.

I was not in a fish mood. I’ve had the teriyaki chicken breast with cheese potatoes before, and that’s what I ordered. The chicken was juicy and not overcooked. I love the potatoes and the small helping is just right. The coleslaw was okay ... I just happen to like mine sweeter.

We talked and enjoyed our meal while sipping the expensive wine. Once, when the server thought Ruth was finished and was about to take her plate, she grabbed it back.

“Nope, still enjoying this,” Ruth told her. And that’s what we did. For two hours we enjoyed a good meal and great conversation.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Eating dinner while little kids mock-mosh at Golden Island

“The tot absorbs the punk rock shot with the skill of experience”
The Fish Market's saffron black mussels with butter and wine sauce were delightful.
The Fish Market's saffron black mussels with butter and wine sauce were delightful.

The Fish Market on the border of Del Mar and Solana Beach has been a go-to spot for me since it opened in 1981. It’s more laid back than the coastal restaurants on the beach, giving off more of a local vibe. The dining room is large, with tiled floors, so it can be noisy, but not in a annoying way. Large photos of big fish and fishermen line the walls, and a case of fresh seafood is on sale at the front door.

Place

Fish Market

640 Via de la Valle, Solana Beach

The Solana Beach/Del Mar Fish Market has been open for 35 years and counting.

The Del Mar racetrack is across the street, and maybe that’s why it feels less fancy and less touristy than the Fish Market on the harbor. Whatever the reason, I’m glad my friend Ruth thought of treating me there for my birthday.

Sponsored
Sponsored

We grabbed a booth in the back so we could catch up on writing and life and not disturb the other customers. We made sure to tell our server we were going to camp out for a bit, and she seemed fine with it.

Seafood is a good bet at the Solana Beach Fish Market.

We were both starving and ordered quickly, but not before Ruth ordered a bottle of my favorite — and expensive — chardonnay, Rombauer. The only complaint I had about the wine is that it wasn’t placed in an ice bucket to stay cold. For $78 a bottle, was a little ice too much to ask?

Our food came quickly, and Ruth dug into her saffron black mussels. I’m not a fan, but she declared them delightful. They were served in a butter garlic sauce with wine. I watched her as she soaked up the juices with the toast that accompanied it. I was glad the mussels were fresh. Have you ever smelled a bad mussel? It’s not something you would forget.

It's all about the seafood at the Fish Market, but the chicken — not from the sea — is great too.

I was not in a fish mood. I’ve had the teriyaki chicken breast with cheese potatoes before, and that’s what I ordered. The chicken was juicy and not overcooked. I love the potatoes and the small helping is just right. The coleslaw was okay ... I just happen to like mine sweeter.

We talked and enjoyed our meal while sipping the expensive wine. Once, when the server thought Ruth was finished and was about to take her plate, she grabbed it back.

“Nope, still enjoying this,” Ruth told her. And that’s what we did. For two hours we enjoyed a good meal and great conversation.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

NORTH COUNTY’S BEST PERSONAL TRAINER: NICOLE HANSULT HELPING YOU FEEL STRONG, CONFIDENT, AND VIBRANT AT ANY AGE

Next Article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader