Who sank my battleship? Somehow, Bismark-cito is a Baja restaurant connected to a sunken WWII German ship.
Our first meal in La Paz, a city that Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortés “discovered,” was at Bismark-cito, a seafood-focused restaurant with a mysterious connection to a WWII German battleship that the British Royal Navy sank in 1941. Bismark-cito has more staying power.
The restaurant’s been on La Paz’s Malecón since 1968 and offers clear views of azure blue waters. The space has a palapa roof, red cinder block walls, an open kitchen, and paintings of both the Bismarck and a cornucopia of seafood. We ate on the tree-lined sidewalk.
They had seven different categories of seafood: Cocteles, Ostiones, Camarones, Pescado, Sopas y Caldos, Especialidades and Ensaladas.
Bismark-cito started us with a complimentary fish dip and crisp tortilla chips.
Coctele de Almeja Chocolata (145 pesos ~ $11) consisted of local, brown-shelled clams that were especially fresh at Bismark-cito, with nice brine. We squeezed limes and watched the fresh cut strips of white and red meat writhe in a flavorful spectacle.
Aguachile de callo de hacha showcased silky, chiltepin-dusted sea scallops that we harpooned with toothpicks until the plate was empty.
Coctele de Caracol and Camaron (145 pesos) also appeared with pickled onions, crisp cucumbers and toothpicks, and contrasted sweet shrimp with firm, dark sea snail chunks.
Albondigas de Camaron (155) consisted of sweet, vegetable flecked shrimp meatballs bobbing in a lip-tingling tomato and seafood broth.
Crab tacos were fairly straight forward, needing nothing more than pulled crab meat, pepper strips, sweet onions and simple salsas from caddies at the inside bar.
Jamaica (25 pesos) is a refreshing agua fresca made with tart dried hibiscus.
We had more imaginative seafood on our Baja California Sur sojourn, but what we ate on the malecon was still memorable, and those plates sure were a warm welcome to La Paz.
Our visit to Bismark-cito was part of a Baja California Sur tour sponsored by Baja.com.
Blog Comments
John Glaab
June 2, 2015 at 9:09 AM
Open for breakfast??? Eggs etc.?
Joshua Lurie
June 2, 2015 at 9:33 AM
John, According to their Facebook page, Bismark-cito is open daily from 8am – 11pm, but your best bet is to visit the restaurant at lunch or dinner for a seafood feast.