Bismark-cito: Feasting on Seafood by the Sea of Cortes

Restaurant La Paz

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.


Seafood La Paz

Bismark-cito started us with a complimentary fish dip and crisp tortilla chips.

Clams La Paz

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.

Seafood La Paz

Aguachile de callo de hacha showcased silky, chiltepin-dusted sea scallops that we harpooned with toothpicks until the plate was empty.

Seafood La Paz

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.

Seafood La Paz

Albondigas de Camaron (155) consisted of sweet, vegetable flecked shrimp meatballs bobbing in a lip-tingling tomato and seafood broth.

Tacos La Paz

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.

Agua Fresca La Paz

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.

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Blog Comments

Open for breakfast??? Eggs etc.?

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.

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