La Palmera’s colorful raw bar offers cocteles y clamatos and counter seats.

We started with toasted tortillas and dishes of pico de gallo spiked with Serrano chilies, a spicy tomato-based salsa and halved limes.

We ordered a big plate of Almeja Reyna (1/2 dozen for 120 pesos), large chopped clams dressed with tomato, cucumber and red onion. I dripped on some spicy habanero salsa, but the clams still had an unshakable funkiness.

A dozen Pata de Mula (80 pesos, about $6), Mangrove cockles, featured black jus accented with savory Maggi sauce and an unpleasant crunchiness. Thankfully the rest of the meal was much more satisfying.

Our prospects improved with the arrival of Aguachile (100 pesos), an overflowing molcajete that came fully loaded with tangy raw shrimp flash-cooked in lime juice, dried chilies, thin shaved red onion and cucumbers.

Callo de Hacha (150 pesos) consisted of silky sliced sea scallops showered with red onion, cucumber and sliced red serranos for kick.

Up front, a charcoal pit grills the specialty of the house, pescado sarandeado. Depending on seasonality, you’ll find seven fish, ranging from Liza (red mullet) (150 pesos/kg) to Salmon (400 pesos/kg).

We ordered two kilos of corvina (150 pesos/kg), a flaky white fish. We folded soft handmade tortillas around the corvina, caramelized onions and fiery chilies. This zarandeado wasn’t as flavorful as the state-of-the-art snook at Mariscos Chente, but it was expertly grilled.