Mission Hills · Best Seafood Restaurants in San Diego
Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill Review
Last updatedRanked #2 of 8 in Best Seafood Restaurants in San Diego
The best cheap fresh fish in San Diego, ordered at a counter with a fish case in front of you.
Score breakdown
- Taste92/100
- Consistency90/100
- Value96/100
- Atmosphere72/100
- Uniqueness84/100
The verdict on Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill
Ranked #2 of 8 — 90/100 in our Best Seafood Restaurants in San Diego coverage
Blue Water is a fish market with a grill, so you pick your species and they cook it while you wait. Portions are large, prices are low, and the swordfish is consistently the best value protein in the city. Seating is limited and the line moves fast.
What to order at Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill
Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill appears on more than one of our lists, and the pick depends on which one you are reading:
- Grilled swordfish tacos or a fish plate — from our Best Seafood Restaurants in San Diego coverage
- Half dozen with market fish — from our Best Oyster Bars in San Diego coverage
- Grilled fish taco — from our Best Fish Tacos in San Diego coverage
Pick the fish from the case and choose grilled over fried — the marinade is the whole point.
Is Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill worth the price?
Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill sits at $ — the budget band for this category. We scored 2 other $ options on the same list, and Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill outscores 2 of them. Within its price bracket, nothing we ranked does it better.
Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill FAQ
Is Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill expensive?
Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill is priced at $, which puts it in the budget band for this category. We scored 2 other $ options on the same list for a direct comparison.
Is Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill worth it?
It scores 90/100, 2.1 points above the 87.9 average for its list. That's a solid recommendation within the category.
What should I order at Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill?
We recommend the Grilled swordfish tacos or a fish plate.
What else is nearby Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill?
Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop (90/100 in our best carne asada fries in san diego list) and Wine Vault & Bistro (89/100 in our best french restaurants in san diego list) are also ranked in the same neighborhood, so it's easy to pair a visit.
Every list Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill ranks on
Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill shows up on 3 of our ranked lists, without a category win so far. Places that hold up across more than one category tend to be the safer recommendation when you are booking for a group with different tastes.
What works
- Strong value — scored 96/100 in our ranking
- Strong taste — scored 92/100 in our ranking
- Strong consistency — scored 90/100 in our ranking
- Top-2 finish out of 8 spots we scored in this category
Know before you go
- Atmosphere is the weak point — 72/100, below the rest of its scores
- Pick the fish from the case and choose grilled over fried — the marinade is the whole point.
The full review
Blue Water is a fish market with a grill, so you pick your species and they cook it while you wait. Portions are large, prices are low, and the swordfish is consistently the best value protein in the city. Seating is limited and the line moves fast.
On our weighted scale it earns 90/100 — good for #2 of 8 places we evaluated for best seafood restaurants in san diego. We eat at the places we rank, pay full price for what we order, and re-score when a kitchen, chef or menu changes.
What to order at Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill
Grilled swordfish tacos or a fish plate
Price: $
How we scored Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill
Every score on this page comes from the same editorial rubric we apply to the whole category: taste, consistency, value, atmosphere, uniqueness. The criteria are weighted toward what matters most in the category, compared against every other place we ranked in the same list rather than against an abstract ideal. We eat at the places we rank, pay full price for what we order, and re-score when a kitchen, chef or menu changes. Scores are editorial judgments rather than aggregated user ratings.