Mabel's Gone Fishing - A Quick Look

The Missus had been wanting to check out Mabel's Gone Fishing for a while and after learning the restaurant had earned Michelin Bib Gourmand status, well we just had to visit. Of course, first one had to get a table and because of the accolades getting a reservation was a bit difficult, but eventually, we managed to snag some reservations for an al fresco table on bustling 30th street. While the tables were tiny, we enjoyed watching how excited pooches were going to Dexter's Deli, the "Health Food" pet store across the street.

The seafood focused menu is heavily Iberian-influenced, which really excited us as we've always enjoyed the food and ingredients of the Iberian Peninsula/Coast. It was nice to see Jamon Iberico Bellota, but at $42 a plate....and well, the very nice Server didn't understand when I asked if it was "Pata Negra", the really good stuff I always get when visiting Spain, so we decided to pass.

The menu is designed for sharing which we love, and we got 3 small plates and 2 larger sharing plates. I started with the "G and T of the Month".

Which was clean and refreshing if a bit weak in the Gin department.

The staff was very friendly, even though the place filled quickly.

The first dish up was the Stuffed Piquillos ($16). 

In spite of having bacalao, this dish was quite bland. The peppers lacked the smoky-slightly bitter sweetness with a light touch of "heat" that I'm used to with piquillos. As mentioned earlier, the bacalao with breadcrumbs was really bland. I mean, we had four meals with bacalhau in Lisbon and I would never ever call anything I had there "bland" or in need of salt like these were.

Next up was the Mussels Escabeche ($14).

   First off, the grilled sourdough was fantastic, texturally and in taste. As for the mussels, well the shellfish was tender enough, but the "escabeche" was really weak. I'm used to a good acidic, flavorful escabeche, the addition of paprika for smokiness, more points for garlicky-oniony tones, all of which seemed to be missing here. To be honest, any number of tinned mussels from Tunaville (post upcoming) would be more enjoyable to us then this. But heck, that sourdough was good on its own. On a positive note, this brought back wonderful memories of our lunch at Michelin starred Bell's in Los Alamos, so I went ahead and made reservations. We got yet another road trip coming up!

I was curious about the Smoked Potatoes ($18), since I make versions of smoked potatoes at home.

This was not very pleasing. The potatoes were slightly smoky, really hard in texture, and not seasoned enough. Not sure about the katsuobushi since instead of adding a nice savory component, it brought fishiness to the dish. I think having more smokiness, cooking to where the interior is creamy and the exterior of the potatoes crisp, and seasoning well would do the trick.

At this point in time there was a rather long pause for our mains. I decided to order an Old Fashioned which was quite good.

It was about a 30-minute wait for our larger plates.

The Clam Toast ($26) was up next. And like the mussels the toast was the star of this plate as well.

The clams were decently cooked, though there was a bit of grit. The basil and tomatoes added brightness to the dish, but there wasn't enough of it.  We actually tore up the basil so the flavors could be more spread out in the dish. We enjoyed the red pepper, but the dish could have used more in terms of salt and pepper.

Last up was the Grilled Prawns ($28).

This dish could really have been a winnah; the prawns were a tad overcooked, but the flesh was still sweet, and those heads were perfect for imbibing (aka sucking). Below the prawns was crispy (hard) rice but not enough juice, sauce, or anything to really add flavor to the rice.

In the end, we loved the sourdough. In fact, the Missus is wanting me to visit Secret Sister to get some for Her. It's tough when my two favorite things about a meal is the bread and the Old Fashioned.

The service was very nice, the pacing a bit off, and the food...well, if this visit were in those days of yore, when I would always do multiple visits before doing a post (which I still require for myself for more inexpensive places) these photos would have never seen the "light of day". But things have changed over the last couple of years. As it is, I don't see us returning to Mabel's.

Sad because the Missus was really looking forward to our meal here.

For a different view of Mabel's you can read Soo's post here.

Mabel's Gone Fishing
3770 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Tues - Fri 4pm - 10pm
Saturday 10am - 2pm, 4pm - 10pm
Sunday 10am - 2pm

Comments

[Dereck]

I totally forgot that you ate at Bell's last year. We hit that last weekend and it was spectacular. I'm quite disappointed by your experience at Mabel's, it's been on my list and I just haven't had the time to book. In any case, Jeune et Jolie is next week for us, so hopefully that it fantastic.

[Kirk]

We loved Jeune et Jolie Dereck! That was back when I required myself to have at least visits before posting so that one never made it! Hope you have great meal.

[Kenneth]

Yeah, it's always disappointing to get Spanish style food that's a faint reflection of the real thing you get in Spain. And like you said, if the highlight of the meal is bread? My sympathies to your wallet....

[Loren]

I remember going here on Valentine's Day with my wife, was a great evening of good food. But yeah this place is more like "I read about the food in spain in cookbooks so let me try and replicate it". I will say however their quality is great and when they hit a dish they knock it out of the park.

[E.W.]

The Swordfish Schnitzel is amazing, certainly on of my favorite plates of food in town. Everything else, is kinda meh.

[Junichi]

Dang. That's a bummer.

[Kirk]

Yes, we were so disappointed Kenneth!

The dishes seemed quite uneven Loren.

Well, perhaps that might be a reason to return EW!

It was Junichi!

[Jim]

We didn't try the same dishes you did, which is probably for the best in retrospect. I did find the drinks to be outstanding - the 50-50 martini was a revelation that lead me to buy blanc vermouth. Truth be told, I found the food at Wormwood to be better.

[Kirk]

That sounds like a great martini Jim! I really enjoyed the Old Fashioned and we loved that sourdough!

[Mar]

Bummer that this dinner did not live up to expectations. This is a helpful guide of what dishes to consider skipping on (but it seems like quite a few things missed the mark) as I'll be going for a second visit soon.

On my first visit a while back, we tried the swordfish schnitzel (liked), clams in ham broth (didn't really care for) and the smoked mackerel (enjoyed) along with the gin and tonics. Wonder how much the menu has changed since I have been. We also skipped the jamon Iberico because of the price. I've heard raves about the tortilla, but I didn't get to try it since they had already sold out of it by the time we arrived.

[Kirk]

I hope your visit ends up better than ours Mar! The menu seems to change quite often. Please let me know how dinner works out and if you have anything outstanding!

[kat]

bummer

[Kirk]

We were really disappointed Kat!

[James]

That's really a shame - we've been twice and loved it, but we didn't get any of the dishes you did. By far our favorites were the swordfish schnitzel and the Basque cheesecake.

[Soo]

Thanks for the link! Good to know they have good bread. I loved the swordfish.

[cathy]

Thank you for the review. it let me off the hook for going. It is literally walking distance from home, but the tight quarters and high prices and crowds have discouraged me. After the Michelin accolade, I felt guilty, but now I will content myself with trying a loaf from Secret Sister. BTW be sure to try their morning bun--it is phenomenal!

[Kirk]

Well, perhaps we'll try the swordfish James. Mabel's claims Iberian influenced cuisine so we tried dishes that seemed to fit that description.

The bread was fantastic Soo. Sadly, that was the best thing.

Oh man, you shouldn't feel bad about not going somewhere Cathy! There are places that are quite popular I don't go to...I feel like they just aren't for us. Thanks for the tip on the morning bun! Hope all is well.