El Muelle 8

El Muelle 8 is a restaurant for sauce freaks. The casual mariscos spot in Downey goes bananas with condiments and the results are glorious. They fry pulpo to a crisp and then top it with sweet coleslaw, which is not only uncommon but borderline bizarre. It works stunningly well. Every table comes equipped with a minimum of three chiltepín salsas, a few salsa negra options, and a family-sized squirt bottle of salsa roja. It's the kind of place where cheese and fish (and fans of the combination) can live in harmony together without shame. If the words “light” and “fresh” usually get you going, El Muelle 8 will still delight you, but this restaurant works best for an indulgent, drenched mariscos experience. 

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

In its bland strip mall setting, El Muelle 8 pops. Blue signage glows bright, the textured, multicolored walls resemble the ocean floor, and Banda Top 40 booms out the front door. Families and coworkers come to split heaps of ceviche served with Saladitas and watch old Luis Fonsi videos on the TV (we’re talking pre- “Despacito”). The only reason El Muelle 8 remains the second most notable attraction at the intersection of Florence and Lakewood is because the oldest McDonald’s location in America occupies the top spot.

The Sinaloa-style marisquería may look like another laid-back neighborhood restaurant without pretense, but the menu is as long and juicy as a celebrity NDA. On it, you’ll peep shiny pictures of quesadillas gobernador with deep grill marks, scallops stacked like Jenga towers, and shrimp molcajetes large enough to feed half a rec-league soccer team. The single non-negotiable dish is an aguachile verde tatemado made with smoky charred tomatillo hugging camarones. Beyond the shrimp mandate, we suggest mixing and matching cold and hot bar dishes. Then fill whatever table real estate you have left with ahi tuna steak tacos and cheesy, marlin-stuffed empanadas, both of which are doused in chipotle crema.

How much you enjoy El Muelle 8’s saucy mariscos depends on how gut-heavy you prefer your fish dinners. But if you appreciate layers of texture and creaminess, the sloppy octopus and coleslaw taco and aguachile verde tatemado are worth going out of the way to eat. (El Muelle 8 closes at 7pm on weekdays, so if you’re not in the immediate area, mentally prepare to sit in rush hour traffic on your way to an early-ish dinner.) We all have a little sauce freak in us from time to time.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Gaxiola Taco

We’ve seen all kinds of things inside tacos, but an ahi steak is a first. This tangy adobada-marinated fish has a nice sear on both sides, and you get jolts of freshness from guac and pico de gallo. But it’s the spicy crema that brings everything together. Thank goodness for the sturdy flour tortilla.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Chavita Tostada

Think of this little, wonton-wrapper tostada as the opposite of the gaxiola. The thin wafer supports a bed of soft cream cheese and a pile of cubed, buttery ahi tuna. Structurally, it's a disaster. But flavor-wise, it’s delicious. The salty salsa negra cuts right through the dairy.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Chicharrón de Pulpo Taco

Sweet coleslaw inside a tortilla sounds like messy stoner food, but in this case, it’s genius. Despite being incinerated in the fryer, this pulpo remains tender in the middle. The wet, sloppy salad brings all the needed moisture, even if it goes down heavy.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Empanada de Marlín

This empanada takes up a lot of stomach room, so order to share if you want to be able to try a bunch of dishes (you do). The masa is fluffy like mashed potatoes, and the smoky, cheesy marlin stew filling makes the average tuna melt look like a stale gas station sandwich.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Aguachile Verde Tatemado

Not only the lightest, most refreshing dish on the menu, but the best, too. The raw shrimp taste like they were carefully massaged for hours until tender. The specks of roasted tomatillos in the salsa give the marinade depth, the acidity kicks our salivary glands into overdrive, and there’s proper crunch from cucumbers and raw onion.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Ceviche Muelle 8

It’s plain and simple. This is a very good ceviche mixto in a spicy, refreshing marinade. You can tell the fish they’re using is high-quality. Nothing is chewy, and it tastes like Triton picked out the freshest scallops and shrimp for this dish himself. Get this as a crowd-pleaser.