Mariscos El Submarino is an authentic, very popular Pacific-style Mexican seafood in New York City. The restaurant is inspired by the coastal cuisine of Sinaloa, Mexico, so the food brings an interesting character that can be familiar but also different too. The food is similar to Los Mariscos but offers much more variety of offerings, including their popular grilled shrimps. We stopped by on a Saturday evening and waited just 10 minutes to get in despite a line.
Ambiance & Service
The interior is pretty no frills and reminded me of restaurants that resemble maritime themes. There’s a very laid-back feel due to the clean white walls and ocean-blue details.
The service was very quick once you order, and you can always order more later.
Food
The Norteño ($19) came with guacamole with octopus chicharron. This was just guacamole with some fried finger foods on the side. The food was good, but I’m not sure if it was worth it.
This was the complimentary side of Tostada Chips. These chips were packaged, but they were good. You can use these to scoop any of the food here.
The Camarones Zarandeados a la Parrilla (1/2 dozen for $14) came grilled with head in tack. The head is entirely edible, so if you’re reasonably careful, you can chew through the shell and enjoy the head guts. It wasn’t fishy, and it had nice flavors.
The Agua de Jamaica ($4) was on the sweeter side. I wished they had horchata instead, but this was decent.
The Aguachile Mixto Verde ($21) came with cooked and raw shrimp, octopus, fish, cucumber, onion, red onion, and avocado. Everything here was pretty good. I really liked the freshness of the seafood along with all the ingredients. The green actually provided some heat that climbed quickly, so just be warned that it can catch up. Luckily, it wasn’t the lingering type of heat and spice.
The Craken ($7) came with octopus, cheese (queso chihuahua), avocado, and salsa macha. The Queso Chihuahua was a semi-soft mild, creamy cow milk cheese from the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The flavors of this octopus taco were superb, though on the pricey side. It definitely is a one-time try.
The Pescado ($5) and the Camaron ($5) came with similar decorations. Both the fish and shrimp were fried, and came with tomato, cucumber, onion, cilantro, cabbage, and house salsa. Both tacos reminded me of Baja-style tacos.
Overall Impression
The food here in Mariscos El Submarino was very delicious, especially at the price point it offers. We ordered a lot of food, and we weren’t overly stuffed. With a larger group, you could probably try more things. The seafood was very fresh, and the flavors on point. If you have been to the western side of Mexico, this will remind you of those feelings.
Yelp & Google Jabs
The octopus itself is legitimately good, but I don’t really think it works that well as a taco. I’d probably enjoy the octopus more if it were served on its own.
I think typically with tacos, people expect there to be a crunch to it. This one didn’t have much of a crunch, so you felt like it was missing something.
It’s just a tad pricey for my taste, but worth the splurge every now and then.
This Elitist will be in for a shock if they try other places in the city.
It’s different from your regular tacos as it doesn’t have the pico de gallo and such (although I wouldn’t have mind if as it’ll give the tacos a less dry taste).
For the normal Baja-style tacos we got actually came with a form of pico de gallo. Essentially, it came with some diced tomatoes, onions, and other things. For the octopus, I don’t think it would match well.
Revisions
- Oct 3, 2026 - Initial revision.