Best of 2003: Best Fish Grub

South Beach Bar & Grill
5059 Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach
619-226-4577

Occupying the last space in the last building on Ocean Beach's famed Newport Avenue, South Beach is half restaurant and half bar. All of it is nautical, fishy (in the taxidermic sense), and heavy with shellac. Sitting at the bar, you get an excellent view of the surf, the O.B. pier, and the human folly of this beach town. You can watch the grill from here, where the cooks are cracking shells, drawing butter, steaming squid, and grilling shark for the tastiest fish tacos in town. The tortillas are fat and firm and don't get in the way of the tasty fish, fresh veggies, and tangy sauces they pile on. Whether you're a shellfish aficionado or experimentalist, the grill has an ocean of edible mollusks and crustaceans, prepared to your liking. And if you want to taste deeper ocean treats, like, say, whole baby octopus, be our guest.