Overall: too pricey for what you’re getting, both flavors- and portions-wise.
This place is pretty above-average in pricing, so we were expecting a pretty above-average seafood dinner. It was mostly average. We ordered oysters and olives as appetizers. The oysters were good on their own and with lemon (their hot sauce and vinaigrette didn’t really pair well with the oysters), and the olives never showed up, so no review on those. We then had to wait about 25 minutes before our main courses came, so we ended up getting the bread and butter in between to tie ourselves over. The bread was good! Had lots of seeds on it, and the butter was yummy. When our first shareable arrived, (their Cod dish), it was quite fishy and the remaining flavors on the plate didn’t really mesh well with the fish. Plus it had a lot of the same seeds on the plate that the bread had, which was interesting. Then the octopus came, which was great itself, one of the better items we ordered, but the flavors it was plated in also created a strange pairing that we didn’t love. Then, the swordfish came, and this was portioned the best of any of the plates. Nice large piece of very good swordfish, my favorite meat of the night, but once again, paired with a sweet fruity substance that, although was tasty on its own, was just baffling that it was paired with the fish. All in all, the food wasn’t bad, it was average, but for an above-average cost. You can spend slightly less on far better food at places like Callie or Animae, for example. Wouldn’t recommend going until their prices match their food quality. Also, we were there for 2 hours and 15 minutes, not by choice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Christopher Thompson
On 12/29 at 4pm, we got married in Alcazar Garden! At 6pm, we had a reservation at Mabel's Gone Fishing for our party of 13, and it was the perfect first meal of the rest of our lives. The dinner was in the Fish Bowl, the private dining area next to the main one, and we had a prix fixe meal coordinated between us their event coordinator, Everything that came out was perfectly portioned. I never had a passionfruit mignonette, and I appreciate them opening my mind to a sweet thing with the savory brine of the oysters. Course after course, it just kept getting better. Our conservas platter with smoked and oil tinned mussels and mackerel, the roasted beets with the chili and goat cheese, the broiled cod in garum butter and sunflower...I can't believe we ate so much and still had space for cheesecake. This says nothing of the drinks we had, that we probably drank too much of, but they all went down so smoothly! Much praise for our two servers, one of whom was the coordinator we'd been chatting with via email for a month. When we come back to San Diego, The FIRST place we go to dinner will be Mabel's Gone Fishing...ok, maybe it will be Del Taco depending on when we land, but the SECOND place we go will definitely be Mabel's Gone Fishing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Adam Forbes
So good! Great clams. Lovely staff. Good wine
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Massa Rifai
What a great experience! Service was top notch (ask for Carter) and the food was just as good. The menu is adjusted almost daily to ensure fresh ingredients and the oysters happy hour from 4-5 is always a good start. (Half price oysters). The charred cabbage 🥬, red snapper, and octopus 🐙 were my favourite dishes.
Service and atmosphere was 5/5 star! We were accommodated with our stroller inside on a cold evening. The staff was warm and friendly. Esp the nice hostess lady, I didn't catch her name.
I was hoping the food would be amazing b/c it was on the NYT 36 hour travel recommendation and it was rather bland. We got the bread with tomatoes, mussels, swordfish, and lobster risotto. The mussels and swordfish were good. The sourdough bread, made by Secret Sister, was delicious. The lobster dish ($65) had the risotto like grain that felt undercooked and the flavor was lacking umani and creaminess.
Again, they hired the best staff. That was the best experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Alan J.
Came for the food. Stayed because of the service. I can't wait to see you again.
Love this menu. There's items I miss, but I'm so glad it's always fresh.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joanne S
Best gin and tonics in San Diego!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Emily Hake
“A masterclass in how to ruin good ingredients.” My visit to Mabel’s Gone Fishing was so consistently disappointing that it almost felt like a culinary prank. Every dish had a fatal flaw, and by the end of the night all three of us unanimously agreed that the food ranged from unpleasant to borderline gross. We kept ordering—mostly out of hunger and disbelief—waiting for something, anything, to redeem the meal. Nothing did.
We began with Spanish gin and tonics, which were so bitter and chemically harsh that they tasted like citrus-scented cleaning solution. The gimlet fared slightly better, but still carried the same artificial, chemical aftertaste. From there, we tried the oysters which were served with passion fruit, a combination that felt more like forced culinary theater than thoughtful pairing. The Spanish tortilla that followed arrived cold, which is baffling for a dish meant to be warm and comforting—it felt flat, careless, and off-putting. The pan con tomate with Ibérico ham was another misfire. Instead of the bright, fresh tomato you’d expect in Spain, this version was essentially tomato jam—overly sweet, cloying, and mismatched with the ham.
Then came what became the theme of the night: an obsessive, heavy-handed use of chili on nearly every dish. Even the roasted beets, which were arguably the best thing we had, were burdened with unnecessary chili. The charred cabbage was topped with something called anchovy fudge, an overwhelmingly salty, fishy, sticky smear that all three of us ended up scraping off—it was one of the most baffling flavor choices I’ve ever encountered.
The swordfish dishes were the final straw. The swordfish belly skewers came drowning in salsa macha, which in this case was essentially a mound of crushed dried chili flakes stuck together with oil—like someone emptied ten packets of pizza-parlor chili flakes onto a plate and called it a sauce. The grilled swordfish was coated in a hard, crusted chili shell paired with bacon lardons and a strange, jam-like smear that only made the entire dish texturally and flavor-wise disastrous. We canceled the octopus after that, because at that point, why continue the experiment?
To make matters worse, the experience was already off to a rocky start before the food even arrived. We didn’t have a reservation but were willing to wait however long, and after about 40 minutes, instead of being seated at a table, we were placed at the bar, despite the hostess asking us if we were going to be eating. There were no coat or purse hooks, and the bar chairs were so uncomfortable that three-quarters of the way through the meal I ended up standing. For a restaurant positioned as elevated or experiential, the seating arrangement felt like an afterthought and set the tone for everything that followed.
By the end of the night, it genuinely felt as if the restaurant was conducting a test: How expensive can we make these dishes, and how gross can they be, and people still order them? Every plate felt like an attempt at “artsy” creativity and ultimately, it was just not good.
Final 0. We left not only hungry but genuinely stunned. Without exaggeration, this was the worst dining experience I have ever had.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Penelope Hofsdal
Phenomenal! The Charred Cabbage with Anchovie Fudge and the Broiled Black Cod were our favorite out of the five dishes we ordered. For dessert, the Basque Cheesecake with Cajeta was delicious and so light. It was so fun seating at a Chef's table where we could see all the kitchen action!
What an experience! Sophie was an outstanding waitress and gave me and my girlfriend great recommendations. This place made the restaurant, Ironside, feel like an Applebee’s.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Phillip Naval
From the moment we sat down, we were impressed by the seasonal menu everything from the fresh veggies to the toughest decision of the night choosing between the cod or the lobster. Our server, Carter, was awesome. Super knowledgeable about every dish, he guided us through the menu and helped us decide with confidence.
The oysters were incredibly fresh, sourced from Washington, and the rest of the ingredients were clearly chosen with care and a local touch. They also offer a chef’s menu with optional pairings if you’d rather let them choose your dishes for you—definitely something we want to try next time.
Overall, the service was exceptional and the food was a chef’s delight. Highly recommend. Thank you, Mabel’s Gone Fishing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ryan Vinson
Mabel’s is one of the crown jewel’s of SD dining in a city that is a crown jewel itself. This is a vibey place that elicits a “cool” but welcoming attitude. The food is king here though. The flavors will satisfy and that much I a guarantee. One of my top 3 places in SD I would take you if you’re not from here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Heather Mischel
I love the vibes, and the food is SO good!! I love the basque cheesecake it’s delicious, but honestly I loved all the food I had. The staff is awesome
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sara Schechner
To preface, I have lived in San Diego for three years and quite regularly go out to eat at similar establishments (once to twice a week). I came here with a group of friends (4 women) for a birthday (which we told them). One of the women was Canadian, and was refused a drink with her Canadian passport. After conversation with the server, who was very argumentative we agreed and moved on, but when the drinks came around she messed up our drink order. Brought three of the four drinks including my Canadian friends and excluding the women’s whose birthday it was. She then proceeded to make a big deal out of the fact she was going to ALLOW the Canadian woman to have the drink she accidentally brought us, making us as the costumer feel lesser. We received no apology for the poor service and she continued to charge us for the drink caused us problems over. All in all the service is poor, the food is good but incredibly overly priced. I will not be going back and would not recommend.
Overall: too pricey for what you’re getting, both flavors- and portions-wise.
This place is pretty above-average in pricing, so we were expecting a pretty above-average seafood dinner. It was mostly average. We ordered oysters and olives as appetizers. The oysters were good on their own and with lemon (their hot sauce and vinaigrette didn’t really pair well with the oysters), and the olives never showed up, so no review on those. We then had to wait about 25 minutes before our main courses came, so we ended up getting the bread and butter in between to tie ourselves over. The bread was good! Had lots of seeds on it, and the butter was yummy. When our first shareable arrived, (their Cod dish), it was quite fishy and the remaining flavors on the plate didn’t really mesh well with the fish. Plus it had a lot of the same seeds on the plate that the bread had, which was interesting. Then the octopus came, which was great itself, one of the better items we ordered, but the flavors it was plated in also created a strange pairing that we didn’t love. Then, the swordfish came, and this was portioned the best of any of the plates. Nice large piece of very good swordfish, my favorite meat of the night, but once again, paired with a sweet fruity substance that, although was tasty on its own, was just baffling that it was paired with the fish. All in all, the food wasn’t bad, it was average, but for an above-average cost. You can spend slightly less on far better food at places like Callie or Animae, for example. Wouldn’t recommend going until their prices match their food quality. Also, we were there for 2 hours and 15 minutes, not by choice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
On 12/29 at 4pm, we got married in Alcazar Garden! At 6pm, we had a reservation at Mabel's Gone Fishing for our party of 13, and it was the perfect first meal of the rest of our lives. The dinner was in the Fish Bowl, the private dining area next to the main one, and we had a prix fixe meal coordinated between us their event coordinator, Everything that came out was perfectly portioned. I never had a passionfruit mignonette, and I appreciate them opening my mind to a sweet thing with the savory brine of the oysters. Course after course, it just kept getting better. Our conservas platter with smoked and oil tinned mussels and mackerel, the roasted beets with the chili and goat cheese, the broiled cod in garum butter and sunflower...I can't believe we ate so much and still had space for cheesecake. This says nothing of the drinks we had, that we probably drank too much of, but they all went down so smoothly! Much praise for our two servers, one of whom was the coordinator we'd been chatting with via email for a month. When we come back to San Diego, The FIRST place we go to dinner will be Mabel's Gone Fishing...ok, maybe it will be Del Taco depending on when we land, but the SECOND place we go will definitely be Mabel's Gone Fishing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
So good! Great clams. Lovely staff. Good wine
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
What a great experience! Service was top notch (ask for Carter) and the food was just as good. The menu is adjusted almost daily to ensure fresh ingredients and the oysters happy hour from 4-5 is always a good start. (Half price oysters). The charred cabbage 🥬, red snapper, and octopus 🐙 were my favourite dishes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious!!!
Recommended dishes: Mussels Escabeche, Persimmon Salad
Service and atmosphere was 5/5 star!
We were accommodated with our stroller inside on a cold evening. The staff was warm and friendly. Esp the nice hostess lady, I didn't catch her name.
I was hoping the food would be amazing b/c it was on the NYT 36 hour travel recommendation and it was rather bland. We got the bread with tomatoes, mussels, swordfish, and lobster risotto. The mussels and swordfish were good. The sourdough bread, made by Secret Sister, was delicious. The lobster dish ($65) had the risotto like grain that felt undercooked and the flavor was lacking umani and creaminess.
Again, they hired the best staff. That was the best experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Came for the food. Stayed because of the service.
I can't wait to see you again.
Love this menu. There's items I miss, but I'm so glad it's always fresh.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best gin and tonics in San Diego!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
“A masterclass in how to ruin good ingredients.” My visit to Mabel’s Gone Fishing was so consistently disappointing that it almost felt like a culinary prank. Every dish had a fatal flaw, and by the end of the night all three of us unanimously agreed that the food ranged from unpleasant to borderline gross. We kept ordering—mostly out of hunger and disbelief—waiting for something, anything, to redeem the meal. Nothing did.
We began with Spanish gin and tonics, which were so bitter and chemically harsh that they tasted like citrus-scented cleaning solution. The gimlet fared slightly better, but still carried the same artificial, chemical aftertaste. From there, we tried the oysters which were served with passion fruit, a combination that felt more like forced culinary theater than thoughtful pairing. The Spanish tortilla that followed arrived cold, which is baffling for a dish meant to be warm and comforting—it felt flat, careless, and off-putting. The pan con tomate with Ibérico ham was another misfire. Instead of the bright, fresh tomato you’d expect in Spain, this version was essentially tomato jam—overly sweet, cloying, and mismatched with the ham.
Then came what became the theme of the night: an obsessive, heavy-handed use of chili on nearly every dish. Even the roasted beets, which were arguably the best thing we had, were burdened with unnecessary chili. The charred cabbage was topped with something called anchovy fudge, an overwhelmingly salty, fishy, sticky smear that all three of us ended up scraping off—it was one of the most baffling flavor choices I’ve ever encountered.
The swordfish dishes were the final straw. The swordfish belly skewers came drowning in salsa macha, which in this case was essentially a mound of crushed dried chili flakes stuck together with oil—like someone emptied ten packets of pizza-parlor chili flakes onto a plate and called it a sauce. The grilled swordfish was coated in a hard, crusted chili shell paired with bacon lardons and a strange, jam-like smear that only made the entire dish texturally and flavor-wise disastrous. We canceled the octopus after that, because at that point, why continue the experiment?
To make matters worse, the experience was already off to a rocky start before the food even arrived. We didn’t have a reservation but were willing to wait however long, and after about 40 minutes, instead of being seated at a table, we were placed at the bar, despite the hostess asking us if we were going to be eating. There were no coat or purse hooks, and the bar chairs were so uncomfortable that three-quarters of the way through the meal I ended up standing. For a restaurant positioned as elevated or experiential, the seating arrangement felt like an afterthought and set the tone for everything that followed.
By the end of the night, it genuinely felt as if the restaurant was conducting a test: How expensive can we make these dishes, and how gross can they be, and people still order them? Every plate felt like an attempt at “artsy” creativity and ultimately, it was just not good.
Final 0. We left not only hungry but genuinely stunned. Without exaggeration, this was the worst dining experience I have ever had.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Phenomenal! The Charred Cabbage with Anchovie Fudge and the Broiled Black Cod were our favorite out of the five dishes we ordered. For dessert, the Basque Cheesecake with Cajeta was delicious and so light. It was so fun seating at a Chef's table where we could see all the kitchen action!
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
What an experience! Sophie was an outstanding waitress and gave me and my girlfriend great recommendations. This place made the restaurant, Ironside, feel like an Applebee’s.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
From the moment we sat down, we were impressed by the seasonal menu everything from the fresh veggies to the toughest decision of the night choosing between the cod or the lobster. Our server, Carter, was awesome. Super knowledgeable about every dish, he guided us through the menu and helped us decide with confidence.
The oysters were incredibly fresh, sourced from Washington, and the rest of the ingredients were clearly chosen with care and a local touch. They also offer a chef’s menu with optional pairings if you’d rather let them choose your dishes for you—definitely something we want to try next time.
Overall, the service was exceptional and the food was a chef’s delight. Highly recommend. Thank you, Mabel’s Gone Fishing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mabel’s is one of the crown jewel’s of SD dining in a city that is a crown jewel itself. This is a vibey place that elicits a “cool” but welcoming attitude. The food is king here though. The flavors will satisfy and that much I a guarantee. One of my top 3 places in SD I would take you if you’re not from here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I love the vibes, and the food is SO good!! I love the basque cheesecake it’s delicious, but honestly I loved all the food I had. The staff is awesome
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
To preface, I have lived in San Diego for three years and quite regularly go out to eat at similar establishments (once to twice a week). I came here with a group of friends (4 women) for a birthday (which we told them). One of the women was Canadian, and was refused a drink with her Canadian passport. After conversation with the server, who was very argumentative we agreed and moved on, but when the drinks came around she messed up our drink order. Brought three of the four drinks including my Canadian friends and excluding the women’s whose birthday it was. She then proceeded to make a big deal out of the fact she was going to ALLOW the Canadian woman to have the drink she accidentally brought us, making us as the costumer feel lesser. We received no apology for the poor service and she continued to charge us for the drink caused us problems over. All in all the service is poor, the food is good but incredibly overly priced. I will not be going back and would not recommend.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
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