Ensenada: Tacos, Craft Beer & Ocean Views Food Tour

4.84

(129 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

You sort of tumble out into Ensenada—sun in your eyes, a little salt in the air—and before I’d even figured out my bearings, our guide (Miguel, who seemed to know everyone) was already waving us toward this battered metal cart. People were queued up even though it wasn’t quite noon yet. He said something about Anthony Bourdain coming here once. I bit into a taco—shrimp, hot from the fryer, cabbage crunching—and honestly, I just stood there chewing for a second. The salsa burned in a good way. Miguel grinned at me like he knew that first bite would hit different.

We wandered on foot for a while after that, ducking around traffic and street vendors selling everything from mango slices to knockoff sunglasses. There was another stop—a place with faded blue paint and a sign claiming they invented the Baja fish taco. Maybe they did; I’m not sure anyone could prove them wrong after tasting it. The batter was light but somehow still crispy, and the guy behind the counter had this way of sliding the plate across with a nod like he was letting you in on a secret.

The drive out to Transpeninsular Brewery felt longer than it probably was—maybe because we were all quietly full by then. The van’s AC was working overtime against the heat outside. Inside the brewery it smelled like hops and something sweet I couldn’t quite place. We tried a flight of local craft beers (I liked the pale ale best but no one agreed with me). Someone ordered fries for the table and we all picked at them without really talking much—just watching surfers down below through big windows facing the Pacific. That view sticks with me more than I expected.

Later there was this beach bar—plastic chairs, sand underfoot, margaritas sweating in their glasses. Not fancy at all but nobody cared. A couple next to us were arguing about whether piña coladas taste better by the ocean or poolside (I’m still undecided). Our last stop was an overlook above town where you could see ships coming in and kids playing soccer down below. Miguel pointed out his cousin’s house somewhere in that sprawl of rooftops—I pretended I could spot it too.