Taqueria Los Pericos has been serving hungry customers of Santa Cruz County since 2008 at their first location on Water Street in Downtown and while I have tried some of their traditional meals like tacos and burritos, I hadn’t tried their seafood before.
With the opening of their new location in Aptos at the Rancho Del Mar shopping center, I decided it was time to try something different. Normally, I would order the standard meats like cow and chicken for my tacos and burritos, but I decided to pick up a couple of seafood plates for my family to enjoy and review.
Prior to driving to the establishment, I looked at some reviews on popular apps such as Yelp and Google. The Aptos Taqueria Los Pericos has been rated 4.1 stars out of 5 with 64 reviews on Yelp. But on Google, they have been rated 4.7 stars out of 5 with 90 reviews. One review from Abhishek N on Yelp shared about their array of different salsas served with their notably thick fried chips.
“The free chips bar with the variety of salsas is a great feature,” his review read.
As I approached the restaurant, it was a little bit past 12 p.m. Quickly, I realized I had arrived during the lunch rush hour as a line of construction workers and private contractors had reached all the way back to the front door. Knowing it might take a while, I joined the long line of tradespeople hurrying to grab their lunch.
When I approached the counter, I ordered my array of seafood dishes such as their Baja Fish soft taco ($5.99), jumbo shrimp burrito ($14.99), crispy fish taco ($5.75), Baja per fish taco ($6.99) and a platter of camarones a la diabla for $19.99 including a large Jamaica Agua Fresca drink for $4.59. The grand total came out to $63.74, including tax.
As I waited for my order to be made, I grabbed a 32-ounce cup near the soda fountain, then poured the Jamaica Agua Fresca into my cup with a good amount of ice. I sipped on my Agua Fresca quickly as the restaurant processed orders one by one like a well-oiled food dispenser.
My drink tasted a bit sweet, reminding me of a knock-off Kool-Aid drink mix I once had that came from a Mexican grocery store.
While waiting, I had gathered some chips and salsa from the complimentary salsa bar that boasted a wide variety of tangy, smoky, and spicy salsas. I got the salsa fresca, but if that isn’t your cup of tea I’d recommend trying the salsa verde or the salsa roja.
After a short wait, I got my order and drove home. When I made it back to my house, the first thing my family tried was the Camarones A La Diabla, a type of seafood dish made by tossing shrimp into a spicy chile tomato sauce, which we all agreed tasted sweeter than normal.
After finishing his portion, my father reflected back on other times he’s eaten this meal at other Mexican restaurants we dined at in the San Joaquin valley that served fish dishes such as fried tilapia served with deviled shrimp with notable spices such as Guajillo chiles and Arbol Chiles.
He explained that in previous times of eating Camarones A La Diabla, the meal was presented differently citing simplicity as the error of this rendition. Reflecting back on his meal, my father said he didn’t like the taste, the texture or how it was presented to him.
Another critique of the dish was his analysis that the beans were not fresh, with the Spanish Rice and pinto beans appearing typical of a Mexican fast-food restaurant
“If you like a lot of canned sauce, this is your place. I could tell the sauce was from a can as it tasted sweet and strange,” he said lastly.
The guacamole that came with the dish had a consistency of goo, but one redeeming quality it had was the wide variety of flavors, like zest from the onions and a touch of citrus from the cilantro. Below it were shredded ribbons of lettuce with two thin little passé tomatoes, which I didn’t bother eating as I saw them as a garnish rather than part of the meal.
On the subject of presentation, the Baja Fish Taco I ordered was served on a paper plate with two soft tacos coated with purple dyed pickled onion and cabbage. The tilapia was a fried four-inch-long sliver topped with a slice of avocado and chipotle-infused mayo.
The chipotle mayo added a peppery yet creamy flavor to the taco that overpowered the taste of the slices of avocado. The taste that stood out the most was the pickled vegetables that if left alone with the fried fish, would have been enough to be a satisfactory and savory taco.
Interestingly, the condensation from the taco that cooled on the aluminum wrap covering the taco mixed with the purple dye from the pickled vegetables on top. The fish I could tell was fresh, nothing stale or oily, an inkling of Chicken Katsu, a type of lightly fried chicken served at Japanese restaurants.
However, the Baja per fish taco seemed identical to the Baja fish taco, without the slices of avocado. By pushing the chipotle mayo aside, I discovered a more satisfying flavor profile, with the fried fish and pickled vegetables creating a delightful tangy harmony.
The fish tasted fresh, presenting a light meaty and watery flavor akin to freshly caught fish. The red salsa that coated the fish had a slightly peppery flavor to it similar to the Camarones A La Diabla without the sweetness. Embedded in the crispy fish taco were refried beans which added a nice touch of salt with some mild sweetness.
The last thing I ordered was the jumbo shrimp burrito, which was stuffed with a flurry of Spanish Rice, whole pinto beans, guacamole, shredded lettuce and shrimp with red salsa.
“The shrimp was fresh, tasty and well-marinated with well-balanced seasoning,” my mom said enthusiastically as she ate her share. Looking back, if I had some more red salsa, I could have easily destroyed this burrito in one sitting.
While there are things I liked about this meal and the establishment, like the use of fresh seafood and big portions. While they did initially mess up the crispy fish taco and jumbo shrimp burrito by adding cheese to them, I’m willing to look past it and eat there again.
