Mexican Seafood and Sushi Are Pairing Up in Kearny Mesa

A restaurant and lounge serving mostly Mexican seafood dishes will be opening on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard later this month next to Mikami, the revolving sushi bar, with diners able to order off both menus in either space.

Dubbed Take the Bait!, it’s replacing Mikami’s adjacent Japanese izakaya; the two restaurants are now under the umbrella of Oceanic Enterprises, a local hospitality group with a large stable of hotels, restaurants, and bars around town including Martinis in Hillcrest, La Jolla’s Cormorant Boutique Hotel, and downtown dive Star Bar, which is currently being remodeled.

Rodrigo Contreras, the group’s director of food and beverage, tells Eater that they’re bringing another Mexican seafood restaurant, called La Barca, to the former Banzai bar site in the Midway district.

Take the Bait!’s menu will center around an extensive mix of mariscos, from whole octopus and fried fish to molcajetes filled with ceviche and “towers” of cured seafood. There will also be a mixed seafood boil, flatbreads, salads, and sizzling platters of beef, chicken, and shrimp. Offering beer, wine, and cocktails made with tequila-infused sake for now, the bar is hoping to eventually have a full liquor license.

Contreras says they’ve added 12 TVs around the space to host viewing parties for the San Diego Loyal Soccer Club and screen other sports games. The space will also have regular dance nights, from salsa to bachata, with live band accompaniment as well as DJs playing Latin music, hip hop, and reggaeton.

Take the Bait!

Take the Bait!

Take the Bait!

Take the Bait!

Take the Bait!

Take the Bait Menu