El Zarape
El Zarape is a Mexican restaurant on Adams Avenue in San Diego's Normal Heights neighborhood, known for spicy carne asada tacos and for shrimp and scallop tacos in a white sauce.
Overview
El Zarape is a busy counter restaurant on Adams Avenue, a commercial corridor running through Normal Heights and Kensington. It drew national attention when it reached the finals of FiveThirtyEight's search for the best burrito in the United States, an honor the San Diego Reader noted in 2015 along with its long lines; the paper advised calling orders in ahead.
Menu
The Reader singled out two tacos. The carne asada is seasoned with more heat than is common at San Diego shops, and the seafood taco combines shrimp and scallops dressed in a tangy white sauce, a combination less common in the city's taco shops, where fried fish and shrimp dominate. Scallops are associated with the seafood cooking of Baja California and Sonora, and the creamy sauce follows the convention of Baja-style fish tacos.
Reviews
Reviews on WikiTacos open at launch. Until then, read what diners say on Google and Yelp.
Google Maps reviewsYelpSee also
References
- "Easily the best carnitas in San Diego". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 2026-10-10.