Fish Company Taco

If you can’t get to Fish Company Tacos by 11am, which is when it opens, you probably already missed your opportunity to eat there. Most days, a “sold out” sign gets tacked to the door by noon. Opened by a former Uchi Houston cook, the tiny East End restaurant near the Seawall specializes in two things: Gulf-caught seafood and tacos. Each taco arrives on handmade tortillas, with a choice of fish or shrimp and toppings like pimento cheese, kimchi sauce, potato chips, Hunan-style BBQ sauce, or lime nuoc mam.

Plus, the fish is so fresh and tender you almost feel like you’ve never eaten fish before, even if you definitely have. Being a strategic early-arriver means you can watch the staff greet every other person in line by name, discuss their families, and tell nearly every customer in the dining room specifically what they’re going to enjoy about each taco. If you can’t make it for lunch, Fish Company also randomly hosts seated dinners (ticketed in advance).

photo credit: Chelsea Thomas