Rubio's Coastal Grill on El Camino Real in Encinitas's New Encinitas district is a location of the Baja-inspired chain that Ralph Rubio launched from a walk-up stand in Mission Bay in 1983. The Original Fish Taco uses beer-battered wild Alaska Pollock certified sustainable through the Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management program, a sourcing standard that sets the seafood apart from the plant-based proteins at Plant Power Fast Food nearby. Beyond the flagship taco, the menu expands into grilled mahi mahi plates, shrimp burritos, and a langostino lobster burrito built on wild-caught crustaceans from Peruvian and Ecuadorian fisheries. Rubio's now operates under TREW Capital Management ownership following a 2024 acquisition, with its headquarters remaining in Carlsbad just north of the Encinitas border and its fast-casual format distinct from the fried-chicken counter service at The Crack Shack. The kitchen assembles each fish taco with a white-sauce drizzle, shredded cabbage, and a two-chile salsa layered inside a stone-ground corn tortilla.