A block from the ocean at 746 Emerald St, 92109, Oscars Mexican Seafood is a counter-service Mexican seafood restaurant founded in 2011 by owner Juan Bernardo Montes de Oca. The Emerald Street location reopened in 2025 after a six-month renovation that modernized the space while preserving the casual, no-frills format that put Oscar's on the map. The original location at 703 Turquoise Street, which operated for 14 years as a Pacific Beach institution, permanently closed in May 2025 when the lease was not renewed, making this refreshed Emerald Street spot the primary PB home for the brand. Oscar's earned a place on Yelp's Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S. in 2016 and was featured on the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations, with celebrity visitors including Drew Barrymore stopping by over the years. The menu centers on Baja-style mariscos built with daily-fresh seafood: the Surf & Turf Taco pairs skirt steak with shrimp, the Smoked Fish Taco features house-smoked marlin with avocado, and the Taco Especial stacks fish, shrimp, and scallops in a single shell. Seafood lovers looking for a sit-down experience with a broader menu can walk south along the boardwalk to The Fishery on Cass Street. Heavier appetites gravitate toward the Fisherman's Torta, a loaded sandwich of spicy shrimp, scallops, grilled fish, and smoked fish, or the Cucurachas, deep-fried shrimp served shell-on. The Hillcrest location at 646 University Avenue remains open as the second official Oscar's outpost, and the restaurant also offers catering services for events. With a 4.6-star Google rating across nearly 2,850 reviews, the Emerald Street location continues to draw lines that spill onto the sidewalk during peak lunch hours. Visitors craving a different style of Mexican fare in the neighborhood can try Pueblo on Garnet for sit-down tacos and margaritas.