Wahoo's Fish Taco 4S Ranch

Wahoo’s is one of San Diego’s top casual-cool spots for authentic Mexican / Brazilian / Asian food, accented with a Hawaiian north-shore vibe. This laid-back restaurant serves up such specialties as the Bonzai Burrito – large lard-free flour tortilla stuffed with ahi rice, black beans, banzai veggies, fresh salsa and your choice of fish, carne asada or carnitas; and the Wahoo Bowl with flame-grilled fish, blackened or teriyaki, served over ahi rice with black beans or spicy Cajun white beans. While we love Wahoo’s for the chill surfer-chic atmosphere and consistent, inventive fusion cuisine, to really get to know the venue, you have to hear the back story.

The Wahoo's story begins in 1988, when the three Wahoo's brothers, Wing, Ed and Mingo, combined their love of surf and food to create a restaurant with an eclectic Mexican / Brazilian / Asian menu and a Hawaiian north-shore vibe. Wing, Ed and Mingo were born with the love of restaurants in their blood. Growing up in San Paolo, Brazil, they actually spent their early years above their parents' Chinese restaurant. After school, you could find the brothers in the restaurant peeling shrimp or washing dishes. In 1975, the family moved to Orange County, California, where their dad opened the famous Shanghai Pine Garden Chinese restaurant on Balboa Island. People such as John Wayne would frequently eat there. The brothers grew up both in the restaurant and on the beaches. Addicted to surfing, they would travel south to Mexico to surf and there got introduced to the fish taco. Years of surfing trips to Mexico created a craving for the specialty of charbroiled fish, salsa and tortillas.