New Mexican spot opens in Williamsburg serving mariscos y mezcals

By Scott Lynch

Brooklyn has more than its fair share of Mexican food options. From rogue taco counters in the back of bodegas to masa-based brunch spots to sceney Michelin-starred restaurants, it’s no longer a wasteland here when it comes to sparkling south-of-the-border flavors. One thing that’s been missing though: a true seafood place, with things like fish tacos and tuna tostadas, sure, but also a full lineup of traditional ceviches, aguachiles, and, why not, a bunch of mezcals. Wouldn’t it be great to feel as if you were lounging oceanside in Baja, but still in Brooklyn?

Enter Ensenada, a lively new seafood spot from co-owners Bryce David and chef Luis Herrera that opened a few weeks ago on Williamsburg’s “Borinquen Triangle.” The restaurant takes over from David’s own Black Flamingo, which hosted party people for about seven years (it had a vegan Mexican menu available, but was mostly about the bar) until the Ensenada reconstruction began in 2021. The Black Flamingo remains oopen, but only in the basement.

(Scott Lynch)

“For years I’ve thought about doing a mariscos and mezcals bar somewhere,” David tells Brooklyn Magazine. “Throughout the pandemic I realized that it kind of made sense to do it in the space where I already had a lease.”

This was no slapdash rebranding switcheroo, mind you. David and Herrera worked with the American Construction League, who have designed lots of places that you’ve heard of—including Lilia, Oxomoco, and Public Records—and “redid everything” in the space, as David put it. “The tables are custom made, we redid the floors, redid the walls, the bar, the lighting, everything.”

Also completely new is Herrera’s menu, which is loaded with good things from the sea. Herrera, who was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, before moving to Bed-Stuy, brings a fine-dining background to Ensenada—he helped open Cosme in Manhattan, and worked on the tasting-menu team at Blanca—but he also knows how to churn out crowd-pleasers, as he did during that first Covid summer at Outerspace in Bushwick. It makes for a winning combination, as each dish is clearly lavished with attention and high-quality ingredients, but nothing feels too fussy, or overly cheffy.

“We get very nice, very fresh fish every day from sustainable purveyors Aquabest and Liepper and Sons,” says Herrara. “We’re not making up anything, we’re just trying to do the traditional recipes, in a very well-presented way.”

The aguachile campechano negro, for example, is pretty enough to elicit a few oohs and ahhhs when it arrives at your table—it’s served in a lovely, shallow bowl, rather than the more industrial-looking molcajete you get at the city’s other aquachile spot, Submarino in Jackson Heights—but this is a hearty, big-flavored dish, the scallop, octopus, shrimp, and bits of fluke all swimming in a seriously spicy habanero-based broth.

Aguachile campechano negro, $26; Ceviche tradicional pescado, $25 (Scott Lynch)

It comes with a pile of crisp-fried tostadas from nearby Sobre Masa, which helps ease some of the heat. You can also order your aguachile with just shrimp, or just fish, or just cucumber, and in rojo (made with Clamato) or verde (with serrano peppers) varieties.

The ceviche tradicional pescado is very good as well, the generous stack of fish made all bright and citrusy by a broth so good you can eat it like soup (we did). The standout among the starters was the tostada de atun, each three-bite beauty anchored by some juicy guacamole and a slab of raw tuna. Tacos come in pairs, stuffed with either fried fish, grilled shrimp, or cauliflower.

Tostada de atun, $19 for two (Scott Lynch)

The fish of the day is prepared al pastor, and it’s a showstopper, served head-on, butterflied for easy, bone-free consumption, and strewn with jalapeño and bits of roasted pineapple. You can make tacos out of this beast, too; just grab a For All Things Good tortilla from the basket, schmear on a little pineapple butter, and stuff it with fish.

Pescado del dia al pastor, $43 (Scott Lynch)

And even if you’re already full, make sure you get the dessert, a slice of hibiscus pie made with a buttery cookie crust, a nice little tang, and a dollop of chocolate ganache on the side for dredging. This is a top-tier pastry.

Hibiscus pie, $14 (Scott Lynch)

On the boozy side of things, Ensenada’s lengthy list of mezcals from Oaxaca, Puebla, Michoacán, Jalisco, and Sonora, is curated by Jorsand Diaz, a hardcore agave geek whom Herraro knew from Cosme. There are also eight specialty cocktails—try the yerba matte highball—as well as beer and wine.

Yerba mate highball, $15 (Scott Lynch)

It all makes for an exceedingly pleasant evening. And once the weather gets warm for real and they break out their four storefronts-worth of outdoor seating, Ensenada, and the Borinquen Triangle, should be popping.

Ensenada is located at 168 Borinquen Place, at the convergence of S 2nd street, and is currently open from Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 to 10:30 (347-335-0838)