El Pescador

Update: El Pescador is closed.

In a word: Not fishy at all.

The specs: #0290
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Yelp, Central Madison Living, Cap Times, food608, comments at Madison Dining Online, TDPF; Table Talk with co-owner and chef.

JM ate the seafood burrito with a lemonade.
John R. ate the Texas fajita with a diet Coke.
John S. ate the enchiladas Norteñas with an horchata.
Nichole ate the camarones flameados.
Rose ate the enchiladas Guadalajara with a diet Coke.
The bill was $60, or $12/person, plus tip.
John R. gave El Pescador an A; JM and Nichole gave El Pescador an A-; John S. gave El Pescador a B+ (see our grading rubric).

Latest El Pescador news and reviews

Because of the inevitable and apt comparisons of El Pescador to Laredo's, we need to preface this review with the disclosure that we're semi-regulars at Laredo's. We get plenty of culinary excitement elsewhere, obvs, so Laredo's fills the quick-and-satisfying  neighborhood comfort food niche for us. Since a Laredo's stakeholder has a hand in El Pescador, we were curious to see how they compare.

John S. started with an horchata that bore out the truism that East Side horchata always tastes better than West Side. This one had a lot of spice and body to it, and that plus the pretty standard chips and salsa had him nearly full even before his enchiladas arrived. The enchiladas Norteñas were a huge mass of food at a decent price, though they weren't outstanding. It may be saying something that John overate.

John R. went for another standard, the steak fajitas (which were the fajita plate without the chicken and shrimp). Just like Laredo's, the portion is incredibly huge, and comes with a laughably small number of tortillas (which can be remedied by a request to the server). The meal had a good flavor, though he would have liked more lettuce and pico on the side. They also get props from him for having Coke products.

Rose's enchiladas Guadalajara were pretty typical chicken enchiladas. That said, chicken enchiladas being one of her favorite dishes, these were yummy. Some of the larger pieces of chicken were rather dry, but the excellent sauce remedied that.

So far, we could see that the non-seafood menu is pretty similar to Laredo's. JM and Nichole made a foray into the seafood items, and found some treasures. Thank goodness - it's the least you'd expect from the name.

Nichole's camarones flameados were described as shrimp and mushrooms in a garlic-brandy-cream sauce. As with all our dishes, the presentation was done well (a twist of orange is just a nice touch). To Nichole's pleasant surprise, sweet red peppers accompanied the fresh shrimp and mushrooms. It was hard to detect any brandy or much garlic in the cream sauce, which was actually pretty light and didn't overpower the shrimp.   

JM's seafood burrito was quite, quite good. At first, the shrimp was hard to find amidst the beans inside. But eventually it came through and really shone. No fake crab here, that's for sure. Mexican seafood isn't something that JM thought he needed to try, and he's still unsure but he liked it a lot.

One caveat for the chemically sensitive women out there: Nichole nearly had an asthma attack in the over-freshened bathroom, and she doesn't even have asthma. Assaulted by an auto-timer spray dealie, a constant-fume wall plug thingie, and a wax-dissolving-into-your-lungs Renuzit doodad, she's lucky to have made it out alive and not lost her dinner, which would have been a shame.

Comments

[Michael]

This sounds like an average price, but the quantity is huge. It looks like a hardy appetite is needed to eat at the El Pescador.

I ate at El Pescador recently, and I'd HIGHLY recommend the steak and shrimp burrito. I've been craving it ever since I had it! A+!

[Carl]

this place is all about the seafood...the seafood soup, comes with a big crab leg, is the best thing ive had there. im looking forward to checking out laredos

[k]

I love El Pescador - the fish and shrimp tacos are to die for! As is everything else I've tried there.

[Anne Giblin]

The nachos with ground beef are addictive!

[theginn]

Does anyone know why this place closed? It's a real loss. They had some of the best Mexican food in town. Any word on what the owners may do?