Craving fish tacos? From blackened to batter-fried and from shrimp to cod, lobster, tilapia and octopus, these are the best fish tacos in Chicago.
1360 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 1000 W. 35th St. / Website
The story behind this husband-and-wife outfit makes great copy (minority- and female-owned, works with local farmers and non-profits, smartly decked out with antiques), but the proof is in the tacos, which include a sensational garlic shrimp version topped with elote cauliflower, basil avocado salsa and fried kale.
1531 N. Damen Ave.; 3640 N. Clark St.; 551 N. Ogden Ave. / Website
At One Off Hospitality’s tacos-and-booze empire, seafood lovers have a pair of excellent choices: succulent fried shrimp with serrano crema and corn pico de gallo and a killer take on a traditional fish taco with beer-battered tilapia, chipotle mayo, cabbage, red onion and lime.
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844 W. Armitage Ave. / Website
Most Chicago taco spots have a single seafood offering if anything, but not Don Pez—from lobster to swordfish to salmon, mahi and more, this casual spot in the heart of Lincoln Park offers pescetarians eight savory options. Start with the Signature Pez-cado, which tempts with Baja-style beer-battered catfish, sweet cabbage, pickled habanero and special sauce.
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740 W. Randolph St. / Website
This family-owned fave scores with a trio of seafood tacos from tiger shrimp with habanero aioli to Spanish octopus with poblano aioli, red and Napa cabbage, and radishes.
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21 E. Hubbard St. / Website
The menu at this Lettuce Entertain You institution is consistently excellent across the board, so it’s no surprise that the lunch menu’s Yucatan fish tacos—beer-battered Alaskan cod, pickled red cabbage, avocado and chipotle remoulade—are among the best in town.
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1110 N. State St.; 910 W. Randolph St.; 2309 N. Lincoln Ave. / Website
With locations in hard-partying pockets of Lincoln Park, Fulton Market and the Gold Coast—where it’s open till 4 a.m. on weekends—this late-night haunt knows its demo is the after-the-bars crowd. That said, the outfit’s surprisingly creative, scrumptious takes on tacos are delicious any time of day, including seafood choices like the fish n’ chips with malt vinegar and curry aioli and the Mexi-Cali blackened shrimp with mouth-stinging sriracha aioli.
Photography by: Top photo by Grandriver/Getty Images; Antique Taco photo by Evan Sheehan
