"North Park's sharpest little seafood bar: Chelsea Coleman and Rae Gurne pour gin and tonics and serve swordfish schnitzel, oysters and crudo Iberian-style on 30th Street, a Michelin Bib Gourmand named for Coleman's dog."
Mabel's Gone Fishing opened on 30th Street in North Park in 2022, the work of co-owners Chelsea Coleman and Rae Gurne, who named it after Coleman's dog, Mabel. The cooking blends California produce with Iberian seafood traditions, served as a tapas-style menu of oysters, crudo, tinned fish and a few hot plates. It entered the Michelin Guide as a Bib Gourmand in the 2023 California selection.
For the wider field see the San Diego dining guide.
The kitchen runs on local seafood handled simply: the signature swordfish schnitzel, crisp and meaty, comes with salsa verde and a creamy tonnato alongside caper berries and shaved fennel, while house-smoked mackerel arrives with pickled guindilla peppers. Oysters, crudo, cheese and charcuterie round out a menu meant for grazing. The approach is Californian-Iberian rather than fussy.
See more of the city's notable tables in the San Diego guide.
Mabel's is a small, lively room built around a bar, well suited to a solo seat with oysters and a gin and tonic, a first date or a small birthday. The mood is convivial and close, and the seafood-bar format rewards a few small plates over a long, formal meal. It is one of North Park's hardest tables to walk into, so book ahead.
Start with oysters at three to four dollars each and a gin and tonic at sixteen, then the swordfish schnitzel and house-smoked mackerel. A typical meal of oysters and a whole fish runs about 75 dollars; the Chef's Menu is 85. For other options, see the notable tables across San Diego.
Mabel's suits a solo seat at the bar, a first date or a small birthday: a close, characterful seafood room built for oysters and a few good plates. See more solo-dining tables and the San Diego dining guide.
Not for a large group or a quiet white-tablecloth dinner: Mabel's is a small, busy seafood bar built around oysters, tinned fish and grazing plates, with limited seating and a lively bar-led mood.
Mabel's Gone Fishing is owned by Chelsea Coleman and Rae Gurne, who opened it on 30th Street in North Park in 2022 and named it after Coleman's dog, Mabel. The pair run it as a Californian-Iberian seafood bar built around oysters, crudo, tinned fish and a few hot plates, and it earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the 2023 California guide.
Mabel's Gone Fishing is at 3770 30th Street in the North Park neighbourhood of San Diego, California 92104. It is a compact, bar-led seafood room on a busy stretch of 30th Street, well suited to solo diners and couples. It is one of the area's most popular small tables, so booking ahead through Tock is recommended, especially at weekends.
Start with oysters, priced at about three to four dollars each, and the signature swordfish schnitzel with salsa verde and tonnato. Add house-smoked mackerel with pickled guindilla peppers and some crudo. A typical meal of oysters and a whole fish runs about 75 dollars, while the set Chef's Menu is priced at 85 dollars.
Yes. Mabel's Gone Fishing holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, the inspectors' mark for good value cooking, first awarded in the 2023 Michelin Guide California selection. It is a casual seafood and tapas bar rather than a starred tasting-menu restaurant, so the experience is built around oysters, crudo and shared plates with a strong drinks list rather than a formal multi-course meal.
Via Tock - North Park
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