Review: Mi Compa Chava

What were your first impressions when you arrived? The big, airy space, bright yellow metal tables, and open kitchen running the length of the room support chef Salvador Orozco’s vision of a Mexican coastal town seafood cart, while a plant-laden parklet holds the outdoor tables. On the sidewalk, crowds of locals and tourists alike line up for the avid fisherman’s creative takes on Sinaloa and Baja seafood.

What’s the crowd like? Seafood is a hangover cure in Mexico, and almost everyone eating here is intent on either fixing last night’s damage or getting a head start on creating today’s. This is a beach party transplanted to high altitude, the only difference is that the Instagram bait comes in the form of seafood towers, rather than sunsets.

What should we be drinking? Fitting for a beach seafood party, Mi Compa Chava serves a menu of increasingly extravagant prepared beers, from a Clamato with sweet and spicy chamoy rim to the Chava Cheve, garnished with an oyster dressed in aguachile and Cheve Chola, which involves a platter’s worth of seafood. There is a small cocktail list with plenty of rum and coconut options, as well as spins on the hangover-battling Carajillo–a typical Mexican drink with Licor 43 and coffee.

Main event: the food. Give us the lowdown—especially what not to miss. The artful aguachiles (raw shrimp in spicy sauce) rightfully land on almost every table, as do selections from the cold bar–which come with housemade seafood and hot sauces. Anything from the raw half of the menu is a sure bet, though cooked dishes like the fish birria quesadilla can help fill out a meal. The showstopping Señora Torres catches eyes every time the enormous stack of seafood lands gets unmolded tableside, revealing the colorful layers of tuna, scallop, raw and cooked shrimp, octopus, yellowfin tuna, onions, cucumbers, and avocado. But before you order it just to watch your server pour the sauce over top, make sure you have a big or hungry enough group.

And how did the front-of-house folks treat you? The staff here are excellent, helpful, and manage to keep up with the casual beach vibes even while dealing with the epic brunch crowds. They make good recommendations to make sure you try the best dishes, order the right amount of food, and that the drinks never run dry.

What’s the real-real on why we’re coming here? Mi Compa Chava is the place to come for a long lunch with your most fun friends–to keep you entertained on the line and over beers and shrimp.