Wahoo’s Fish Taco

Founded in Costa Mesa in 1988, Wahoo’s Fish Taco is one of Orange County’s more notable fast-casual restaurant chain success stories – lauded for years as the fountainhead of locally uncommon fish tacos, popularizing recipes that Taco Nazo (and likely others) brought north from Ensenada, Mexico. While Nazo built a mini-chain of Los Angeles-area locations, Wahoo’s expanded across California, six other states, and even Tokyo, Japan, peaking at somewhere over 60 restaurants in the early 2010s, and at one point planned to franchise 100 additional spots. As of early 2026, Wahoo’s has retrenched to 40 total restaurants across five states and Japan, and its lightly rebellious, surf- and skate-inspired locations have mellowed into a more corporate, middle-aged vibe.

Across mostly plaza and mall locations, Wahoo’s beach house-styled restaurants are no longer covered in hundreds of stickers from local businesses, instead decorating their walls with clean skateboards, BMX, skating, and surfing competition posters, and promotional art for the 1966 surfing film “The Endless Summer.” All references to Ensenada- or Baja-style tacos have disappeared from the wall-sized menus, which previously needed to be scanned while waiting in extended lines for tables. Based on our intermittent visits in recent years, that’s no longer a concern; ordering is typically pretty quick, and made-to-order plates take around 10 minutes to arrive at your table, linked to a physical order number handed out at the cash register. Just as was the case decades ago, friendly runners bring dishes over to you as they’re ready, and check in to offer condiments and clear plates as your meal progresses.

Wahoo’s menu still includes fish tacos, but they’re not the primary focus at this point, or even a particular draw in our view. Guests can choose from five taco options including citrus slaw tacos; 1988 (lettuce/cabbage/salsa) tacos; crispy fish tacos with melted cheese, citrus slaw, and cilantro sauce; fuego carnitas tacos with smoky chipotle and fire-roasted salsa; and street tacos with onions, cilantro, and avocado salsa. Each taco is now $5.15 except for the $3 street tacos, which are limited in protein choice to chicken or carne asada steak; the others allow chicken, carnitas, crispy Alaskan flounder, tofu, or teriyaki vegetable choices, with “premium” carne asada, wild-caught fish, salmon, or sauteed shrimp proteins as 50-cent upgrades. Much of the menu is now filled with soups, salads, sandwiches, burritos, bowls, and enchiladas, plus a collection of onion rings, fries, and chips with salsa, guacamole, or nacho-style cheese and meat toppings.

When we first tried Wahoo’s in the late 1990’s, we were qualified fans – although local hype over the growing brand struck us as a little excessive given the quality of their tacos, we typically enjoyed whatever we ordered, tried some of their non-fish taco items, and particularly appreciated the quality and size of their onion rings. But over the years, as we’ve popped into Costa Mesa and Irvine locations a number of times craving fish and shrimp tacos, nothing we’ve ordered has stood out enough from other local options to make us want to return again. That was true on our most recent (March 2026) visit, as well.