{"id":446669,"date":"2026-08-29T00:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T00:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/446669\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T00:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T00:36:09","slug":"a-new-specialty-coffee-shop-has-arrived-in-la-jolla-shores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/446669\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Specialty Coffee Shop Has Arrived in La Jolla Shores"},"content":{"rendered":"

You have to be crazy or a genius to name a restaurant Fish Guts<\/a>. You have to be even crazier to open a restaurant that holds maybe two dozen people at a time\u2014if you don\u2019t mind elbowing one other while scarfing down some of the best fish tacos in San Diego.<\/p>\n

And yes, \u201cbest\u201d is a relative term. But in Fish Guts\u2019 case, it\u2019s for real\u2014and that\u2019s saying something in a town literally world-famous for fish tacos<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ever since Pablo Becker opened up his diminutive eatery in 2023 at the corner of Logan Avenue and Sampson Street in Barrio Logan, Fish Guts has been named one of the city\u2019s best new restaurants in 2023<\/a>, Critic\u2019s Pick for the best fish tacos in San Diego in 2024<\/a>, 2025<\/a> and 2026<\/a>, as well as readers\u2019 top pick in 2024<\/a>. It\u2019s like if Rubio\u2019s married into the royal family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most of his ingredients come straight from the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean, which happens to be down the street. His de espada (blackened swordfish) taco is the stuff of legend. He\u2019s kept Fish Guts operating at an elite level<\/a>, which tends to happen when you work for five years in Chicago under chef Richard Sandoval (who, by chance, is also his cousin) and open an ahead-of-its-time high-end modern Mexican restaurant in East Village (El Vitral Restaurant & Tequileria, 2009-2013).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now Becker is branching out again, opening two new concepts in Barrio Logan this fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first will be upstairs from Fish Guts, which at one point was destined to become an intimate omakase counter<\/a>. Santo Poco will be a lunch-only sandwich shop, offering takeout and delivery (no dine-in), and the sandwiches will be a little Mexican, a little French, a little Italian, a little from Chicago, a little from New York. Basically, a bunch of different styles all on really, really good bread.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s probably going to be a Cuban-style sandwich in there with a touch of Mexican, some cold cut Italians, too, putting my touch on them,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s what I feel like is my style of cooking.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Things will be traditional, but inventive. Like his fish & chips taco at Fish Guts: two classic dishes, one killer mash-up. There will also be a hat tip to the late, great Anthony Bourdain, a sandwich called the Antonio Bourdain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The second will be across the street from Fish Guts in the former Lia\u2019s Lumpia space. Concrete Cowboy will be a taco-driven joint on the same wavelength as Fish Guts (keep it simple, keep it special), but featuring land animals rather than sea brethren. Think tacos made with duck confit, ribeye, pork belly, skirt steak.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The inspiration behind Concrete Cowboy comes from Becker\u2019s father, a lifelong Western obsessive, despite growing up in Mexico City\u2019s urban metropolis. \u201cHe always liked that cowboy life, that vibe,\u201d he says. \u201cI always say \u2018Dad, you just grew up in the wrong city.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s aiming to open Santo Poco in October and Concrete Cowboy in November. Neither require massive renovations, and while the former Lia\u2019s Lumpia space will keep the cabin-esque aesthetic, he\u2019s creating more of an adobe-style exterior and an interior lined with Western-themed wallpaper and taxidermied animals<\/a>. He\u2019ll also tweak the bar layout to move from a fast-casual feel to full service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Local designer Dane Danner is designing both spaces and visual direction for menu layouts, logos, and packaging, going for low-key, but high on vibes. Once Concrete Cowboy opens, Fish Guts will temporarily close to remodel the space to switch its white palette for a warmer feel, plus introducing a refreshed menu featuring some new tacos and other items.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Could another Fish Guts be on the way somewhere else in San Diego? Not likely, says Becker. \u201cFish Guts is cool, \u201c he says. \u201cI feel once you start branching out, it\u2019s more forced, not as organic.\u201d So for now, count on Becker staying in the neighborhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santo Poco opens for lunch daily October 2026, 2222 Logan Avenue (above Fish Guts). Concrete Cowboy opens Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner November 2026, 2219 Logan Avenue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You have to be crazy or a genius to name a restaurant Fish Guts. You have to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[74,76,75],"class_list":["post-446669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}