La Playa Fresh Seafood review: Quite the catch in Gordon Square
Mar. 27—There are good ideas, and then there's a Mexican seafood restaurant.
Thus, when looking for a new-ish Northeast Ohio eatery to check out with my friend Cassandra early on a recent Friday evening, I quickly landed on La Playa Fresh Seafood in Cleveland's Gordon Square neighborhood, which didn't disappoint.
Opened in mid-2023 by Rafael Ayala, La Playa Fresh Seafood resides on Detroit Avenue next to his Blue Habanero, which also serves Mexican fare. ("La playa" means "the beach" in Spanish, and I'm guessing you get the "fresh seafood" half of the name.)
In advance of its opening, Ayala promised a fun, relaxing atmosphere, and the restaurant delivers with a brightly lit, cute-meets-kitschy, beach-party decor. A sign over an interesting C-shaped table reads "WELCOME TO PARADISE," and while I wouldn't go that far, the place seems pretty chill.
Of course, we there so early that we didn't remotely need the reservation I'd made just to be safe, so I can't speak to the vibe as the night progresses and the tequila really starts flowing. In fact, the two of us were given a booth that could sit at least six, which proved to be fortuitous as we piled up drinks and plates of apps and entrees.
Starting with drinks, La Playa offers a few specialty cocktails, margaritas (of course) and mojitos. Cassandra started off with one of the five margaritas, the Once Upon in Oaxaca ($10), a recommendation of our friendly server boasting hibiscus, guava, mezcal and lime, and I with a mojito, La Passion Calienta ($10), a nice-sized glass of dark rum, passionfruit, habanero, fresh lime juice and mint. Not a big mojito guy, I was thrilled with my choice and happily nursed the flavorful concoction for quite a while.
I don't like to spend too much time with online menus before visiting a place for a review, but I did glance at La Playas and became fixated on the Seafood Nachos ($26). Cassandra didn't object, and she led the charge for our other choice, the Calamari estitlo Vallarta ($16). She and I rarely pass over a calamari app, and this hardly seemed the place to fight tradition.
Seemingly because it was happy hour, we got the appetizers at half-price — $13 and $8, respectively — which is a tremendous value. (Studying our drink receipt, I now see the margaritas were discounted, as well, as we were charged $6, not $10, for both Cassandra's and the so-so Skinny Jalapeno I tried later.)
Seriously, $13 is a steal for the nachos, spread out on a medal sheet with all the good stuff — scallops, shrimp, octopus, pico de gallo, jalapenos and melted queso — piled generously on top. (Knowing we'd be hitting these, I'd intended to tell our server we didn't need the complimentary chips and salsa, but they were on our table before I had the chance, and as we'd come in hungry, I couldn't seem to form the words that we didn't want them. And, in fact, the salsa was so spicy and delicious that I later asked for some to take home.) The chips were thick, crisp and tasty, and I was pleased with how much seafood we got with the appetizer.
The calamari was good, too, if a little more heavily breaded than I prefer. This preparation is a little on the spicy side, which is perfect for me, and comes with chipotle aioli. All told, it was a little zippy but shouldn't be too hot for many folks.
We picked away at the dishes taking up much of the real estate on the table, making only so much of a collective dent and growing a bit full even before ordering entrees. We'd be taking a bit of everything home.
I thought one of the many dishes based around camarones, aka shrimp, would travel fairly well and ultimately settled on the spiciest, Camarones a la Diabla ($22). Cassandra, I thought, better captured the spirit of a seafood Mexican restaurant by going with the Seafood Chimichanga ($20).
The latter fills a fried tortilla with grilled shrimp, octopus and scallops and tops it with melted queso and red salsa. She loved it, and my bite was delicious.
My dinner — with the shrimp punctuated with what La Playa describes as its sweet, sour and spicy diablo sauce but I found more spicy than sweet and sour — was a little more ordinary but delicious all the same.
Both entries came with rice and a little side salad. Although unremarkable, the salad helps add balance to these otherwise heavy meals.
Perhaps La Playa wouldn't be your first choice if you're not a seafood lover, but the restaurant boasts a full menu page of traditional Mexican offerings — burritos, fajitas, tacos, steak and chicken dishes and more. It certainly is ready for a group with varied tastes.
Me? I want to go back to try more seafood-centric fare. Other entrees that catch the eye include the Tropical Salmon ($24), Mahi Maji ($24) a couple of Red Snapper dishes (both $27) and Fish & Chips ($24). And I'm not sure why we didn't give more consideration to the Pulpo Zarandeado ($27), an entree built around grilled octopus infused with spices and a hint of al pastor chili adobo that also features mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables.
Next time. And there WILL be a next time.
Reviews are based on one anonymous visit to a restaurant.
La Playa Fresh Seafood
6410 Detroit Ave.
Cleveland
216-331-2757
Location: North side of Detroit Avenue, just east of West 65th Street, next to sister eatery Blue Habanero Street Tacos & Tequila.
Cuisine: Mexican, with emphasis on seafood
Hours: 2 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 2 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Liquor and wine: Full bar
Vegetarian: Mostly seafood choices along with a few appetizers and pasta entree.
Reservations: Accepted.
Value: Decent; very good at happy hour.
Ratings (of five):
Food: 4.
Atmosphere: 4.
Service: 4.