Acapulco Bay Co   

3030 N 68th St
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-429-1990

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It's a bit crowded for large groups, and the waiters aren't always fluent in English, but those are about the only knocks you'll hear about this cute, white stucco building with a small but remarkable kitchen. It turns out some of the finest authentic Mexican food in the Valley, with an emphasis on seafood. The menu lists so many dishes, you could eat there almost every day for a year and never order the same meal twice. But if one dish can define a restaurant, it's the Camaron Azteca -- lots of meaty Guaymas shrimp cooked in a chunky tomato, onion and chile salsa, zestily seasoned and blended with Mexican white cheese. Served in a deep, pre-heated bowl carved out of lava rock, the monstrous masterpiece arrives at your table bubbling hot. The volcanic bowl keeps it hot as your work your way through the mountain of shrimp. By seafood standards, Acapulco Bay is cheap. Most ocean entrees are in the $10-$15 range. For such a little restaurant, the kitchen stocks an amazing array of fresh seafood. It includes scallops, crab, red snapper, shrimp, lobster tail, calamari, oysters, mussels and lots more. Meat dishes usually top out under $10, and there's a wide selection. They include chicken cooked in Baja spices, marinated pork steak, carnitas and crab-stuffed chile rellenos -- all served with crispy vegetables, fresh, chunked guacamole and spicy pico de gallo. Whole fried snapper is a special treat. Wrap a chunk in a warm tortilla spread with beans and rice and dunk it in snappy salsa. Wash it down with cold Mexican beer and repeat until stuffed.