With whole fresh fish dangling on display in the fridge, live lobsters stirring in their tanks and the sound of sea urchin being cracked open by skilled chefs, Holbox delivers all the sights and sounds of a bustling seafood stand on the Mexican coast.
Nestled within Mercado la Paloma, on the other side of the 110 Freeway from USC, this James Beard nominated and Michelin Guide rated restaurant offers affordable Mexican seafood within the Fryft zone. But despite its many accolades, including being named the 2023 restaurant of the year by the Los Angeles Times, it remains relatively unknown to students.
“Holbox? Sounds familiar, but I don’t think I have been,” said Ryan Liddy, a freshman vocal arts major. “Is it around here?”
Near the front of the mercado, Chef Gilberto Cetina opened Holbox in 2017 and has dedicated himself to recreating the flavors of coastal Mexican cuisine with classic Southern California ingredients.
“We only use seasonal ingredients, and we try to use local stuff,” manager Conrad Riviera said. “We also bring stuff from Mexico to keep it interesting.”
Cetina received all his culinary training at Mercado la Paloma working at his parents’ Yucatecán restaurant, Chichen Itza, where he experimented with seafood dishes and became inspired to start his own restaurant.
“When we first started, six or seven years ago, it was a family-run business,” Riviera said. “There were only four of us, and it wasn’t our ambition to become the thing that it is today, but it makes us proud, makes us work even harder. It’s a good place to work at.”
Holbox offers up unique menu items ranging from blood clams with smokey morita sauce to crispy battered rockfish tacos. Senior Elise Murguia, a health promotion and disease prevention major, said she thoroughly enjoyed the restaurant, recommending the yellowtail tostada and sparkling lemonade.
“The staff was really friendly and recognized us the second time we came in,” she said. “Holbox is pretty affordable and a close drive. It’s such an easy, convenient place to go, and you get amazing, beautifully presented food.”
Drew Limp, a freshman business major, said he was eager to try out the restaurant.
“I haven’t had real Mexican seafood out here,” he said. “I’ve heard they’ve got some very interesting types of seafood tacos like a sea urchin taco. I’ve seen pictures of it. I want to go.”
The ceviche mixto, a Peruvian seafood dish made of seasoned raw shrimp, octopus and fish, tops the list of Riviera’s recommendations. He, too, agrees that the sea urchin is an entirely different animal.
“We bring them in from Santa Barbara,” he said. “It’s a live urchin. We crack it open into two halves, and then we stuff it with scallop ceviche. On top of the ceviche we put the uni that’s inside of the urchin. While you add it, it’s still moving — that’s what makes it fun. Students should give it a try.”
Holbox is located at 3655 S. Grand Ave., and is open Tuesday-Sunday from 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. You can find out more about the restaurant, including the menu, on its website here.