Creative menu, wide range of choices, attentive service. It's a funky open venue and the staff is great moving space heaters around. It's great for families and groups. read more

10/10. If you like good seafood and drinks, this is the spot. I was blown away. Every single thing was good, the octopus, the grilled shrimp, tuna tostadas and hamachi. Absolutely amazing food. Cute, casual atmosphere. read more

As a private Chef this is the place to go for the amazing flavors of Baja! 10 / 10 for the ambience, food and staff! Beware you are gonna get hooked eating at this eatery read more

We loved the Octopus and Birra Pizza . We enjoyed our drinks too! This is a very unique restaurant! read more

Puntamar - Yummy Octopus - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

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We were here with a toddler. The service was a bit chaotic (they mistakenly delivered the wrong order to our table twice). Overall the food was okay but the octopus didn't taste fresh....and most importantly the music was way too loud (overstimulated my kid and I can't hear a thing my husband was saying...). Not recommended for family with young kid. read more

You must check this place out! Food is very authentic, this family owns more restaurants in Mexico City. Everything was incredible and great ambiance. read more

Great food!! Tiradito was awesome, rosada was great and octopus was yum.. the atmosphere was awesome and the owner was very attentive

Mexican cuisine, seafood, and San Diego - you can't beat it! Puntamar is a great new Encinitas spot complete with an inviting atmosphere that transports you beachside in Mexico, and I was excited to try it out. They have a lot of fun cocktail options, including a variety of different takes on micheladas. My group ordered cocktails that were delicious while I opted for a mango michelada, also delicious. I ordered a 1/2 version and they came out with a glass the size of my head (which was obviously the full size), and said it was a mistake on their part and only charged for the 1/2 size. I definitely welcomed this as we all ended up sharing sips of my drink during our meal. We ordered aguachile, a whole branzino, and the birria pizza. Everything was quite tasty, except we were a bit disappointed about the low spice level on the aguachile - definitely missing the chile component. I wonder if you can request it to be on the spicier side... As for the service, I will say it was sub-par. I totally understand that this is a new restaurant trying to find its footing, so I'm definitely taking that into consideration knowing I'll be back in the future. Everyone was very friendly, but it was clear that there was a lack of communication going on. Our server who introduced himself as so seemed to forget about us throughout the night even though we saw him frequently passing us, and we had various different staff members coming to take orders before our server remembered us and came to take our order after it was already put in. Despite this, it took a while for both our food and drinks to come out, and we were also a bit disappointed that all of our courses came out together. We were expecting the aguachile before our mains as this was clearly an appetizer and listed as so on the menu. Given the friendliness of the staff, this didn't take away too much from our experience here, and the food of course was worth it as well. As I said before, I'll be back and am looking forward to trying more items on the menu. read more

Puntamar - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

Excellent food and service! The owner is delightful and brings delicious cuisine from Mexico City to Encinitas!

Incredible food and experience! We were there last night for the first time and just made a reservation for tomorrow with some friends. My husband and I decided this will be our new spot read more

love love love this restaurant. Food is so good and authentic. we came for my birthday last week and had the best time. Kennedy was our waitress and she was awesome!!! high recommend!!!!! read more

I've been to Pina (the previous Mexican restaurant in this space) several times and was never very impressed. Trying Punta Mar for the first time, I had low expectations. But I was BLOWN AWAY. The ambiance and vibe of the restaurant was amazing. Upon being seated, we were greeted by the owner of the restaurant who walked us through the menu and told us his favorites. We ordered the Birria Pizza, Ceviche, Tuna Tostada, Taco Trio and Giant Shrimp plate. There were four of us there so we shared all the dishes. Everything was delicious. For drinks, I ordered the Mula de Agave, which didn't sound like my cup of tea on paper, but was suggested by the owner. It was surprisingly tasty and I ended up ordering another once finished. They have massive Micheladas, which were great as well. Finally, for dessert we had the churros and both the presentation and taste were phenomenal. They came out with Sparklers in a mini hand made boat. We got 8 churros for $10 so it was a pretty good deal! I would definitely come back here and this is a great addition to downtown Encinitas! read more

A group of us went to check out this place, it's cute and decorated well. Unfortunately the food and drinks were not up to par. The taste was good, just barely any liquor in the drinks. If it was priced as juice, it would be justified a little bit more. Avoid the tortilla soup. Menu said it was a tomato base, when I asked our server he said it was shrimp broth. Think tortilla strips, two chunks of shrimp and watered down shrimp water. My friend liked her Al pastor tacos and did not like the angus tacos. They brought one friend champagne because they ran out of what she requested - she does not drink champagne and nothing was said. Makes me sad to write this because we were excited reading the menu and being so close in encinitas but will not be coming back. read more

I visited Puntamar a few days ago. It offers a relaxed beachside vibe that's perfect for chilling out. The Tuna Tataki Tostadas are a must-try. The Sonora Tacos are equally delicious. Plenty of creative drinks to choose from. A great addition to Encinitas! read more

Puntamar - Tuna Tataki Tostadas - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

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I'm so excited to have a new restaurant in Encinitas! This place looks so cute! They did a great job with the decor. Raul, our waiter, went over the menu with us and gave us his recommendations. We ordered the margarita and the birria pizza he suggested and they were both delicious! I can't wait to come back and try the rest of the menu and hopefully Raul will be our waiter again! Great work to everyone at Puntamar! read more

Puntamar - Cocktails - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

The food was amazing. The open ocean air seating was a great vibe. Corey was a kind and attentive sever for us. I'll go again.

First of all, the food here was FABULOUS. I can't stop thinking about the Birria Pizza ... it's one of the most delicious items being served anywhere in SD County. And the octopus and fish tacos were both perfectly seasoned. But for us to return, they need to make some changes to the restaurant itself. First of all, with no walls, the entire place is freezing. Instead of strong heaters, they have those crappy clear plastic towers with a flame inside which look nice, but anyone that froze their a* off at Papagayo during covid knows that they don't do squat. We wore heavy jackets and were still shivering, even with those two worthless heaters at our table. Secondly, the music was terrible and soooo loud. It's kind of like some blend of mariachi and banda. We were glad we didn't bring friends with us because we would have had to shout across the table, even though the place was 1/2 empty. Also, they seemed pretty understaffed (although our server had high energy and a great attitude) as there were long waits to get our drinks. That said, the tequila list is great and even the wine list which included some Valle Guadalupe wines was well thought-out. Here's hoping they put up some plastic up to stop the coastal winds from whipping in, buy real heaters that heat, and change to mellower music from Mexico (having just returned from a restaurant tour of Mexico City, I can attest there are plenty of options that don't sound like something at Casa de Bandini). read more

The seafood is really good and fresh, you really have to try the ceviche and the oysters. Also they make the best Micheladas. Great service and good music, great for lunch. read more

Puntamar - Shrimp Aguachile and fish ceviche. - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

Corey is the best bartender ever. I am a margarita aficionado and this is one of the best I've had.

10/10 service!!! Zaul was TOP NOTCH! It's so refreshing to get such good service! We got the Machu Picchu ceviche and GALICIAN octopus. So freaking yummy!! read more

Puntamar - Machu picchu's Ceviche - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

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Puntamar Mexican Seafood is the best Mexican seafood restaurant I can honestly say I've been to in San Diego. The food is amazing, from the tuna tostadas to the birria pizza to the churros dessert. The quality and presentation of the food is top notch. The staff are friendly, and considering they just had their grand opening, service was still pretty good. The place was packed with enthusiastic clientele, and I heard nothing but praise for the food and the restaurant. Puntamar is an outstanding restaurant and a welcome addition to the Encinitas scene. I plan on coming back with friends and trying everything on the menu. Great job, Alex! read more

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This place is a hidden gem! The best seafood I've had in San Diego. The shrimp, ceviche, and margaritas are delicious. The ambiance is great, they did a fantastic job with the design. And the service is 10/10. Highly recommend read more

Amazing food including a visit from the chef to our table for recommendations. Pizza birria and their fajitas either mole was the best !!! Also nice decoration that transport you to Mexico. I'll come back!! read more

Came in to Puntamar to try Encinitas New Mexican spot. Corey was very helpful and explained the whole menu, ran everything very smooth, and all the food was delicious. Shoutout to Corey for all the best recommendation's and great service. I will definitely be back soon! read more

Full disclosure, I don't like spicy food so this place was not the place for me. Everything on the menu sounded very tasty but even though it wasn't labeled spicy it still was. I even asked if they could make some items (including a salad), less spicy and they said no. I asked if they had any sides of veggies or non spicy items and they said no. I would not take your children here unless they can tolerate spicy food. We also asked for a quieter location so we could chat because the music was blaring but they said there was no place quieter in the restaurant. We asked if they could turn the music down a bit and they turned it down for 1 song and then turned it back up again. When we asked again if they could turn it down they said that it was as low as it could go. This was absolutely not true. I am sure music played at the voume where you have to yell to be heard is not the lowest volume on a music player and why couldn't they turn the music off? We ordered churros for dessert and they were only okay. They were very dense and thick and tasted more like a donut than a churro. We ended up eating only the tuna appetizers because they weren't spicy. They were very tasty and they didn't skimp on the tuna and this appetizer was large. When researching the restaurant it was darn near impossible to find the menu listed anywhere online. Even the restaurants website has a button for the menu but when you click on it, it doesn't take you to a menu, just to an advertisement for the restaurant. Neither my friend nor I will return here but if you like spicy food and don't mind really loud music this could be great place. read more

Went to Puntamar in Encinitas last night and wow... SO good! The restaurant has the cutest vibe--beautifully decorated and it honestly felt like a little vacation getaway. Staff was all very friendly and the food and drinks did not disappoint either. The Birria pizza and steak tacos were unreal (that cheesy crisp on top was everything ). We also shared the ceviche, Caesar salad, and shrimp--every bite was delicious. Honestly, the whole menu sounded amazing and I already can't wait to go back and try more of their food! read more

First, this place is gorgeous! Great location, plenty of parking and I can tell they're on the right tracks. However: when the beer is flat, the service is mediocre, food came out lukewarm and we didn't eat the octopus due to how tough it is and how lackluster it was. The oysters were served with giant pieces of cilantro which isn't fun to have in a bite. When we mentioned to the waitress our octopus wasn't up-to-par she replied "we've never received that complaint before, it's a very popular dish." Not the response we hoped for but thankfully they didn't charge us. Place has plenty of potential but when the manager is too busy on the phone and is showing chest hair cause he looks like a dude on vacation, then I worry. There are better spots for seafood in Encinitas, definitely not this spot! read more

A Taste of Mexico in Encinitas! We had an amazing dinner at Puntamar this past Sunday with the family, and the experience made us feel like we were on vacation in Puerto Vallarta or at a beautiful beach resort in Mexico. The decor is absolutely spot on and sets the perfect vibe for a relaxed, and great dining experience. The food was phenomenal from start to finish. We kicked things off with the guacamole--so fresh and exquisite--and also tried the tuna tataki tostada, which had a fantastic combination of flavors. The tuna was perfectly balanced and simply superb. The tlacoyos were another hit, so flavorful and delicious. For our entrées, we went with the birria pizza (super tasty!) and the Branzino zarandeado, both of which were excellent. To top it off, we sampled their micheladas and cocktails, which were just as impressive as the food. Overall, it was a wonderful experience with top-notch food, drinks, and atmosphere. Highly recommend Puntamar, and we'll definitely be back! read more

Todo lo que probamos estaba delicioso , perfectly seasoned! We tried the trio tacos and all three were delicious. Tortilla soup had a nice generous portion of broth and bright lime flavor. Friendly staff! read more

Puntamar - Tortilla soup with chicken! - Seafood Near Me - Encinitas, California

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I hate writing bad reviews, but I also hate bad service. I was so excited to eat at Punta Mar because it looked super cute and the food looked good! Unfortunately, the service was not on par with the restaurant. It started when we first got seated around 7:05pm. A server didn't come help us until what felt like 10 minutes. Someone finally came over and took our order. We were sitting in front of the DJ and speaker area and they had turned up the music. My husband and I were dining with our 1.5 year old son so I had asked to move because it was loud for him. Thankfully they were able to move us to the patio area. Because I moved, I told our server to let the other sever know, but I don't think it was communicated because we didn't get our food until around 8:05pm. We waited and waited and saw other people around us get their order. I had asked our server multiple times and had I not said anything..we prob would have waited even longer. Our server did apologize and told us what happened, but nothing was offered for making us wait an hour for the food. I also saw the two guys who I think are the owners walking by checking on the girls tables next to us, but didn't check on us or apologize for what happened. For the food, we ordered the tuna tataki tostadas, black rose aguachile (recommended by our original server), quesabirria tacos, and cheese quesadilla & guac for our son. The tuna tataki was really good. The quesabirria tacos were good, but kinda chewy. My least favorite was the black rose aguachile. The server recommended the black rose over the verde, but I was not a fan. The sauce kinda reminded me of soy sauce. I think I would have liked it if it was the verde. When we finished eating, I had to ask a lady who was dropping off the drinks for another table for the check because our server was no where to be found. She wasn't very friendly and just seemed really busy. It seemed like they understaffed because everyone was doing everything and our server was all over the place. Service was definitely a 1/5. Hope they fix their service because I would go back for the food and drinks if it was better! read more

Food here is excellent with a very welcoming staff. The vibes feel like you have been transported to Baja and the food is to match. Amazing seafood and birria that is authentic mexican food. One of the best new additions to enci read more

So good! All of the drinks were amazing. Tuna tostadas were great. Service took a bit longer for the tacos but they were fresh and delicious. Best guacamole in all of San Diego. Will be back read more

10/10 the fish ceviche was the best I've had very authentic!!! The quesabirria was delicious as well :)

We had a great dinner at Puntamar. We had the galacian octopus, shrimp skillet, tuna tataki tostadas, and ceviche. Everything was so fresh and tasty. Our favorite by far was the shrimp skillet. The place had a lively vibe, but it didnt feel crowded and loud. The mariachi singer that showed up was a great addition. read more

We love the food and service at Punta Mar. But, we can't enjoy the meal, because we can't talk to each other without yelling above the music. There isn't a quiet table anywhere, including the patio. This seems to be a trend at many restaurants now days. It's really too bad, because we "older couples" have money to spend on good food, however we like to communicate and share ideas without competing with blaring music. Next time, we'll pick up our food and take it home. read more

Enjoyable food and really lovely service. The decor and vibe are beachy and cool. We wandered in with our 2 kids around 3 pm. This seems like more of a restaurant geared towards adults. Still, the restaurant owner and wait staff were so kind and humored my kids. During this in between time after lunch and before dinner, there were only a few patrons and we had the outdoor patio to ourselves. The churros served on a mini cart decorated with sparklers were a huge hit with kids and adults alike. The ceviche and guacamole were bright and fresh. The drinks sounded amazing...maybe next time without the kids! read more

The food was delicious! Service was fantastic, they went out of their way to make sure everything was great! we loved it and will definitely be coming back!! Highly recommend it! read more

Great skinny margs! Food was authentic and fresh. Fun place they were pumping solid tunes. Owner was great and told us his story and we always appreciate it. We will be back! read more

I cannot say enough about this awesome local Encinitas spot! My fiancé and I have been there for a casual dinner and also hosted a larger group for our surprise engagement party. The service is impeccable, food is delicious, and the owner couldn't be more kind and personable. We will absolutely be making a regular appearance here! read more

Food was amazing! I am born and raised Mexican, and this has been by far the best place I tried in San Diego. Service was exceptional - owner didn't have chocolate milk for the little one but he made some on the spot! music set the ambiance and they even have salsa dance classes in Thursday's! Owner is working the tables and making sure everyone is well taken care. read more