Diving into Seafood Bliss at Ay Caray

CarefulWatch your step as you make your way down the sandy ramp into Bahía Maguey, a beloved beach destination in Santa Maria Huatulco, located 166 miles southeast of Oaxaca City. At first glance, this cozy cove, lined with palapas, resembles many stunning Pacific beaches in Mexico, filled with seafood Mytouries and cold beers. Yet, hints reveal you’re on the Oaxacan coast: Coronas and Vickys (Victoria beer) are essential, mezcal served in vasos veladoras (glass candle holders) adorns nearly every table, and corn tortillas sizzle on a clay comal outside the legendary seafood haven known as Ay Caray.

Make your way to the restaurant’s rustic thatched roof and settle into one of its plastic chairs, offering a prime view of families splashing in the bay’s tranquil blue waters and the sound of pangas ferrying groups off for ocean adventures. As the micheladas, piña coladas, and shots of mezcal arrive, you sink deeper into the warm, golden sand, nearly drifting away until a glint from a silver platter catches your eye, piled high with succulent spiny lobsters, vibrant parrotfish, and bright red snappers — today’s fresh catch. Choose one or, even better, indulge in all as your forthcoming feast dances in the flames of the restaurant’s traditional clay oven, crafted from stone, a technique the Zapotecs of the eastern Costa region have used for centuries — now brought to you at what’s likely the finest seafood restaurant in all of Oaxaca.

Santa Maria Huatulco was once a quiet coffee-growing village until the 1980s when Mexico’s National Tourism Fund transformed it into a beach resort hotspot. Now, it stands as a key city in Oaxaca’s Costa region — primarily rural, home to a rich population of Afromexicanos and various Oaxacan Indigenous groups, including Mixtecos, Zapotecos, Amuzgos, Chontales, and Chatinos. Huatulco features nine stunning bays, an appealing year-round tropical climate, and ecological and historical gems like the 87-hectare Bocana de Rio Copalito Eco-Archaeological Reserve, offering breathtaking Pacific views. While international tourists represent a small portion of visitors, locals from Oaxaca City and CDMX flock to its family-friendly beaches and renowned marisquerías.

Across Mexico and beyond, the seafood-focused cuisines of Nayarit, Sinaloa, and Baja California lead the way in mariscos mexicanos, known for their rich seafood selection, a revered ceviche technique, and a wide array of mouthwatering fish dishes. While Oaxaca is celebrated for its moles, tlayudas, quesillo, chapulines, and cured meats from the Valles Centrales, the coastal region's seafood preparations deserve equal recognition.

Here, you’ll discover tamales de tichinda (mussel tamales), a range of spicy moles featuring fish, shrimp, and even iguana, pescado a la talla (wood-roasted whole fish), fiery seafood soups, and the spectacular piña rellena — a baked pineapple stuffed with seafood. “You can’t find this food in Oaxaca City,” remarks Sandra Cardenas, the chef and owner of Ay Caray, a beloved establishment in Bahía Maguey for over 20 years.

Among the rich seafood traditions of the region, Ay Caray shines uniquely due to its chef’s dedication and the signature domed clay oven, or horno de barro, at the restaurant’s core. This ancient cooking method for seafood has evolved alongside the Indigenous cuisines of the area. “Cooking seafood in a clay oven is a local tradition, though few do it now because it takes longer and requires extra attention. It’s vital to preserve this,” Cardenas explains. “Our ancestors used it for various dishes, but it’s particularly suited for seafood. The fish turns out fresher, juicier, and with a distinctive texture that grilling can’t replicate.”

A true feast at Ay Caray starts with the piña rellena. With smoke wafting from the oven and a vibrant yellow flame crackling in the back, Cardenas places a halved pineapple filled with octopus, shrimp, fish, and pineapple chunks, all topped with a layer of manchego. Costa-grown pineapples are especially juicy, sweet, and abundant, drawing tourists who travel hours from Oaxaca City for a taste. At Ay Caray, they emerge from the oven slightly charred, cheese bubbling, and infused with the enticing aroma of mesquite smoke.

The pez loro, or parrotfish, is a unique offering at Ay Caray. Cardenas appreciates its sweet, delicate flavor, which she elevates with a zesty adobo rub made from charred red chiles — including the sharp chile de arbol and the milder chile guajillo — along with mayonnaise, garlic, onions, orange juice, and white wine. The longer cooking time for the whole fish in the horno de barro allows diners to enjoy freshly shucked wild oysters and tender raw clams brought by roaming vendors. When the barbecued parrotfish finally arrives, it boasts a rich brick-red hue from the spicy adobo, served with warm tortillas perfect for savoring the soft, flaky flesh right off the bone.

The lobsters served by Cardenas are the local Pinto spiny lobsters — hefty, horned creatures with shells resembling polished brown leather. Caught daily by free divers just outside the cove, these lobsters are also rubbed in adobo, split down the middle, and seared in the fiery oven before being presented on a platter garnished with intricately cut radishes, spiraled lime slices, and avocados. Use a tortilla to scoop up a piece of the sweet lobster meat along with black bean paste infused with epazote, topped with smoky salsa for a truly extraordinary lobster taco.

Being in Oaxaca, one cannot overlook mole — specifically, a rich seafood mole amarillo that Cardenas can prepare upon request. This reddish-orange mole pairs beautifully with fish or shrimp (and traditionally iguana), featuring flavors of hoja santa, cloves, and the smoky, tangy chilhuacle amarillo that lends its name to the dish.

While traditional Oaxacan cooks are often seen as staunch preservers of heritage, Cardenas embraces recipes from various regions. “I have a fondness for the dishes from Juchitán de Zaragoza,” she shares, referring to a town three hours east of Huatulco in the Istmo region. “During the busy season, I prepare puré de papa horneado.” This baked, creamy dish combines mashed carrots and potatoes, enriched with Mexican cream and a splash of yellow mustard. It's a favorite among Ay Caray’s regulars, enhanced with a hint of smokiness from her oven, making it the perfect indulgent complement to roasted spiny lobsters and Cardenas’s exquisite pescado a la talla.

When Oaxacans from the Valles Centrales began opening restaurants in Los Angeles in the mid to late ’90s, dishes like piña rellena appeared on nearly every menu. However, experiencing it here now offers a unique charm: your toes in the sand, the aroma of smoke and salt in your hair, the hum of pangas, and the melodic strumming of a wandering musician. It’s the irresistible pull of the sea.

Bill Esparza is a James Beard Award-winning writer and author of LA Mexicano, focusing on Latino food and culture.Juan de Dios Garza Vela is a photographer specializing in food and travel. When he’s not capturing images, he also creates illustrations and murals. Currently based in Guadalajara, he can’t envision life without tacos.