This Beachy Galveston Restaurant Is Still the Best Place to Get a Fish Taco

Fish Company Taco might be under new ownership but the fish and shrimp tacos still have the same fresh, inventive flavor

After a nearly year-long hiatus, Fish Company Taco, the award-winning Galveston restaurant known for its seafood tacos, is back in business.

Raz Halili, the owner of Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House in San Leon, reopened the award-winning taco shop in its original digs at 1914 23rd Street in September. “It just kind of fit the things that I enjoy about a restaurant,” Halili says. “It was chef-driven. It had purpose, and it had a great following.” It also felt rare to see a restaurant that focuses on seafood tacos, specifically with seafood from the Gulf. “This was something unique,” he says.

Daya Myers-Hurt, who originally launched the counter-service taco joint with her wife, Laura Myers-Hurt, in 2018 to much praise. Following some money troubles, Myers-Hurt, who now works at Hotel Lucine’s restaurants, closed the shop abruptly in October 2023 before selling the taco restaurant to Halili, who owns various properties on the block, in May.

Halili, a Galveston native who also owns seafood wholesale company Prestige Oysters, says he worked to remodel the restaurant to make it his own and then allowed Pier 6 executive chef Joe Cervantez and chef de cuisine Lexy Garcia to flex their skills in the kitchen. But diners can expect the same tacos, Halili says. “They’re 100 percent to the T” of what Fish Company offered before, he says.

Located just a block from the seawall and a short drive from Galveston’s beaches, the shop still keeps much of Myers-Hurt’s chef style and ethos, which focused on building the seafood tacos with seasonal ingredients and hauls from local fish markets. Tacos like the Baja (made with lime creme fraiche, Mexican pickles, cabbage, and ranchero salsa) and the Dirty South (made with corn relish, Zapp’s Cajun Crawtators, and pimento cheese) still exist, as do the Korean-style tacos with gochujang and kimchi puree, and tacos infused with Vietnamese flavors like nuoc mam, carrot, and cilantro. Each taco is stuffed with locally caught grilled or fried fish or shrimp supplied by Katie’s Seafood Market. Staff source produce and other ingredients from Galveston’s Own Farmers Market, and the flour and corn tortillas, made with heirloom blue corn masa harina, are also made in-house.

The sides are an exciting selection of pre-existing items, like the elote-like Corn Cup and fried Pickle Bits, and newer, updated items like chili pepper-marinated cucumbers, Brussels Sprouts with apple gastrique, and the diner-favorite crispy onion rings served with curry ketchup. Newer to the menu are the daily crudo specials, which showcase fresh catches like snapper with bright and light flavors.

Halili and his team officially did away with Fish Company’s former BYOB policy, instead working with local cocktail consultant company Ladies of Libation to launch a new drinks menu that features a host of agua fresca sips that can be enjoyed with or without alcohol. Signatures include the Lime in the Coconut, a coconut limeade infused with Thai basil that pairs well with spiced rum, gin, or tequila; a Mango Tango drink mixed with passion fruit that is often combined with Smirnoff Spicy Tamarind Vodka; and the Pineapple Verde, cucumber-pineapple juice with jalapeño and cilantro that goes well with 21 Seed Cucumber Jalapeño Tequila. The restaurant also offers soft drinks, beer, wine, margaritas, and frozen options like grapefruit guava frosés.

The decor has also been updated with new colorful designs that complement the shop’s laid-back, beachy feel. Halili tapped muralist Shelbi Nicole to paint tropical fish and incorporated photos of the shore along with bright orange banquettes and teal chairs. The restaurant now features a functional bartop, which seats 12, and the dining room seats up to 35 people.

Halili says there’s more to come. He plans to expand beyond tacos to draw crowds with oyster specials that include Pier 6’s roasted Hot Blooded Oysters, which are slathered in habanero butter, and a new happy hour with mini double-decker burgers. Halili is also working to renovate the surrounding block. He’ll expand Fish Company Taco’s back patio and will eventually open a coffee shop next door that makes fresh pastries. The process, he says, has been gratifying, particularly getting to relaunch a restaurant in the place he grew up. “We’re bringing back something we really love, and we’re introducing new things,” he says.

Fish Company Taco is open for counter-service lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The restaurant is cashless and only accepts credit card and mobile payments. 1914 23rd Street, Galveston, Texas, 77008.