The Story of Rubio's^®

Love at first bite.

The history of Rubio's is a classic love story. Man meets fish taco. Man eats fish taco. Man falls in love with fish taco. Such was the case for Ralph Rubio, co-founder of Rubio's. As a college student, Ralph made regular pilgrimages to Mexico's best beaches to surf, sun and socialize. It was on one of these trips that Ralph sat down at a seaside taqueria and met his true love. After just one bite, he was hooked.

Several years later, with his father Ray as partner, and the help of his entire family, Ralph opened his first Rubio's, a walk-up stand in Mission Bay, San Diego. It was there he first introduced his beer-battered fish tacos to Southern California—America had its first taste of fish tacos and was hooked.

As word of Ralph's fish tacos spread, so did his business. One store quickly expanded to three, and before long, San Diego's best-kept secret was out. Rubio's started the fish taco phenomenon that spread coast to coast. Each new store took with it, not just The Original Fish Taco® recipe, but also Ralph's commitment to using fresh and high quality ingredients. The time Ralph spent developing the Original Fish Taco recipe became the basis for everything that Rubio's stands for: memorable, seafood recipes that reflect our south-of-the-border roots and San Diego soul.

Still going strong.

Since that day back in 1983, Ralph, with the help of a lot of great people, has sold more than 150 million fish tacos!

People still love the taste of the Original Fish Taco, and it's easy to see why. This long-time favorite is prepared fresh in our kitchens with one faithfully-followed recipe: Wild Alaska Pollock, beer-battered-by-hand and cooked to crispy perfection. Topped with shredded cabbage, mild salsa, and our signature white sauce, all wrapped in a warm, stone-ground corn tortilla.

Our food is a combination of our south of the border roots and the influence of California's coastal waters, farm-fresh ingredients and friendly people.

We offer our Original Fish Taco, as well as shrimp, wild salmon, ono, and fire-grilled chicken and steak. Our flavorful salsas that are made daily, "no fried" pinto beans^SM, freshly made guacamole, rice and chips are the perfect complement to our coastal cuisine.

We are still based out of sunny San Diego, though we operate 200 restaurants located in California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Nevada. And we invite you now, just as we would have back then, to come in and kick back. Soak up our version of a sunny day in our casual atmosphere, and enjoy a meal that is as good as a vacation.