At the peak of the Incan Empire, its emperors would eat fresh fish whenever they felt like it—despite being more than 20 kilometers from the Pacific.

Relay runners would sprint that distance, seafood in tow.

Fortunately, fish lovers near Monterey Bay need not build an empire to enjoy fresh local seafood. More expedient systems are in place. And one of the most regal ways to enjoy that seafood might be fish tacos.

The Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust scoured the area for tacos worthy of an emperor, and found three shining examples, differentiated by their freshness, flavor, and thoughtful sourcing.

By dealing almost exclusively with independent fishermen line-catching their rockfish and halibut via operations based out of Monterey, Moss Landing and Santa Cruz harbors, each restaurant featured makes a commitment to sustainable practices.

Here they appear, from north to south.

Mijo’s Taqueria • Capitola

Chef-owner Anthony Guajardo offers two different takes on fish tacos that both pop with flavor and texture, and always feature Monterey Bay catch, typically rock cod, but occasionally ling cod or halibut if that’s what was reeled in.

For his grilled version, Guajardo seasons the fish with a time-honored recipe, namely a mixture of salt, pepper, guajillo chili, and New Mexico red chili powders, then hits it with a splash of lemon at the end. On top goes an Anaheim sauce built around roasted pepper, parsley, garlic, lemon, olive oil, a mango pico de Gallo, and shredded cabbage.

Photo credit: Mark Anderson - Fish tacos from Mijo’s Taqueria

For the best-selling Baja fish taco he deploys a light and crispy tempura batter. He tops it with pickled radish and a dynamite lemon-parsley-cilantro-garlic aioli and two types of cabbage.

“We sell a ton of grilled fish, but we sell the most Baja-style [tacos] because you’ve got crispiness, fat, acid, texture,” Guajardo says. “In short, you’ve got magic—top it off with Mijo’s green salsa, and you’re good to go.”

He often uses rockfish, but also features whatever is freshest, including halibut, the largest flatfish in the ocean, reaching upwards of 400 pounds.

The fresh catch on the delivered-daily Del Pueblo tortillas comes from Ocean2Table or Aptos fisherman Griffin Guess of Gracie Fish. He took the time to connect directly with a small cache of restaurants, and the results play very well with fish-taco-loving taste buds.

“I knew a lot of chefs and saw the push toward hyperlocal product,” Guess says. “Anthony cares about where it comes from, when it comes—as fresh as possible—and with standards in place around how it was caught.”

More at Mijo’s Taqueria’s website.

Sea Harvest Fish Market and Restaurant • Moss Landing

Family is the operative ingredient with Sea Harvest. The Deyerle family, who owns the place, uses their own boats to catch rockfish, so it comes in fresh and direct almost daily.

Here the crispy tempura batter is cooked in expert fashion, resulting in an airy, crisp, ungreasy experience. The rockfish I tried comes complemented by garlic lemon aioli, fresh house pico de gallo, and lime-juiced cabbage slaw. Sea Harvest Moss Landing also features local halibut and salmon in its tacos and bowls.

Roxanne Deyerle was the manager operating the counter on my visit. Her dad started the original Sea Harvest in Monterey in the early ’80s. Today her uncle and cousin run the Monterey and Carmel Sea Harvest outposts, which like Moss Landing’s spot are independent and different in subtle ways but enjoy similar base menus and “from-the-grill” and “from-the-fryer” choices.

Her brother Walter Deyerle hauls in the fish but might be missing out on the outstanding fish tacos at his family restaurant because his wife is so masterful at making them herself right at home.

“She’s from Michoacán, Mexico, and knows how to make great tacos,” he explains. “So I tend to eat most of my fish tacos at home.”

This makes sense: With the quality of these tacos and the nature of the family connectivity, family is the only acceptable alibi to not eating more fish tacos at Sea Harvest.

More at Sea Harvest Moss Landing’s Instagram feed.

Barmel• Carmel-by-the-Sea

Barmel owner-operator Gabe Georis takes the inspiration for its pop-up supper club menu from a little surfing-and-fishing hamlet on the southern end of Baja California, Mexico. The inspiration for the species he prioritizes, though, skews more local.

“Rockfish provides the best texture for fish tacos,” he says, “but honestly, I use it because it’s one of the most local and sustainable fish, and I feel like people don’t eat enough local rockfish.”

He sources with Royal Hawaiian and Real Good Fish, the latter of which works with a network of Monterey Bay fishermen to connect their product with restaurants and subscription holders.

Three keys to the incredible tacos here—beyond great fish—are 1) tortillas made in-house with organic heirloom Oaxacan corn they grind themselves; 2) homemade Japanese mayo that utilizes rice vinegar and honors the East-Asian influence on Baja-style tacos, and 3) batter blended with a little beer, a little yellow mustard, wheat flour and rice flour that adds to the crunch, and—when fried at the right high temperature—delivers deliciously.

More at Barmel Carmel.

Three Great Fish Tacos Starring Monterey Bay Seafood

Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust

(831) 233-3101