Fresh seafood has a new home in San Marcos with the opening of Sea Barra. The seafood and street taco restaurant brings authentic flavors from the Sinaloa Coast to one’s plate. At the heart of it all is a family’s passion for flavor and freshness. Founded by husband and wife Gilberto and Rosario Amillano, the restaurant has been a decade in the making. With the support of their daughters Alaniz, Bryanda and Lexie, the family has been developing and perfecting their recipes for years. The daughters played an integral role in taste testing what is now a full menu of Mexican seafood delicacies, but their roles shifted as the restaurant came to life. Alaniz played a major role in founding the restaurant as well as Lexi and Gilberto who have taken the reins at running the restaurant while Rosario and Bryanda play essential supporting roles.
The journey to opening Sea Barra has been a long one but well worth it. The family leased the property at 420 University Drive months ago but was not able to open the inside location until certain up- grades were made. The family thought outside the box, or outside the restaurant, by opening up a food truck on the property so that locals could start enjoying their menu. Now with the brick-and-mortar officially open, guests can enjoy the full use of the space from indoor and outdoor seating, a bigger menu and a full bar. Just steps away from the San Marcos River, Sea Barra is now one of the closest restaurants to river parks. This convenience pairs well with the fresh flavors from multiple versions of ceviche, to a wide variety of gourmet tacos, the restaurant brings Pacific Coast delicacies to Central Texas.
The family grew up in Southern California where Gilberto spent time as a kitchen manager until eventually creating his own logistics company.
“In the back of his mind, he always wanted to start his own restaurant; so this was over a decade and a half, almost two decades ago, when that dream initially started,” Bryanda said.
She made the move to San Marcos in 2013 to attend Texas State University, and her family followed suit in 2014. The family continued their business but spent the next decade scoping out the local restaurant scene to see what gaps could be filled in San Marcos. That time gave Gilberto and Rosario the time to refine their recipes and develop a menu that brings unique flavors to the locals of San Marcos.
The family’s roots lie in Mexico, which influenced how they created their menu.
“We use a lot of fish that you can’t really find in the Gulf of Mexico or even the Atlantic, so that’s why you see a lot of Mahi-mahi or Marlin Tuna,” Bryanda said.
The tacos were influenced by a Cali-Mex style, focusing on basic ingredients that create maximum flavor.
“The tacos that we have, it’s just something that we’ve been eating since we were kids,” Bryanda said. “It’s just essentially bringing in our family recipes and sharing them with people.”
Gilberto is also the head chef, so he not only developed the recipes but makes sure they’re executed to perfection. Rosario makes all the salsas from her own recipes.
“For over a decade they’ve been fine-tuning their shrimp taco. For their smoky shrimp they have this chili oil that they’ve made throughout the years. They’re like, ‘here try this variation of this taco, try that one.’ So for a long time they’ve been fine-tuning that specific recipe, and during that process, that’s where all of these different tacos started coming from,” Bryanda said.
Sea Barra is open Mondays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and, Wednesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. They have a happy hour Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. with half-off drinks and a buy two tacos get one free deal.
