Zoca
Brought to you by the Coastline Restaurant Group, Zoca is the modern Mexican cuisine sister restaurant to the Harvest Tide steakhouses and other seafood restaurants in Delaware and Washington D.C. The only authentic Mexican kitchen in Bethany Beach presents a modern Mexican fusion-style cuisine – not the standard Tex-Mex variety often populating resort-centered Mexican-themed restaurants relying upon tourist families and large groups to survive. Seasonal service can sometimes lead to long wait times, and the arrival of dishes can be uneven, often angering the happy hour groups that Zoca’s often attracts. Its menu offers the usual Mexican staples (other than fajitas), each with a modern flavor fusion flare, especially the salads and burritos, but some dishes seemed rushed and lacking of authentic flavor. Broadly speaking, there are two principal steps to obtaining higher-end restaurant status: conceptualization and cooking. Zoca’s certainly has the first, but its cooking can be uneven and delivery scattered and staggered. Zoca often attracts large groups of friends out for the evening, but also is a family restaurant, with the little ones selecting among several forms of tacos and rice, or even the ‘spicy’ burger. But bring at least one responsible adult, because the large assortment of drinks more than flow, and are so authentic you may be inclined to order another pitcher of sangria before finally summoning the tab. The Spanish ‘zoca’ translates to ‘square,’ but the hip vibe promoted by Zoca is anything but square, though when the bill arrives to your dining group, there may be some discussion about whether it is fair-and-square.