Even on this sensory-overloaded stretch of Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, Mariscos el Submarino stands out. Not because owners Amy Hernandez and Alonso Guzman have a DJ blasting music out on the sidewalk like many places do around here. Nor is there an elaborately-festooned outdoor setup, another common sight and one of today's most effective means of luring in diners.

No, what stopped me in my tracks the first time I sauntered by Mariscos el Submarino earlier this summer was the restaurant's grinning mustachioed mascot adorning multiple surfaces both outside and in. This was the second time this year I've encountered a cartoon restaurant mascot, not nearly enough to call it a trend, but we can hope, right?

Anyway, both Hernandez and Guzman, who are married and now live in Jackson Heights, have deep roots in Sinaloa, Mexico, a state along the Gulf of California coast that specializes in, and maybe even invented, a dish called aguachile. It's similar to ceviche but has more pop to it. There are eight sorts of aguachiles you can order at Mariscos el Submarino, all based on Guzman secret family recipes, and all served in large, heavy molcajetes with a bag of crisp corn tortillas on the side.

You can get your aguachile either in classic, shrimp-only fashion, or as a "mixtos," with shrimp both raw and cooked, bits of octopus, and lovely hunks of fish. Either way, it's a ton of seafood for not a lot of money, and both versions come with just enough onions, cucumber, and avocado to make a difference, but not too much to qualify as filler. Unlike ceviche, the seafood in aguachiles hasn't been "cooking" in citrus for long prior to plating, but it does arrive swimming in a pool of chili-based broth, which at Mariscos el Submarino comes in four varieties: Rojo, Verde, Negro, and Mango Habanero.

Aguachiles Mixtos with Mango Habanero ($21)

Scott Lynch / Gothamist

Hernandez's sister was working the counter when I went earlier this week, and she suggested I get the Mixtos with Mango Habanero. It was delicious, the fish all fresh and clean-tasting with plenty of oceanic flavor underneath, and the sauce packed more than enough heat to earn its multiple-chili-pepper warning icon on the menu. It made me wish I was on a boardwalk somewhere, flush with sunburn and basking in salt-air breezes.

Clearly Aguachiles is the thing to get here, but Mariscos el Submarino has other options too, including Tortas piled high with Guzman's fish, several different Ceviches, festive-looking seafood Cocteles served in cups, and a Mangonada fruit shake topped with chili powder and a tamarind stick.

It's indoor seating only here, at a row of high-top tables or at stools along a narrow counter. And, of course, our jolly submarine mascot is in the house ("my husband Alonzo used to have a similar mustache," Hernandez confided), as well as cute sayings rendered in large, scripty type, like "No hay mal que dure cien años, ni cruda que un buen marisco no cure," which Hernandez translated as: "There is no wrong that lasts a hundred years, nor any hangover that a good seafood dish can't cure."

Mariscos el Submarino has actually been open since the summer 2020, but only recently did they finish remodeling the interior--it used to be a shoe store--and inviting guests to dine inside.

"We had everything planned out, grabbed the place, and signed the lease in March of 2020. A week later the city shut down," said Hernandez. After a slow start, things are picking up this year, said Hernandez. "We get a lot of Brooklyn people, and people from Connecticut, Philadelphia, New Jersey... The people who know about aguachiles get really excited when they come in and see it on the menu. It brings them back home to Mexico. There's absolutely no place in NYC that does what we do."

Mariscos el Submarino is located at 88-05 Roosevelt Avenue, between 88th and 89th Streets, and is currently open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily (718-685-2780; mariscoselsubmarino.com)