Ceviche Bar Near Me on Duxton Hill: Lucha Loco's S$18 Mango Seabass

From 3pm to 7pm every day it opens, Lucha Loco pours frozen margaritas, beers and house wine for S$10 each, and the seabass ceviche on its current menu costs S$18. The Mexican cocina and mezcaleria sits at 15 Duxton Hill, Singapore 089598, at the top of the quiet shophouse lane above Tanjong Pagar. If you want a ceviche bar near me that does not need a reservation weeks ahead or a dress code, this terrace is the relaxed option in the CBD.

Lucha Loco belongs to the Super Loco Group, which also runs Super Loco at Customs House and Robertson Quay and Chico Loco on Amoy Street. The group says the Duxton Hill design was inspired by the earthy Mayan architecture of Tulum, and the menu describes the food as a contemporary spin on Mexican cooking with a spotlight on coastal flavours. That coastal focus is where the ceviche comes in.

Time Out Singapore describes the space as a cosy corner spot with an alfresco area at the top of Duxton Hill, and the outdoor tables are what most people come for in the early evening. Duxton Hill itself is a short lane of restored shophouses that loops off Duxton Road, so through traffic is light and the terrace feels further from Tanjong Pagar Road than it actually is.

The Ceviche, marked gluten-free, is S$18. It uses sustainably farmed seabass with mango, serrano chilli, mint, coconut, ginger and sweet corn, served with root and tree chips made from plantain, purple and orange sweet potato and yam. It is fruitier and less acidic than a Lima-style ceviche, closer to a Pacific-coast Mexican coctel. One portion is a starter for two, especially alongside the S$20 Chips and Salsas with guacamole, salsa roja and spicy pina.

Stay on the seafood track with tacos, which are made on six-inch gluten-free yellow corn tortillas. The Baja Fish taco, crispy fried barramundi with chipotle mango salsa and cabbage slaw, is S$13, and the Prawn taco, marinated tiger prawn with strawberry jalapeno salsa, bacon and fennel sauce, is also S$13. If the chips run out, a side of root and tree chips is S$8 on its own.

Vegetarians eat well here, which is not always true at seafood-led spots. The Elotes, grilled corn on the cob with chipotle mayo, cotija and lime, are S$8, the Cashew Tajin Cauliflower is S$10, and the Lion's Mane Al Pastor taco swaps pork for grilled lion's mane mushroom at S$10. A vegetarian and a ceviche eater can share chips, elotes and the cauliflower, then each order their own tacos.

For a group, the Chef Selection set menus take the decisions away. El Loco is six dishes for S$50 per person and Head Honcho is eight dishes for S$70 per person; both require the whole table of adults to order and a minimum of two people. From the sharing plates, the Pork Cochinita Pibil, pork slow-cooked for 20 hours with recado rojo and habanero salsa, is S$36, and the Angus Ribeye Steak and Cactus is S$44.

Our honest advice: skip the quesadillas, which at S$20 each are filling but generic next to the tacos and the ceviche, and save room for Super Churros at S$14 with Mexican chocolate sauce and coconut dulce de leche. If you want a mezcal kick, the Pineapple Sorbet at S$7 can take a mezcal add-on for S$2. All prices carry a 10% service charge plus prevailing government taxes.

The other half of the name is the mezcaleria. The group's page promises mezcal cocktails and a large collection of varied mezcals, and the bar is where to sit if you want to work through it. A frozen lime margarita at the S$10 happy-hour price is the obvious match for the coconut and mango in the ceviche, while a smoky neat mezcal suits the cochinita pibil better.

El Loco Hour runs daily from 3pm to 7pm, with signature frozen margaritas, cold beers and a selection of house spirits and wines at S$10 each. The catch is that Lucha Loco is closed on Sundays, so daily really means Monday to Saturday here. The full opening hours are 11:30am to 11pm from Monday to Thursday and 11:30am to 12:30am on Friday and Saturday.

The restaurant notes that the last food order is generally one hour before closing and the last drinks order about 30 minutes before, which means the kitchen stops around 10pm on weeknights. The best window is 5:30pm on a weekday, when you still have 90 minutes of happy hour prices to go with the ceviche. Book a table through the website, or email reservations@luchaloco.com.

Because Lucha Loco is dark on Sundays, plan a Sunday ceviche elsewhere. Canchita at 9A Dempsey Road opens for Sunday lunch and dinner and serves Peruvian ceviches from S$32. On a Wednesday or Thursday night when the Duxton terrace is full, Tomatillo at Esplanade Mall, run by Canchita's owners, does a squid-ink Ceviche Negro for S$22 with a waterfront view.

Tanjong Pagar MRT on the East-West Line is about a seven-minute walk; Outram Park is a similar distance from the other side. Before dinner, walk up through Duxton Plain Park, the narrow strip of green that runs behind the shophouses, and look up at the Pinnacle at Duxton, the public housing towers linked by sky bridges. After dinner, Tanjong Pagar Road and Craig Road are lined with bars for a nightcap.

Address: 15 Duxton Hill, Singapore 089598. Email: reservations@luchaloco.com. Hours: Monday to Thursday 11:30am to 11pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30am to 12:30am, closed Sunday. El Loco Hour: 3pm to 7pm, S$10 margaritas, beer and wine. Order the S$18 Ceviche, a Baja Fish taco and churros. Prices are subject to 10% service charge and government taxes.