The pacific coastline of Southern California provides the region with ample sea life, which is one of the things it’s most famous for. The rich marine life is why you can always expect the best seafood in Southern California.
The seafood restaurants of Southern California are equally very popular among the locals as well as the tourists. For years they have been serving seafood and doubtlessly serve one of the finest seafood dishes.
On that note, here is a list of the 11 best seafood restaurants in Southern California that every seafood lover must check out.
Love to eat the traditional and delicious foods from different countries? Explore the food from each corner of the world without breaking your bank.
Best Seafood Restaurants In Los Angeles
1. New Port Seafood
The restaurant is the brainchild and hard work of a self-taught chef and a restaurateur. The two passionate founders dreamt of creating a unique culinary experience.
Originally established in 1988 in Orange Country, the founders expanded in the cities of San Gabriel (1996) and Rowland Heights (1999) of Los Angeles County. Therefore, Newport Seafood offers a fusion of flavors from China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.
The New Port Seafood restaurant in San Gabriel is all about its long history of delicious seafood and specialty dish, lobster.
It serves a wide variety of seafood and is one of the best places for local seafood in Southern California. A Chinese Restaurant with Cambodian influence, this is the best among all.
Food Items:
Basil Clams – The tender and fresh clams and spicy-salty sauce make a wholesome and fulfilling meal. The chefs stir-fry the clams with the basil leaves and a hot sauce.
Live Prawns – A luxurious and tender meal of fresh large headed prawns served with sweet sauce. It is a sweet dish. In this recipe, most of the shrimps used are filled with eggs.
The chef cooks and serves the item and you need to peel out the hard outer shell of the prawns and dip them in an in-house sauce while eating.
Sweet and Sour Whole Fish – A fresh and whole fish fried whole and topped with thick sauce with flavors of garlic and lime. The fried fish is amazing with a garlicky taste apart from the sweet, spicy, and sour taste of the sauces.
Newport-Style Lobster – The restaurant’s self-acclaimed fresh lobster is one of the main attractions. It is the most expensive dish on their menu and worth spending as it is just perfect for 3-4 people and the taste of this lobster is so good.
Check out this Downtown LA Food Tour and taste food from 6 tasty restaurants!
2. Rappahannock Oyster Bar
The Rappahannock follows their age-old family business of oyster farming along the Chesapeake Bay. Chef Kelly takes all the credit for preparing and serving gourmets with out-of-the-world delicious seafood.
The Rappahannock Oyster Bar is famous for its unique West Coast spin on its heritage. You can enjoy the raw industrial décor of Downtown Los Angeles at the bar, along with their bounty of fresh-produced seafood.
Aside from seafood, which is one of the best on the menu, the restaurant offers a variety of Beef, chicken, pork, as well as vegan dishes. You can also grab a seat to take a glimpse of the open kitchen and enjoy making your dish fresh before your eyes.
Food Items:
Large Tower – A signature dish of the restaurant, this one may be expensive but there is a reason – apart from being the pride of Rappahannock Oyster Bar. But the money is worth it.
It is the largest platter and the signature of the restaurant. Although expensive, it is worth trying. It is perfect for 4-5 people. The clamps are served with lime.
Lobster Mac & Cheese – With giant pieces of lobster, the dish is an absolute all-time favorite rich dish. Their cheese has a buttery and creamy texture to it and adds to the grace of the dish. It is the cheesiest dish on their menu.
Lobster Truffle Poutine – Shoestring fries served with creamy and smooth truffle sauce are crispy to bite. The dish includes big pieces and an ample amount of fresh lobster. Lobster stir-fried with herbs, in-house sauces, and cheese and served on a bed of crispy fried French fries.
Lobster Roll – With perfectly toasted bread, these lobster rolls are an absolute delight to your taste buds. Prepared in butter and served with the bread, this is a must-try dish on their menu.
Filling of cheesy lobster meat placed inside a crispy, buttery light bread. This is the most acclaimed dish on their menu.
Walk through the streets of LA from Chinatown to Grand Central Market with this culinary tour!
3. Holbox
Gilberto Cetina is the chef behind this restaurant and he takes the inspiration for his creations from Mexico, especially the Southern regions. It was founded in 2017 by Gilberto, a 42-year-old Mexican who learned cooking at his family restaurant from his father.
But what really stands, besides their lip-smacking menu, is the fact that you can see what’s being made. Yes! The food is prepared right in front of you.
The seafood stall uses fresh ingredients, bold flavors, and simple preparations. At Holbox, you can sit at the counter and enjoy the live cooking that combines the best quality seafood with the flavors of Mexico’s various coastal regions.
Food Items:
Kanpachi & Uni Tostada – Lime juice and yellowtail flavor is a sour and spicy treat. Premium Kanpachi Ceviche topped with sweet sea urchins and lots of lime juice. It is a perfect balance of creaminess and spiciness.
Taco De Pulpo En Su Tinta – Taco topped with braised and fried Mexican octopus has a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. Fried and braised Mexican octopus is served with 100% handmade corn tortilla.
Filete Al Carbon – A wood-grilled Branzino fish fillet served with cilantro rice, black beans, veggies, and tortillas. It is served with cilantro, rice, black beans, avocado, Pico, and handmade tortillas.
Try this Venice Beach food tour for hidden gems and authentic food!
Best Upscale Seafood Restaurants In LA
4. Fishing With Dynamite
Awarded a Michelin 2019 plate, this restaurant was founded by the third-generation restaurateurs Mike and Chris Simms along with their father, Arthur J. Simms.
The Simms restaurants strive to offer their guests the best dining experience. Simms, in 2011 collaborated with LeFevre and opened the Manhattan Beach Post.
While celebrating their ten years of business, Simms and LeFevre strive to maintain their commitment to offering a guest-first experience.
Fishing With Dynamite is filled with cozy and beachy vibes, this restaurant focuses on Oysters mostly, but you will find some great crab, lobster, and fish dishes too. The desserts offered here are of ample quantity and delicious.
Food Items:
The Queen Mary (Giant Platter) – The platter comes with various seafood, including East and West Coast oysters, raw little neck clams, and Peruvian scallops with varieties of sauces. This platter also consists of sea clams and cocktail sauce along with a number of other types of sauce.
Grilled Spanish Octopus – Grilled octopus served on a bed of spicy tomato sauce, potatoes, and greens.
Maryland Crab Cakes – Served with homemade dill pickles, whole grain mustard rambled on a bed of plenty of tomato sauce. This amazing and mouth-watering Crab-cake is having a variety of fish cakes.
5. Blue Plate Oysterette Restaurant
The Blue Palate Oysterette (BPO) Restaurant is the brainchild of Jenny Rush, who spent several years on the East coast. She loved the taste of the lobster rolls and clam shacks and longed to open a seafood restaurant in Santa Monica, her hometown.
BPO commits to sourcing the best seafood from fishermen, purveyors, and oyster farms worldwide. The restaurant ensures to offer their guests the best ocean-to-table experience.
A simple yet amazing place to eat out for casual seafood upscale-casual eatery for simply prepared seafood & a wide-ranging raw bar with views of the water.
Food Items:
Maine Lobster Tail – Made with Lobster tail, this dish merges together the flavors of mustard aioli and cocktail sauce.
Alaskan Snow Crab Cluster – Alaskan snow crab served with mustard aioli, and cocktail sauce is a must-try on the menu.
The First Mate Tower – Made with 2 Alaskan Crab Claw clusters, this dish merges together the flavors of mustard aioli and cocktail sauce.
Florida Stone Crab Claw – The dish consists of the Florida stone crab and is served with lemon and mustard aioli.
Best Cheap Seafood In Los Angeles
6. San Pedro Fish Markets & Restaurant
San Pedro Fish Market and Restaurant are an amalgamation of various restaurants. The organization started operating as a family business in 1956 by Mackey Ungaro.
Back then, the organization was famous as Vista Seafood, and as their business grew, they moved to the waterfront.
They added a live seafood section, which allowed customers to choose their fish. Today, the restaurant has 3000+ seating and serves approximately 30,000 shrimp trays a week.
It also earned the honor of being one of the Top 10 Most Instagrammed Restaurants in the US. San Pedro Fish Market and restaurant is a well-known waterfront seafood place. They have a customary hammer given to the customers to break the lobster shells.
Food Items:
World Famous for shrimp tray – This is a huge tray is full of Grilled shrimp and sliced veggies – bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and potatoes and is served with either garlic bread or tortillas.
Live Lobster And Dungeness Crab – Lobster and crab are prepared and served with side sauces and veggies. A whole lobster and crab cooked to perfection.
Build Your Own Tray – Create your own tray offers you an opportunity to select and make a personalized seafood tray for yourself. You must choose a protein part and two sides to create your favorite dish.
Live Grouper – Grouper fish is served with a variety of stir-fried vegetables and a choice of bread. Served fried or grilled with lots of lemons.
Oysters On Shell – The famous oysters are literally one of the most famous dishes. Serves with lemon and tobacco sauce.
7. Quality Seafood Inc.
Quality Seafood Inc. emerged as one of the finest seafood markets in 1953. The story of the restaurants begins with a Yugoslavian immigrant, Peter Dragich, who settled in a local bar and worked in the mines of Montana.
He started fishing during his stay, bringing him to the Coast of Los Angeles County. He fell in love with the area and settled in San Pedro with his family. The restaurant strives to offer the best products to the market.
Food Items:
Lobster Roll – Bread filled with creamy lobster meat prepared with herbs and in-house sauces.
Shrimp Burger – A deep-fried shrimp patty placed inside a burger with lettuce leaves and a house special sauce.
House Special Ceviche – Salmon and kimchi octopus ceviche served with taco shells and in-house sauces.
Live Uni – Fresh sea urchin cooked to perfection that would satiate your palette. I recommend tasting this dish.
Stellar Bay Oysters – Freshly cooked oysters served with freshly sliced lemons and homemade tobacco sauce.
Best Seafood Restaurants In Orange County
8. The Original Fish Company
The Original Fish Company celebrates the sea and the fresh and flavorful things it offers. They do so by offering the finest quality seafood. It has been a family-owned restaurant since its operation, which daughter Vanessa inherited from her mother, Wendi. The fish company strives to offer the freshest fish every day.
Food Items:
Pear Flower Martini – A must-try elderflower liquor for a refreshing taste.
Spicy Pineapple Jalapeno Margarita – A blend of fruity pineapple and spicy jalapeno – this is a must-drink.
Wild Alaskan Halibut – The wild flatfish is prepared with fresh vegetables and served with broccoli, baked jam (sweet potato), and caesar salad.
Scallops & Shrimp on a skewer – Served with mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and clam chowder
Crème Brûlée – AKA burnt cream, this is a delicate dessert with rich custard and caramelized sugar topping. It is served with fresh raspberries.
9. The Lobster Restaurant
The Lobster is an internationally recognized seafood establishment offering the best quality service. The restaurant specializes in Maine and California Spiny Lobsters.
It is one of the finest Southern Californian seafood restaurants out there. This place offers a delicious menu with breathtaking views of Santa Monica.
They offer a seasonally driven menu. It further has unique and stunning dishes created by celebrity chef Govind Armstrong.
Furthermore, the restaurant is a perfect destination for a wedding reception, rehearsal dinner, corporate luncheon, and other large parties.
Food Items:
Grilled Maine Lobster – Prepared with herbs, lemon, and freshly drawn garlic butter.
Lobster Roll – Spicy lobster rolls served with sauce and veggies.
Yellowfin Tartare – A sashimi prepared with spices and ginger.
Golden Imperial Osetra Caviar – Ample eggs with a nutty and creamy texture with rich golden color.
Wild Gulf Shrimp Cocktail – Huge and flavored shrimps with a savory and mouth-watering flavor.
Hamachi Crudo – The Hamachi Crudo dish, is prepared with lime, chili, and coriander. Great as a light appetizer.
Seared Dungeness Crab Cakes – Do not miss a chance to indulge in these creamy yet savory crab cakes.
Best Seafood In Santa Monica
10. Santa Monica Seafood Café – Oyster Bar
The four-generation family business started its journey from the Santa Monica Pier, selling the freshest seafood to various restaurants and customers in 1939. Santa Monica Seafood is a wide variety of seafood on the menu with a café and an exclusive oyster bar.
Today, customers can shop in person at their stores, order to dine, and takeaway to their homes and offices. The stores feature the largest collections of fresh fish, shellfish, and frozen seafood, along with various wines, beers, cheeses, and other edible items.
Food Items:
Oyster Platter with Cocktail Sauce – The platter comes with freshly cooked oysters with cocktail sauce and vinegar that you need to top on the oyster. Soft oysters served with a sauce made from ketchup, mayonnaise, and horseradish, and seasoned with Tabasco, lemon juice, and salt.
Ahi Tuna Tartare – One of the most popular on the menu. The plate comes with avocado, cucumber, tomato, basil, and chives mixed with sriracha chili sauce and balsamic glaze. It comes with wonton sides. The dish is small pieces of raw tuna with cooked beef or fish.
Lobster Roll – Fresh lobster marinated with lemon aioli and chives and placed at the center of toasted bread. Served with fries on the side. Prepared in butter and served with the crispy bread of choice, this is a must-try dish on their menu.
Grilled Salmon – Served on a bed of grilled asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and lemon caper butter, which is a kind of yellow sauce. Grilled salmon with soy sauce and possible additions of garlic.
Best Malibu Seafood Restaurant
11. Mastro’s Ocean Club
Mastro’s restaurant, LLC is a collection of sophisticated, classic steakhouses and fish houses. They strive to create the finest experience for the guests. They combine the best quality steaks with seafood, cosmopolitan service, and an entertaining atmosphere.
Mastro’s Ocean Club is a classic seafood restaurant with a scenic view of the ocean to enjoy while you eat. You have to follow the proper dress code here as mentioned on their official website. It is expensive dining for sure but the price is worth it for its amazing ocean views and tasty food.
The restaurant has several other branches in California, including Newport Beach, Palm Desert, Thousand Oaks, San Francisco, Downtown LA., Beverly Hills, and Costa Mesa.
Food Items:
Oysters On Half Shell – Half-shell oysters served in savory sauces.
Seared Big Eye Tuna – A delicately seared tuna from both sides with sesame oil and soy sauce.
Sautéed Shrimp – A juicy and flavorful sautéed shrimp.
Chilean Sea Bass – Delicately cooked Chilean sea bass fish is served with butter and lime.
Live Maine Lobster – Live Maine lobster made into a tender and mouth-watering dish.
Norwegian Cold Water Salmon – Cold water salmons cooked and served with sweet and spicy sauce and veggies. Don’t miss this dish, if you will visit this place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What seafood is Southern California known for?
Although Southern California is well-known for all forms of seafood and is served and enjoyed in a variety of restaurants, the best seafood in Southern California comprises King Salmon and Sea Urchins.
What seafood is native to Southern California?
Since the marine life thrives on the Pacific coastline of Southern California, besides many other abalones, crabs, seaweed, sea lions, and a variety of fish are native to the region.
What seafood is LA known for?
The best-known seafood in LA are lobster rolls, clam chowder, crab cakes, crispy calamari, fish and chips. Some other LA staple dishes are mac and cheese lobster roll, tacos, shrimps, grilled oysters and New England steamers.
Is seafood popular in California?
With the marine life-rich coastline, California has a lot of tasty seafood to offer and, of course, it is well known for the same globally.
Final Thoughts
The Pacific sea line gives Southern California its fortunate and diverse marine life. People – local and tourists – equally enjoy the seafood in the region.
As a visitor, it is a must to try out new and exciting dishes every place has to offer. And in this case, you have got to try all the types of seafood South California has to offer to you.
So, next time, if you are searching for the best seafood in Southern California, don’t forget to check out these places.
This post was originally contributed by Poonam Mandal from Baking Forever, with additional updates and personal insights by Shreeyeh Rajan from Bae Area and Beyond.
Grab Your 1-Pager California Packing List!
Read More From Bae Area and Beyond
Top 7 Once in a Lifetime Things to Do in Los Angeles
These 17 San Diego Restaurants in Mission Beach Are a Foodie’s Dream
51 Epic Things to Do in San Diego That You Need on Your Bucket List
Need help planning a trip? We can help plan your dream road trip in California!
Follow our California experiences: Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest
