Santa Monica Seafood: Best Fresh Seafood in LA?

Santa Monica Seafood is our favorite place in the LA area to buy fresh fish and shellfish. We've heard of some people rave about other places in the southbay but in our experience this place is hard to beat.

Now, you might think that being in a coastal town that just about everywhere would have great fresh seafood. Not so! We aren't trying to bad mouth any place but, in general, the seafood in average markets, even some higher-end specialty markets, is quite poor. This is quite variable but depending on the day of the week, the season and other factors, many markets simply have inferior fish.

We've found this to be true particularly of shellfish. We love to cook mussels, especially Moules et Frites (the famous Belgian and French dish of mussels served with french fries, yum!), and we do so frequently. We have completely stopped buying mussels and other types of live shellfish from other markets. If you go to supermarkets and get mussels, about half of them are dead. They don't take the time to pick out the best, live and healthy ones. At Santa Monica Seafood, they know their seafood and they will take the time to pick out the best for you. Sure, you always get one or two mussels that have to be tossed, but in our experience the batting average is much higher here. Other things just seem fresher and better tasting as well... their squid, sauteed quickly with olive oil, garlic, parsley and salt, is absolutely delicious!

One of the other nice things about this place is the selection. They have a wide selection of fresh fish at any time, both pre-cut fillets and steaks as well as whole, cleaned fish. If they don't have something you are looking for, call ahead, they can probably special order most specialty seafood items. They also have a number of gourmet food items, wine and produce if you forgot to grab some lemon, herbs and Sancerre to serve with your fish!

We have SM Seafood listed in the restaurants section which is a bit misleading. This is not primarily a restaurant, it is a fish market. However, the new shop does have a small café and oyster (raw) bar which is a great little place to grab a snack or lunch. You can bet those are good, fresh oysters you're getting! They recently moved from a much smaller location around the corner and this new store is great. A lot bigger (meaning more selection of fish and other foods) and the fun café.

So if you are planning a seafood dish and want the best you can get short of going to the source, we strongly recommend this excellent fish market. Of note, they do have a Costa Mesa location as well!

Santa Monica Seafood
1000 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 393-5244

Market Hours:
Monday-Saturday: 9am-9pm
Sunday: 9am-8pm

Café Hours:
Monday-Saturday: 11am-9pm
Sunday: 11am-8pm