The 14 Best Seafood Restaurants in Los Angeles

Recently named L.A. Times’ Restaurant of the Year, Holbox has been one of the city's best seafood restaurants for many years, which is even more of an accomplishment considering it’s a stall at Mercado La Paloma. Named after an island in the Yucatán Peninsula, this casual counter serves up some amazing Mexican cuisine. Start with some clams, then move on to the scallop aguachile and octopus taco, or go all out and reserve a seat for their 8-course tasting menu.

3655 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90007

Angler comes from the same chef as the two-Michelin starred Saison in San Francisco, but when Angler reopened after the pandemic, the restaurant kept its focus on fresh seafood but made the menu more approachable and affordable. Here, striped bass collar is hot fried Nashville-style and swordfish takes on the al pastor treatment. Don’t skip the seaweed rice served with cured yolk and trout roe.

8500 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048

The original Water Grill opened in downtown Los Angeles in 1989, and they have now expanded to multiple locations and are still going strong as one of the city’s best fine dining seafood restaurants. They get the freshest seafood that’s available seasonally, from Alaskan halibut in the spring to Santa Barbara spot prawns. Water Grill’s raw bar program is also top notch with over a dozen different oysters available nightly.

Multiple locations

Blue Plate Oysterette is keeping things interesting with semi-permanent pop-up Lucky Yu. Lucky Yu brings the temaki (or hand roll) trend, which can be ordered individually or as a set of three. The temaki options include Hokkaido scallop with yuzu kosho aioli, fried oyster and Maine lobster with gochujang. On top of the Lucky Yu menu, the restaurant is also still serving signature Blue Plate Oysterette dishes like beer-battered fish and chips, red curry mussels and lobster roll.

1355 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90401

This tiny spot in East Hollywood is consistently busy and diners patiently wait (they don’t take reservations) for a table to enjoy raw shellfish, crudo, lobster bisque roll and scallop tostada served with yuzu kosho. The menu consists of simple preparations to highlight the quality of the fresh seafood they source. Psst: The family of the general manager runs an oyster farm in Massachusetts so be sure to order some from the daily rotating selection.

4880 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90029

Crudo e Nudo was a pop-up that started during the pandemic, and it became so popular they now have a permanent home in Santa Monica. They offer fresh seafood sourced from local fisheries and aim for zero waste by eliminating plastic (everything is served on ceramic plates made by the chef’s wife or on compostable paper plates). Crudo is the focus here, but there are also cooked seafood options on the menu including prawns a la plancha or whole fried lobster.

2724 Main St., Santa Monica, CA 90405

This no-frills seafood place in Malibu was founded in 1972 by commercial fishermen and has been one of the best places to eat in Malibu since, as well as one of the best seafood spots in town. There’s a fish market offering the fishermens’ daily catch and the cafe serves fish and shellfish that guests can order fried, steamed or grilled and eat it on the deck outside in the Pacific ocean breeze.

25653 CA-1, Malibu, CA 90265

Rappahannock itself is an oyster farm in Chesapeake Bay that’s been operating since 1899 and they also run a few restaurants on the East Coast. The oyster bar at ROW in downtown is their only West Coast outpost, and Executive Chef Wilson Santos puts his own touches on the menu. In his Peruvian ceviche, yellowtail in leche de tigre sits on top of fried plantains, and his take on seafood gumbo combines lamb Merguez sausage with lobster and other shellfish. Of course, there’s the classic lobster roll with Old Bay seasonings that is piled full of lobster meat.

777 S. Alameda St., Los Angeles, CA 90021

This latest Sunset Strip restaurant is a much larger outpost of an acclaimed seafood restaurant in Boston. For those who prefer the flavor of East Coast oysters, this is the place for you. On the menu there’s moules frites for dinner and fried lobster and waffles for brunch. In addition to the raw bar and cooked seafood, Saltie Girl also has a long list of tinned seafood sourced from around the world.

8615 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

One of L.A.’s temples of fine dining, Providence has always had a seafood-focused menu. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and offers a seasonal tasting menu that is a splurge at $295 per person. The menu is ever changing but you may enjoy dishes from uni with white asparagus or Alaskan halibut, each ethically sourced from sustainable sources and excellently prepared.

5955 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038

This restaurant inspired by New England seafood shacks come from the same chef as Providence but is a lot more casual and approachable. Chef Michael Cimarusti was born on the East Coast and named this restaurant after his grandparents. Connie and Ted’s serves fried clams with bellies (the New England way), three different styles of chowder, grilled catch of the day and a daily special from bouillabaisse on Wednesday to New England seafood boil on Saturdays.

8171 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046