These are the best places to eat oysters in L.A., a great town for bivalves, if you know where to look.
These briny gems of the sea go hand-in-hand with L.A.’s mariscos culture, itself brimming with shellfish should you want an amped-up flavor that goes beyond the natural flavor of the oyster unadorned. Still, there are a handful of destinations to enjoy oysters the old-school way: on the half-shell with a simple mignonette and a glass of your favorite effervescent [natural] wine.
These are just a handful of the spots where L.A. TACO likes to throw back a dozen or so oysters like there’s no tomorrow.
Mariscos Jalisco ~ Boyle Heights
Our motto? "Live fast; eat Mariscos Jalisco’s tacos dorados de camarón topped with their freshly shucked Pacific oysters." This food-hack is obscenely delicious and perhaps the only way to one-up the truck's already perfect shrimp taco dorado. Does it significantly shoot up the price of a single taco? Sure, but it’s okay to treat yourself every once in a while. It even made owner Raul Ortega order one the second he saw us building it, he was so intrigued. Also, consider this your reminder: L.A. TACO members get one free taco de camarón here...
3040 E. Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90023. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Line 62 - “Olympic/Dacotah” or Bus Line 605 - "Grande Vista/Olympic."
Holbox ~ Downtown
Mercado La Paloma, slightly south of downtown and conveniently next to BMO (LAFC) Stadium, is L.A.’s O.G. food hall. It’s hard to argue that Holbox is anything but the best Mexican seafood restaurant in the city, especially after L.A. Times just named it the restaurant of the year. Chef Gilberto Cetina Jr. is the first-generation prodigal son of the legendary family behind Chichen Itza. To say that he has a passion for quality mariscos is an understatement. Holbox's refined mariscos take inspiration from the beautiful eponymous island located in Yucatán’s neighboring state of Quintana Roo, only with the benefit of the having Baja, Mexico's seafood capital, just three hours away. The oyster selection is always rotating, and not to sound like a broken record, but L.A. TACO members get two free oysters when they purchase any meal.
3655 S. Grand Ave. #C9 Los Angeles, CA 90007. Closest Metro lines and stop: Metro J Line (910/950) or Bus Line 460 - “37th Street/USC Station.”
Ceviche Project ~ Silver Lake
Octavio Olivas was one of L.A.’s first chefs to stage pop-ups before they became a phenomenon. His alluring logo, featuring an octopus silhouette, has put a refined spin on people's perceptions of ceviche since the early 2010s. He continued sharpening his devotion to high-quality seafood, eventually opening this brick-and-mortar concept in Silver Lake in 2019. A meal at Ceviche Project is closer to a sushi omakase experience than at any other mariscos restaurant in town. There are a few ways to enjoy his oysters, including a classy “bespoke” mignonette or an over-the-top option speckled with ocean trout roe, which is absolutely worth it if you adore the flavors of the sea.
2524 1/2 Hyperion Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 182 - “Rowena/Hyperion.”
Found Oyster ~ East Hollywood
East Coast transplants will feel right at home at this low-key neighborhood oyster bar in East Hollywood. The restaurant quickly developed a loyal following for its immaculate quality, found in seafood prepared similarly to how you might find it at any random seafood shack in New England. Their tagline is “Champagne and Coors, oysters and chowder.” If that sounds like a good time, then don’t let thew wait times discourage you. If the oysters taste particularly fresh here, it’s because Found Oyster’s general manager sources them from a family oyster farm in Orleans, Massachusetts. The fried oysters are also worth ordering if you want to mix the textures to your saline.
4880 Fountain Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90029. Closest Metro lines and stop: Metro B Line - "Vermont/Sunset Station", Bus Line 2 - “Sunset/Edgemont”, Bus Lines 204 and 206 - "Vermont/Fountain."
Broad Street Oyster Company ~ Malibu
Fact: Oysters taste better when the air is as roughly briny as the oyster liqueur you are slurping. Broad Street Oyster Company is a destination oyster bar in Malibu for whenever you have family or friends visiting you in Los Angeles. When you want to show them that you live in the best city in the world, hop on PCH and don’t stop until you get to this strip mall seafood haven. The oysters are always rotating and served simply with mignonette. They are almost a side dish here as you will undoubtedly also order a lobster roll, maybe some crudo, and hell, maybe even “caviar service,” since you made the drive. If you'd rather not get behind the wheel of a 3,000-pound death machine today, no worries. You can also find Broad Street Oyster Company at their newish stand at Grand Central Market.
23359 Pacific Coast Hwy #3874A, Malibu, CA 90265. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 134 - “Cross Creek/Malibu Theatre.”
Quality Seafood ~ Redondo Beach
The closest L.A. gets to Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market, 70-year-old Quality Seafood is essentially a vast warren of tanks and fishmongers highlighting live shellfish and whole fish under the Redondo Pier. They're standing at the ready to shuck, fry, and grill anything that catches your eye, from oysters in an array of styles and sizes, to urchins fecklessly wiggling their spines while you’re gobbling their gonads, as well as fish, crabs, shrimp, and lobster, among endless enchantments. With claims of having “the largest selection of live fish on the West Coast,” this place is an oyster lover’s paradise, packed with local families and tourists alike, coming to suck them down accompanied by ocean views, sea breezes, and giant cups of beer. Sometimes life is just good.
130 S. International Boardwalk Redondo Beach CA, 90277. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 232 - “Pacific Coast Highway/Emerald.”
Oyster Boys ~ Hollywood
The Oyster Boys have been popping up for over 14 years at the Hollywood Farmers Market, quickly surpassing such other popular boy teams as "Backstreet" and "Pet Shop" in our hearts for their efforts. Not only do these guys offer impeccably fresh oysters, available to go or to be shucked on the spot, but they also have a crazy variety on offer from both U.S. coasts, plus B.C. and Baja. Shigoku, Minter Sweet, Kumiai, Rappahannocks, Luna, Kusshi, Sweet Petites, and West Coast stout just a few of the stand-out names that commonly appear here. Clams and mussels are typically abundant, too, and the prices fair all around.
1500 Ivar Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90028. Closest Metro lines and stop: Metro B Line - "Hollywood/Vine Station", Bus Line 2 - “Sunset/Ivar”, Bus Line 210 - "Vine/Sunset."
Del Mar Ostionería ~ Mid-City
At one time, you only ate oysters in months that ended with R. These days you’re eating them from a Japanese-accented Sinaloan mariscos truck in a parking lot on La Brea, knocking back a legion of Kumamotos topped with two fingers of ponzu, cucumber, chile chiltepin, and flying fish roe. And shooting them down your gullet with the fortifying power of Clamato. All thanks to Del Mar Ostioneria’s Roberto Pérez and Francisco Leal. And your personal willingness to grow as an individual.
830 S. La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Line 212 - “La Brea/8th” or Bus Lines 20 and 720 - "Wilshire/Cloverdale."
The Jolly Oyster ~ Culver City/Ventura
The Jolly Oyster’s co-founder, Mark Reynolds, fled the world of finance to build sustainable shellfish aqua-farms in Baja, bringing his bounty of bivalves to Ventura State Beach where you and your friends can picnic in the sun fueled by fresh Manila clams, Kumamoto oysters, Pacific oysters, and proprietary “Jolly” oyster hybrids purchased straight off their trailer. And whatever else you carried. Jolly Oyster also has two L.A. satellites, one in Culver City’s Citizen Public Market food hall, and another popping up on Sundays at Smorgasburg.
9355 Culver Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Line 33 - “Venice/Bagley" or Metro E Line and Bus Line 617 - "Culver City Station."
The Anchor ~ Venice
A New England-style nugget on Main Street, Kristin Ciccolella and Sandy Ames’ The Anchor has held it down here with fresh Maine lobster rolls, chowder, and fish and chips for nearly nine years. Naturally, there are oysters, simply served with Champagne mignonette, cocktail sauce, and a little lemon. This Saturday, they’re holding a little oyster fest of their own from 3-9 pm to celebrate National Oyster Day, collaborating with The Ruby Fruit to serve oysters on the half shell, along with grilled oysters and chowder-topped curly fries. A plan you may conceivably get behind.
235 Main St. Venice, CA 90291. Closest Metro line and stop: Bus Line 33 - “Main/Marine (westbound)” or "Main/Pier (eastbound)."
Red's Oyster Bar ~ La Puente
Leave it to a La Puente driveway to be serving some of the best oysters in the San Gabriel Valley, via Red's Oyster Bar. Eric “Red” Alvarado and his son/partner, Jakob, grill up on their take on Clams Casino using fresh, fat Fanny Bays, char-grilled and topped with whatever their collective brains can think of to churn out so many variations of the decadent dish. There’s the traditional Louisiana style with Amboy Quality Meats' bacon, BBQ butter sauce, and a hand-shredded four cheese blend, as well as a Mexican-inspired option using Chori-Man chorizo, cilantro-BBQ butter sauce, and a Oaxacan cheese blend, all topped with radish and lemon zest. The best part of these meaty oysters may be the briny broth that sits at the bottom. Add hot sauce, scoop, or slurp. Or, as the elder Alvarado suggested, dab or pour it atop the crostini included in your order. ~ Sean Vukan
DM to order.
L&E Oyster Bar ~ Silver Lake
This elegant Silver Lake oyster house is always astonishing, with fresh oysters flown in daily from across the nation, as well as composed dishes like moules frites and crab linguine in lobster chablisienne. In fact, we once saw Eric Garcetti here. But don't hold that against them.
1637 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026. Closest Metro lines and stop: Bus Lines 2 and 4 - “Sunset/Parkman (eastbound)” or "Sunset/Silver Lake (westbound)."
