I was doing some browsing of the internet before my trip to California and searched “Best Seafood In L.A”. That is when I found out about Quality Sea Food in the Redondo Beach fish market.

A Little History on Quality Seafood

Quality Seafood is King Harbor’s finest Seafood market and restaurant.

They have (almost) every type of shell fish at the market ranging from sea urchin (uni), to oysters, crab and lobster. They even have poke and ceviche.

A man named Peter Dragich arrived in America from Yugoslavia (which is now known as Croatia) in 1897 with his eldest son Nick.

In Seattle, Peter was noted by local journals as the father of purse-seining — a form of fishing using nets. This skill then brought him to Los Angeles, CA where he loved the area so much he moved his family to San Pedro.

Together, Peter and Nick left fishing to start a seafood market bringing fresh shellfish to Redondo Beach.

Originally, they owned four markets — Western Fish & Seafood, Quality Seafood, Western Smoked Fish, and Weddington & McFarland. They combined these all and relocated to the Redondo Beach Boardwalk where Pete Sr’s children and grandchildren operate Quality Seafood to this day, widely known as the largest retail seafood/fish market on the west coast.

Tasting the Freshness of Redondo Beach

For our meal here, we began with the Uni (sea urchin). The Uni are harvested by a singular diver employed by Quality Seafood. We also ordered, upon the clerk’s recommendation, a dozen of the fresh Midnight Bay Oysters.

Sea Urchin (Uni)

I love Uni when it is a part of Nigiri sushi. When I saw the Uni located at Quality Seafood, I was really excited to try it. But, when I sat down to eat it, I wasn’t as pleased.

First of all, the Uni was both alive and moving when it was served to us which made me feel guilty. I felt even more guilty when I tried it, because I did not enjoy the taste. I felt like I was eating saltwater flavored mush out of a prickly creature.

It was a little too intense for my taste, but Ash loved it!

Oysters

Next, I got to try the fresh oysters (which you know I am a huge fan of).

These oysters were delicious. While I didn’t enjoy the ocean-y taste of the Uni as much as I had thought, the freshness and salty brine of the oysters was mouth-watering.

Conclusion

If you are looking for any type of fresh shellfish, Quality Seafood is the place to go!

Redondo Beach is a beautiful town to visit. If you ever get the chance to stop by, you should checkout the fish market.

I will definitely come back to Quality Seafood each and every time I am in the area.