BJ Enterprises

I have been coming here for years and I have yet to recieve anything that I wasnt happy with. The staff is friendly and are always quick to recommend fish that is super fresh. They will tell you when everything came in and where it is from as well. There was one time I went in there and they had live local ridgeback shrimp in the tanks that they were selling and I have to say that those shrimp were super amazing and sweet. Keep in mind that these shrimp are seasonal but any chance you get to try them I would say go for it, you wont be disappointed. They also have the best oysters you will ever eat, these guys are known for their oysters. You just grab a basket, go up to the tanks and pick out your oysters and they will bag them up for you. If you are feeling really adventurous then they will open them for you and you can do oyster shooters right there on the pier! I have eaten both the oyster and clam shooters there and they are amazing. I have also bought many different types of fish filets here and it is all local and I have loved it all. They are open seven days a week. I live in Santa Barbara and I drive all the way to port san luis just to buy my seafood here, I wont go anywhere else. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for fresh seafood.

If you are looking for the freshest, best tasting seafood on the central coast BJ’s is the best. Been doing with them last 20 years and every time I could not have been more pleased. Family owned and run these folks understand seafood like no one else. If you got a question how to cook or prepare your purchase just ask! This is as close as you can get if you caught it yourself. Wonderful, Wonderful!!!

We bought some small Washington oysters from them and they were so fresh and light! We also bought some fish filets (some of the fish are live in the tanks) and they tasted great and fresh too. The seafood looked much fresher than their competitors at the end of the pier. THey’re a little hard to find, at the entrance of the pier behind some tarps on the left (why no sign?).
The lady was a little rough at first but don’t let that prevent you from buying their very good products. After a while she warmed up and we had a good chit chat.

I got some wild caught Alaskan salmon here and it was some of the best I’ve had. It was very tender for salmon. They will tell you when and where they got it and when they filleted it.

I have gotten bad fish from there more than once. The sushi grade ahi that I bought there didn’t smell fresh, so had to sear it. Fortunately none of us got sick. First time burned, shane on them, second time, shame on me

We got the hot tip from Howard at Hapa Haole Snack Shack that this was the ultimate joint to get fresh live seafood around the area. We were in the Oceano area so it was a little drive to Avila Beach and due to the local Jazz festival on Avila Pier, the traffic was horrendous but it was sooooo worth it.
You follow the Avila Beach Road until it ends on Port San Luis Harford Pier and find some parking. It is located on the pier immediately to the left behind a fishing charter store. It’s tough to find but just look for an open air area with a white chain link fence.
The first thing we notice was a bunch of aquariums and live feed tanks. There were nothing but live oysters, clams, crabs, and even fish. The huge oysters and the ling/​vermillion cod were eye catching.
The first thing you do is grab a plastic laundry basket and a pair of tongs and then you go to work. We gathered 2 dozen large Washington oysters, 2 dozen steamer clams, and 3 – 4 Rockcrabs. I had it in my head from the beginning of our vacation that I really wanted to have an authentic clam bake at the beach house so I even brought along some burlap bags and rocks for the pit. Anyway, these items just solidified that our dinner was going to be the ultimate finale to a great weekend.
They also offer fresh crab cocktails and shucked live oysters for the occasional passerby that needs a nice little snack while shopping on the pier. Anyway, we brought our bin to the counter and they rung us up for only $ 60. What a deal. They threw everything in a huge plastic bag with a load of ice and sent us on our way.
BTW, everybody that works there is very professional/​efficient/​courteous. It might seem that they don’t want to help you but it’s quite the opposite. They are so crowded that they just want to expedite your experience so that others won’t be turned away by such a long wait or crowd. They are very friendly.
We get back to the house and these oysters are much bigger than I remembered. We threw a pit together in the sand and lined it with rocks and built a fire around it to heat up the rocks. After the fire died down, we threw a grill on top of the rocks and lined it with seaweed from the ocean. We threw potatoes, oysters, corn on top of that, another layer of seaweed and ti leaves, then more oysters, clams, and the crab. We topped it with more leaves, foil, then the burlap soaked with sea water. After an hour, we carefully took everything off and had a feast. Saved some oysters to eat raw and also made some fresh garlic bread with olive oil and dug in.
Large oysters usually give an appearance like they would be too big and fishy and chewy. Let me tell you. These were some of the best oysters I’ve ever tasted, both raw and cooked. They were tasty and soft and the texture was perfect. Clams were great as well as the crab, but the oysters were the stars. Fresh seafood is definitely the best. I would definitely go here again and recommend this place if you’re in the neighborhood for fresh live seafood. Next time, I’m getting a whole fish for sure.