Santa Barbara Fish Market

Confusing experience at the Fish Market during Memorial Day weekend. They seem to have major issues with their operations and have trouble telling customers apart (Asian customers)?
I called beforehand and they told me there was no more uni (either fresh or packaged). We decided to still stop by to pick up sashimi.
To our surprise, we saw some uni being cracked and asked if they had any (they said there was)! We paid, and they told us to come back after 5 – 10 mins to pick up the uni. 5 – 10 mins later, we came back and they were really confused, and asked if we had already paid (even though we spoke to the same guy who just checked us out). They asked us to come back in 5 – 10 more mins. We got concerned and returned after a few minutes.
They had some confusion and seemed to be mixing us up with another Asian couple. They gave us a plate of uni, only for us to come back and ask why we were given only 1 (not 2) uni. They then claimed that we had taken the wrong order and they were now giving us a free uni. Very confusing and a little of a stressful process. Having observed their operations for 20 mins in total while waiting in vain for the uni, it seems like they were having trouble telling customers apart. Perhaps giving people tickets would work better.

They sell fresh catch fish but they had cooked stone crabs and we ordered some and asked them to crack it for us, delish! The Ahi poke was really tasty too!

One word — UNI! I’ve been here on a number of occasions. In the past, I’ve had the sea urchins shucked fresh but today they convinced me to go with the box. They said it was a better deal and that the uni was local and totally fresh. So I took their advice and was happy I did!
I ordered one tray of fresh Santa Barbara uni along with one diver scallop. Heaven on earth! In the past I’ve also had their oysters on the half shell, shucked to order. They also have fresh fish, much of it sashimi grade.
But as far as I’m concerned, the reason to come here is for their uni. The bomb. And prices are so reasonable.
Four and a half stars.

Worst place to get fish or anything, came in to see if there was any sea urchin available i asked the guy at the counter
Me: do you guys have any sea urchin left
Idiot: I don’t know
Me: is it off season or did you run out
Idiot: not sure I guess
Wtf serious?! If your going to buy fish from a fish market better hope your salesmen know something either this guy was high af or just didn’t give af either way I won’t be back I’m sure there are other places that know what they are doing and can help out

For the tasteless tastiest uni ever and the yummy salmon belly. It was a good place to try because you never forget the taste of bad uni. Their uni was clean and refreshing. If you’re an uni lover definitely try it out.

Tonight I stopped in for the first time. Small, local fish market with a good selection and friendly staff. Just what I was looking for. I got the just under 1 lb. of halibut, 1 lb. hope ranch mussels and ½ lb. of deveined/​peeled white shrimp– came out to $ 45.00 (not shabby for fresh food to meal prep for the week). If you sign up for the local 10% discount you can save $$. The price tonight went down to $ 40.00. They also offer student discounts.

We got one sea urchin, shucked, and served it its shell to eat right there. The sea urchin roe (uni) was sweet, not too briney, and obviously very fresh. It was inexpensive too, only $ 9.50 for the whole urchin and for them to shuck.
Out of 3, 3 YUMS. Not many places serve fresh urchin right out of the shell, and SB is known for its urchin– a must try!

Make sure you bring a picnic blanket. Buy your food here and picnic on the beach just a few steps away. Come early so they don’t run out of fish, plus it’s super fresh. The poke and oysters were fresh. They even shuck them for you. The prices are affordable and would love to try their uni but they didn’t have any today.
Free parking for 90 mins. They are strict on the time because the parking enforcers make your tires to make sure you have overstayed your welcome.

I have made two trips down the past two years to this fish market and feel so lucky there is such a gem on the harbor. I’ve tried both the live uni and the uni in a tray — both are honestly sweet and mouthwatering. The live uni is not pre-​cleaned so there will be bitter dark veins if you go for that option. The tray of pre-​cleaned uni is just $ 9 for about a dozen pieces, which you know is the price for just one piece of uni at sushi restaurants. I do wish the tray was not made of wood but rather something more easily recyclable, because they do add up as waste. I’d be happy with a paper tray or such.
Have also tried the tuna poke, also fresh and enjoyed the bits of seaweed in the mix.
Tip for students (even at graduate level): 25% off discount on some items (not the uni).

Great small fish market with super fresh fish.

What a great market!
My bf and I visited Santa Barbara this past weekend and I’ve had this market bookmarked for seafood for a very long time. After seeing Unilocal pics and reviews, we saw that a tray of Santa Barbara uni is only $ 8.95! We came here on Sunday morning for our «breakfast» and ordered a dozen blue point oysters, a tray of uni, and some poke. Everything was fresh and absolutely delicious. I would come here every week if I could for uni that tastes so good for such a good price. The guys who were working here were really nice and they had our oysters shucked and ready to eat within 5 minutes. There are outdoor tables close by to the market so we were able to enjoy our seafood al fresco!
Helpful tip: You can phone your seafood orders ahead if you know there will be a rush.
A great fish market and we will be back here whenever we return to SB!

My cousins loves uni, I on the other hand like it in either pasta or with udon in a rich cream sauce. You can get a box of uni here for $ 9 already prepared. I thought it tasted too fishy for my liking.
We also got salmon sashimi and the guy recommended a half pound each I think which came out to alot. Unfortunately, these guys are no where near sushi chefs so they did not have any skills to slice the salmon properly. Instead we got roughly hacked salmon pieces, some pieces with bits of skin and fat intact.
I think this would be a place to go if you’re looking for fish to take home and prepare, not to enjoy raw.
Service was okay, not rude but not that welcoming either. Parking in the lot shared with all other business by the docks.

Not sure what the hype is about… limited selection, no service to speak of — i.e., sashimi with no wasabi or ginger, seriously? Star deduction for item that I paid $ 17/​lb for but could not enjoy.
Even that acclaimed Santa Barbara uni was no better than a tray of uni purchased in San Francisco Bay Area — neither in quality nor price.
But my biggest disappointment was the crab salad. Really didn’t expect imitation crap (Oh! Freudian slip! Meant «crab») from an establishment that has FISH MARKET in its name.
Then there is the issue of request for cash payment. Card machine is not working? Really? Yeah… We know what’s going on. I walked away — fully paid goods with points accumulated on my card.
For fresh and far superior selection of sashimi grade seafood, Tokyo Fish Market in Berkeley still gets my vote!

This place is tucked beside the harbor. Parking is free but limited.
They didn’t have a wide variety of fish available when we were there. I didn’t totally understand why most of the fish filet were wrapped in plastic.
We picked up a farm-​raised branzino for $ 13.95/lb. and a shucked live sea urchin for $ 7.50. The branzino was very fresh when we got home to prepare it. The sea urchin was very good! When they shuck it, some of the dark veins (or whatever they are) were still on there so I removed them before eating. If consumed, it leaves a bitter aftertaste. My friend picked up some littleneck clams for $ 6.50 per pound. Everything was packed on ice for us so the seafood can stay fresh for the drive back to LA.
The service wasn’t so great. The day we were there, they were staffed by 4 young men (think teenagers). Two were helpful and the other two couldn’t care less to ask how you could be helped. There was a lot of standing around and watching a couple of customers’ questions go unheard or ignored. So strange.

Came in around 2pm and was able to get the last batch of uni! It was my first time so I was a bit confused on what to get, but the workers were extremely helpful and accommodating. In the end I got the Ahi poke salad, Scottish salmon, uni, fanny bay oysters, blue point oysters, and Bahia falsa oysters. Total came out to be about $ 26(+student discount). I did not expect them to offer student discount so that was a plus! They even gave me some gel ice packs for my left overs to take back to LA. Excellent customer service++
They offered a wide selection of fresh seafood, which was great to taste different types of salmon, oysters, etc. They also shuck the oysters for you and you can enjoy it right off the harbor. The price is more than reasonable/​affordable considering restaurant prices for seafood (definitely cannot get any fresher than this). I will definitely be coming back another time.

This spot is probably best for locals/​for you to take back to your house.
Great selection of fish and seafood. We ordered a tray of sea urchin, salmon and albacore sashimi, 6 oysters, and shrimp cocktail all for around $ 35.
No condiments whatsoever included (ie soy sauce/​wasabi for sashimi, mignette/​tobasco for oysters. you can buy bottles of it tho. which is why i say it’s best for locals to bring home and eat) if you read this, i guess you can bring your own beforehand!
Ps: Live sea urchin located down the «street», closer to the boats.

Great local fish market. Has a great selection of local fish. Also has nice selection already prepared foods. Also fresh oysters shucked $ 1 each.

I was very eager to get my live uni and oyster fix during my trip here, since I had such a pleasant experience during my last visit.
Came here this past Sunday at 11:45am, and it wasn’t busy. Oh, and they did not have any uni trays (none at all, even in the morning).
** I was expecting:
— Freshly Shucked, Creamy, live uni
— Freshly shucked oysters
** What I received:
— Shucked Uni, covered in veins, bitter (not fresh) after-​taste
— Shucked Oysters, most torn apart, did not taste fresh
As you can tell, I had a very unpleasant experience here compared to last time. I’ve had better uni and oysters when I bought them from a local grocery market and shucked them myself.
I’m still very shocked at how the quality went from 100 to zero. real quick. The uni tasted and looked like it wasn’t even cleaned/​washed after being shucked. I can understand maybe a tiny vein here and there, but this looked like it was sprinkled with veins! Not only that, even after rinsing it in water ourselves, it still left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth– no creaminess at all. On top of that, there were small shards of oyster shell on my uni. Overall, taste and presentation were terrible– I wish the guy who prepared our uni put a bed of ice under it… we only ordered one uni last time and the uni was placed on top of a nice bed of ice. This time, all 3 orders of uni were thrown into a plastic container. (Just look like my photos and you’ll see the huge difference between my 2 visits).
Out of a dozen of the Blue Point Oysters ordered, only 5 were eaten. Yup, less than half. We even had to ask for lemon since he didn’t include it in our order. It’s odd not to include lemon, especially if they don’t even carry tabasco or cocktail sauce.
We brought our tray back and I asked them why the quality of this batch was so bad compared to last time. They confirmed that they receive fresh shipments every day, but I honestly feel like these were dead for a few days.
They really didn’t have an answer for me, and didn’t even seem to feel bad (def not a returning customer next time). The guy there said to me, «It’s like a box of chocolates.» * EYE ROLL*. At least a box of chocolates is all edible and fresh… in that case, I would like to return my box of chocolates. lol. #baii

I love me some uni, so naturally, SB fish market was bookmarked.
Packed some treats and water for a mini road trip. My objective was to bring home a bag full of sea critters.
Unfortunately, I left with a few trays of some fairly weak uni.
They didn’t have any tuna poki or live uni or much selection, the main reason I drove up, and only had these trays of uni for $ 8.95.
The uni tray was fairly disappointing as the quality was comparable to the uni I’d get at our local Korean market (for $ 3.99).
It’s probably a good spot for locals to pick up fresh seafood, but not exactly the game changer I was looking for.
I guess I’m pretty spoiled here in the South Bay, we got some good shit here. :)

I frequently eat Santa Barbara sea urchin (uni) in LA at my local sushi spots and I thought it would be wonderful to eat it hyperlocal in Santa Barbara.
I found this place on Unilocal when searching for «uni.» It’s a fish market so you pick up your seafood and can take it outside to eat or what I did is eat it on the beach.
I would rate this place 5 stars, but the guys there weren’t super friendly and wouldn’t open a live sea urchin for me when I requested it. They insisted that order the prepackaged uni in the tray because they were «busy.» They were only serving one other person at the time.
I recommend a visit, but lower your expectations with the employees who work here. You’ll be lucky if they’ll open a sea urchin or oysters for you. I should have been a bit more pushy and insisted they open a live sea urchin for me, but I wasn’t in the mood to that afternoon.