Our neighbor to the south has some hidden gems worth exploring—Koi immediately comes to mind. So does the classic Mahe. But few are as unique as the Seal Beach Fish Co. In fact, it is the only line-caught seafood restaurant in the entire region.
And with it, brings us some of the freshest fish you can find at a restaurant.
The fishing behind Seal Beach Fish Co.
It is nearly impossible to find the fishermen running Seal Beach Fish Co. at their restaurant. And that is for a good reason: they are likely taking the F/V Raptor or F/V Bandit boat onto the waters beyond the Seal Beach or San Pedro shore to catch fish. Bluefin. Halibut. Yellowtail. Swordfish, the crew has other contracted fishermen in Hawaii and Alaska to ensure every fish is line-caught.
And unlike the vast majority of seafood restaurants across the country—not just SoCal—that rely on distributors or frozen fish, Seal Beach Fish Co. depends entirely on this operation to bring to life the food at its restaurant. The closest to what they’re doing in Seal Beach would be Venice’s Dudley, which acquires much of its fish by line but not all of it.
It harkens to chef and fisherman Chris Krajacic’s sorely missed Pier 76 space. Chris had built a name for himself in the seafood world after ditching the famed Walt’s Wharf in Seal Beach to start Pier 76. He opened two more additional locations—one in Cerritos and one in Riverside—amid a boom in popularity as an affordable, healthy, and, most of all, delicious place for seafood. And much of it was caught directly by Chris. It helped introduced (much in the vein of Seal Beach Fish Co.’s spirit) Long Beach to its foodways, especially with seafood.
And it bears repeating: “Much of it was caught by Chris.” The rest? Distributor delivered, which is what makes Seal Beach Fish Co. particularly special.
It was supposed to be a market—and then things changed
Seal Beach Fish Co. wasn’t supposed to be a restaurant at all. In fact, it was supposed to be a market for Kruger’s catches; a way to connect Seal Beach to their foodways. However, some red tape prevented that from happening so the entirety of the crew had to pivot.
“So the feeling was: ‘Screw it, let’s open a restaurant,'” said chef and general manager Chad Cranford. “I helped develop the restaurant side of it while they handled the fishing and then we have our processing area in the back… And what we’re aiming for is something that lacks pretense. You can walk in in flip-flops but you also understand where your food comes from.”
This isn’t to say the space completely avoids selling fish to take home. You will find plenty of customers coming in to buy fish to cook at home while caterers and other restaurants stop in to pick up supplies.
But perhaps most importantly is Chad’s last point about understanding where your food comes from—because with this place, indeed you do: A yellowtail can be found aging in a front-facing space in the restaurant. Caught shellfish is laid on display across a bed of ice. The menu doesn’t feature specific fish on it because it alters daily.
Surely, there’s market fish—but what you eat at Seal Beach Fish Co. all depends on the gamble of what’s on the line out in the ocean
The day I appeared? Fishes of the day included king salmon caught in Alaska, swordfish and Ono caught in Hawaii, and bluefin tuna and yellowtail caught off Catalina Island. Oh, and some rockfish from the Channel Islands.
What does this mean? The fish’n’chips and tacos would be rockfish that day. The fish sandwich would be swordfish. The fish burrito would be ono. And the crudo would be bluefin and yellowtail.
There is something special about seeing the fish you are eating before you eat it—and Chad will happily take you back into the processing area to have just that experience: Stare at a whole bluefin tuna that was just caught off of the coast of Catalina earlier that morning. And when you see Chef Geno Bustos Guerrero—who has been with Chad for nearly a decade after they opened 25 Degrees together in Huntington Beach—serve up his crudo, you appreciate it even further.
“I’ve worked with fish before but not on this scale or level,” Chef Geno said. “It’s completely altered my view of seafood and my respect for it.”
These bits of details are just a hint of the wild freshness showcased through Seal Beach Fish Co.’s catches
You can sense his love. A line of slices of bluefin tuna belly lay across a layer of a ponzu-inspired sauce, topped with a jalapeño concoction and micro greens. The result is letting the fish be the star: The layers of fat melt into an umami dream with bits of salt and citrus. It’s one of the best bluefin crudos around—and it’s solely because the quality of the fish is that immense.
Their play on aguachile toes the line with crudo, using slices of hamachi that don’t sit in the citric acid long enough to be cooked. There are sides like smoked edamame and classic Japanese-style cucumber salads. Their calamari fritti that reminds you of just how often frozen squid is used at restaurants.
“Yes, we catch some our squid as well. And when we can’t, the squid we use for the restaurant is mostly supplied from another California-based company that catches and cleans locally.,” Chad said. “Customers continually tell us how they immediately know the difference.”
The essence of the restaurant is simple: Quality seafood done the most human way possible
And it doesn’t stop there. The space’s Dungeness crab roll is dangerously creamy and happily doused in dill, complete with a side of clarified butter to take your creaminess to pure decadence. Shoestring fries—there’s a truffle-parm option though honestly not needed with the cream of that roll—are extra dripping utensils for what is really a stellar seafood sandwich.
The hefty fish tacos, set on hybrid tortillas, are something to behold. Hunks of fish sits beneath a dill-y slaw, pico de gallo, and a topping of avocado crema. Drizzle it with lime and salsa and you have yourself a wonderful taco by way of the ocean.
But if you want the essence of Seal Beach Fish Co., just get the grilled fish plate.
You’ll have your choice—my day was yellowtail, bluefin, ono, swordfish, and king salmon. Salted and served with a side of chimmichurri—no other options and there doesn’t need to be—it is the restaurant’s ideal at its most naked. It reminds us of the preciousness of food and knowing where it comes from—with little to no accoutrements needed. Because of this, you have an experience with seafood that is exemplary though it actually should be more common, especially on the Californian coast.
Luckily, it exists in Seal Beach.
Seal Beach Fish Co. is located at 1025 Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach.
