North Stars:

Production & Consumption

Carbon Footprint

Wildlife and Ecosystems

“Sustainability in seafood can take different forms, from using local seafood to supporting responsible aquaculture.“

Los Angeles has no shortage of exceptional seafood. As a coastal city with direct access to the Pacific, the options run deep: sushi, Baja fish tacos, and mariscos. But the global seafood industry is rife with problems, from overfishing to food waste, and that makes it more important than ever to support restaurants that source responsibly.

In L.A., many have committed to doing exactly that, spanning everything from Michelin-recognized dining rooms to casual lunch counters. Here are six seafood restaurants worth visiting, whether you’re after raw oysters or ceviche.

Crudo e Nudo

Small and always lively, Crudo e Nudo in Santa Monica specializes in sustainable seafood and low-intervention wines. Chef Brian Bornemann sources his seafood locally, from Baja California up to California’s Central Coast. The menu changes daily depending on what is fresh and seasonal, but as the name suggests, crudo (raw seafood, typically dressed in an oil or citrus-based sauce) is the star.

On a given night, you can find a few different crudos on the menu: a rockfish from Channel Island with mandarin oil or kanpachi dressed with yuzu. For diners who can’t decide, the restaurant offers flights. A handful of cooked items are on offer as well, from roasted prawns to miso black cod sourced from Seremoni, a company that provides traceable, wild-caught fish harvested using the humane ikejime method (which efficiently and painlessly euthanizes the fish).

Uoichiba Handroll Bar

Both Uoichiba Handroll Bar locations — one in Sherman Oaks and one in DTLA — operate as small counters inside The Joint, a seafood market founded by fishmonger Liwei Liao and built around his specialty: dry-aged fish. The process extends shelf life and cuts down on waste, which is the sustainability case here.

Apart from a few side dishes, sushi hand rolls are the main event. Think classics like spicy tuna alongside more creative options like a toasted lox bagel with steelhead salmon, lox shmear, scallions, and pickled onions. For a splurge, there’s a baller handroll with Astrea caviar or the $88 12-handroll flight.

Loreto

From the Michelin-starred Holbox, a popular Mexican seafood counter, to the food trucks roaming the streets, Mexican seafood has long been part of the lifeblood of L.A.’s food scene. The stylish Loreto in Frogtown is no exception. Here, Chef Paco Moran uses only sustainably raised or wild-caught fish and shellfish from around the Baja California Peninsula, working with uni divers and concheros for sourcing.

The menu spans Baja-style ceviches and tostadas to large-format zarandeado, a style of grilled seafood from Nayarit and Sinaloa. The restaurant also offers a seasonal omakase, running one week per season.

Santa Monica Seafood

Santa Monica Seafood has been distributing fish to local restaurants since 1939, making it one of the city’s most established seafood operations. The Wilshire Boulevard location doubles as a cafe and retail market, with a wide menu covering the classics: clam chowder, tuna melts, and cioppino.

The company sources under a responsible seafood framework, prioritizing environmentally certified fisheries where possible. Not everything on the menu is wild-caught, but the menu is transparently labeled, and there are strong options for the conscientious diner: seared dayboat scallops and fish and chips made with line-caught Alaskan cod.

Providence

Providence has held three Michelin Stars for years, but it’s the Michelin Green Star that signals what Chef Michael Cimarusti is most serious about. His commitment to sustainability runs through the entire operation: wild-caught, locally sourced seafood, house-grown herbs, and beehives on the rooftop garden.

While a splurge, those with the budget should go for it. The multi-course tasting menu starts at $375 per person, with add-ons that include salt-roasted Santa Barbara spot prawns and uni egg with champagne beurre blanc.