Seafood Center

I love this place. great oysters and shellfish. Nice people! Fish is always very fresh. Parking can be a bit of a problem, but it is worth a little effort

love this fish store. Best black cod around. All their seafood is fresh, service is awesome. Been a happy customer since I moved to the area 5 years ago. They always have 2 or 3 types of salmon, the petrale is always a good choice. If you want fresh seafood this is the spot.

Delicious, quality seafood! The prices are right too. This is a fabulous neighborhood resource!

Thought I wouldn’t be able to eat Dungeness crabs this thanksgiving, but Seafood Center has them from Washington! $ 11.99/lb

A friend recommended we come here for reasonably priced, fresh Dungeness crab. We now come here a couple times a month for salmon. The service is quick and professional, and I love the various kinds of seafood. Quality and pricing is excellent!

WOW. Best seafood and fish store I found in the city. The selection was excellent. The prices were great. The only thing you have to consider is that they don’t speak English that well — but the signs have the fish names in English which is more than I can say for some other fish stores, and when I asked a question they called one guy who did understand and translated for me so that was fine overall. Also the packaging is… let’s say minimal (they just put everything together in one plastic bag). But. What’s the most important thing — the fish — was excellent. I got a huge Local Black Cod (Butterfish) for 50 $, it was about 5lb, they filleted it and it was so fresh and delicious. All my guests loved it. Will sure to come back again.

This place was a godsend last weekend. I needed fresh, fresh Dungeness crab (I know, it’s not in season)…but I needed it for a dish I was making imminently and I knew I wouldn’t have time to cook and break down enough crabs to get 1.5 pounds of meat. I called probably 15 different seafood markets around the city (literally, all over the place) and not a single vendor had any crab meat for sale (except for one with imitation crab and another with frozen miscellaneous crab). Then, I called Seafood Center.
The person on the phone spoke very clear English, which was a big plus, and he told me that they could cook and take the meat out of fresh Dungeness crabs for me… in only three hours. I popped over around lunchtime and picked up a big container of fresh crab meat. It was like a gift from the gods. And the price was reasonable given how much time I saved — $ 35/​pound.
The crab meat itself was awesome. Huge chunks, very sweet, not fishy. I also never got any pieces of shell in the meat, so they clearly did a good job of breaking the crabs down.
I would definitely use Seafood Center again for my crab needs, although I don’t know that I’d go all the way here for other seafood given that it was a 20 minute drive…

Bought some fresh local salmon for $ 21.99/lb and petrale for $ 8.99/lb… both were great and the man behind the counter was so wonderful with his recommendations. Will definitely be going back.

I am a sustainable-​fish (ing) loving carnivore — or pescatarian — and I just discovered the Seafood Center shop … and I’m thrilled!
Pass by all those others. Seafood Center is on Clement between 9^th and 10^th Streets. Seafood Center only offers fresh seafood fare, and they do it well, and their service (butched selection & service) is broad and impeccable.
I don’t speak Cantonese/​Mandarin but here it doesn’t matter (and they don’t shun you if you don’t) … the language barrier melts as they know and love their product (s) and I’ve been able to ape EXACTLY what I want, and the staff is always amused, and right on target … (yup, we speak the same language when it comes to anything fish).
This is the cleanest, most *sincere*, fish purveyor on lower Clement Street (from 6^th — 10^th St). Always fresh. They even offer huge «kama» and other fish parts, that some know deliver true «oyster delicacies» in any large fish head (only for the hardcore and in-​the-​know, don’tcha know) … the fisherman’s secret hoard.
I’ve been 4x and am getting bolder in my selections and requests. I wish I was like 10-​people so I could buy all the great-​looking SEAFOOD and try-​out the numerous delectable recipes I’m collecting, all at once! What feast! Yet I’m glad to know I may return again, and again, to Seafood Center for the quality and product variety — they do both wholesale and retail — and service.

Went in to get some clams for Valentine’s Day. Fair prices and delicious! They’re sure to satisfy your seafood needs (:

This review is for the Dungeness crab. I think this is the best place to buy live Dungeness crab if you live in the Sunset or Richmond districts.
We’ve gotten crab from three different places this season. The crab here was the best. Price was competitive between the two neighborhoods. It was less than the price we saw at a large chain Chinese supermarket.

I’ve been buying my seafood here for about 25 years. I don’t live in the City anymore, but in Novato. Too far for an errand, but I have to go the Peninsula a lot for work, and I almost always stop here on my way home. Fresh. Abundant. Reasonable prices. And sometimes they’ll have seasonal things that I’m not familiar with that I’ll try. (E.g. they had live turtle a few visits ago. Okay. I’ll bite.)
I once – admittedly a few years back, probably late 90’s – made a New Years Eve cioppino for 10 people. Clams, crab, mussels, halibut, squid. I might have even thrown a lobster or two in there. Total came to less than $ 100. I doubt I could do that now for the same price, but I was blown away, even then, by how little it cost me to host fresh fish cioppino to 10 folks for what I paid.
I grew up in New England, so I sometimes get a lobster craving. This is the only place in the Bay Area where I buy lobster. (Otherwise I order it online for overnight delivery!)
Their English isn’t great, but I’m going there for fresh fish, not ESL classes. A good finger point can cross any language barrier!

This may be new, but they DO accept credit cards now. Yay!
Funny story: I was in line at the Safeway seafood department when someone passing behind me told me he gets all his seafood from this store and that I should check it out. I was looking for mussels and crab parts, but Safeway only had dead mussels and pre-​cooked crab parts. Here, it’s 3.29 per pound of mussels. Live ones. Delicious little creatures. Fresh. I was transported back to the north of France by the first taste of my homemade moules marinière.
The man I asked at first didn’t understand enough English to know what «mussels» meant, but when I pointed to the sign «Black Mussels $ 3.29/lb» he went in back and got me some. So, if they don’t understand you, just point at what you want. :)

We’ve been buying live Dungeness crab here for years and it never disappoints. Good service, market rates, and they even speak enough English to make the transaction smooth.

This place is the best. It’s not crab season anymore, but I’m still going to come here for fish. And when it’s crab season again, I’ll pick up a whole crab and make some crab and garlic noodles at home for one-​fourth the cost of going to Thanh Long or PPQ.

I’ve recently gotten into the habit of rolling my own sushi. It’s so fun, makes a great evening and best of all at the end of the process you have some scrumptious sushi ready to be devoured that you customized to contain ingredients that you love!
After shopping at a few different fish markets I’ve settled in on Seafood Center. Not too far from me, some of the lower prices while still offering quality product. I found a store that was cheaper but after a few meals I’ve been able to taste the difference in price on multiple items.
Fish, clams, crab, lobster when available, etc. etc. etc. Even if you’re not making sushi (which I’m sure most shoppers aren’t) they have everything you could want to buy and cook/​grill/​boil/​steam/​etc. for yourself at home.

Back again today ’cause it’s crab season. The fish mongers know me by now and make sure I get a nice big crab! I opted to take it home live this time and he kept telling me he would kill it for me. No no no! We finally agreed that I would handle it and he packed the crab in a bunch of crushed ice since I had to bus and Bart back to Oakland.
I also couldn’t resist a slab of fresh ahi, which I will marinate and sear tonight — yeah!

Our dungeness was delicious and only $ 10.99/pound, but both of the crabs were missing a leg! We should have taken a peek before leaving, but I was utterly disappointed.
Upside: despite being a Chinese market, we had no trouble communicating in English. The lady at the counter even gave us some tips on preparing the crab. Also, after being out for an hour or so, both of the crabs were still looking lively by the time we got home.
Still disappointed about the missing legs. Also, the place had a lot of flies and a generally dirty vibe (didn’t help that when we can in they were spraying the floor with water), but that’s kind of expected.

Admittedly, I wasn’t a fan of this place at first because I swear they make a habit of dumping the ice from the fish trays out onto the sidewalk every time I’d walk by and make me skate across a lake of fish juice out on the sidewalk.
However, after purchasing big fresh scallops here about ¼ of the price you’d find at Whole Foods I decided to ignore my past experiences. Not to mention make my guy go into the store and pick up the fish while I wait in the car. Just in case.

As I write this, I’m laying in bed in a state of half agony and half bliss, and it’s all the fault of Seafood Center.
For several years now it’s become a tradition that when I come to town and visit family in San Francisco, we get fresh dungeness crab and have a monster crab feast. This vacation is no exception, so this morning we went and saw Kent at Seafood Center for the five mean and meaty crab he’d set aside for us. The mean ones are always the tastiest.
We finished our crabathon hours ago, but I’m still stuffed. Stupid happy stuffed with fresh crustacean goodness.
Seafood Center is exactly what the name indicates. I’ts a place to buy seafood. It’s not decorated as anything, not darling, not quaint… it’s just a shop packed with aquariums for live things and ice for dead things.
It’s probably good to know what you want before you go in. The staff is nice, but they’re all business. They’re there to help you get what you want and to keep the fresh fish moving in and out of the store. Not a lot of chit chat.
I’ve only ever had the crab from there so I’m not sure how the other seafood there rates. The crab is top shelf. If you assert your will a little, they’ll let you really look over each one you buy to ensure it’s to your liking. My family has bought fresh live shrimp here and I’m told it was excellent.
Their prices are competitive so you can usually get a good deal. It’s probably a good idea to call ahead and see if they have what you’re after. With such a perishable product, their stuff moves fast and you don’t want to make the trip only to be disappointed.
So here I lay, reliving each tender, sweet claw and knowing that when this vacation is over the crab don’t come as easy. And I’m halfway upset about that. The other half is relieved that I don’t have to feel so totally full until next vacation when I visit Seafood Center and we cook a killer crab dinner.