Pacific Fish Center & Restaurant

Heard so much about this place. Was looking forward to it. Sashimi plate was just ok. The lobster sashimi was great! The cooked lobster n crabs were awesome. The stew afterwards was just ok. Nothing wowing i guess. I don’t think i need to go back.

Got the fish soup (non spicy). Best dish on the table.
Shrimp fried rice. Don’t get it.
Fish and chips. The fish was actually good quality with a nice fried coating.
Steamed abalone.
Also got the baby octopus. Eat one baby octopus with the sweet red sauce together with one spoonful of rice. Droollllsss. A perfect combination.
Will come again. Line wasn’t too bad.

The spicy soup was really good, crab was good (but you can’t really go wrong with the crab if it’s just steamed). Shrimps weren’t that fresh, shrimp shell was really soft. It was a good experience to try but I definitely won’t come here again.

I gotta say this place went downhill. There’s barely any wait anymore, but still pricey. And their food isn’t that great anymore either.
I got the …
1. Dungeness crab ($ 50+ per crab): it’s a little over $ 50, and it’s good, but not sure if it’s worth over $ 50. Their sauce (both butter and gochujang) are both too sweet. Their crabs used to taste a lot fresher and better, but they just keep going downhill.
2. Spicy stew (large — $ 26.99): this is the most decent item in the menu. But even then it’s not that great. I remember it tasting a lot better a few years ago.
I heard that this restaurant didn’t want to pay its taxes so the owner hid the money in the ocean somewhere. Lol. Heard it was on the news too.

Enjoyed the Korean soup and sashimi. The seafood tasted fresh and the soup was a good size portion. The restaurant is also pretty clean.

Ended up here because my mother in law heard from her friends how great this place was. She is a very particular about her food so despite the looks of the place we decided to give it a try. This place is pricey and I don’t have an issue with that but for the price the atmosphere and experience should be at a higher level in my opinion. We ordered the sashimi platter (this was actually very good), calamari (just ok) and two live crabs and a hot fish stew soup. The two crabs were about 45 dollars a piece. The crabs were not as good as I hoped they would be. The stew was ok– have had better in Koreatown. First tip off that this place would be below my standards was that you order off a menu that is posted on the wall. The tables are lined with paper and the utensils are disposable so that gives you idea of how casual the place is. Despite this, the ajuma ladies were very sweet and explained the dishes well. Don’t come here on a date or wear clothing you can’t part with. It’s very messy. I asked my mother in law if she thought the place was worth it– she said she won’t go back.

If you are craving or wanting fresh dungenous crab or any live crustacean that they sell, this is the place to go. This meal will surely cost you a pretty penny. For a party of two we ordered one dungenous crab, a small spicy fish soup, and a pound of clams. All together it was around $ 95 dollars. You order what you would like in the front and then have a seat at the table once they call your number. Food comes out somewhat fast. Service is a hit or miss depending on which area you’ve been seated at. Had to ask multiple times to different waitresses to bring up water, napkins and hot sauce. One of the cool things about this place is that they have little wooden mallets to smash open the crabs with. For the quality and freshness of the food this is my go to place :).
Stick with getting the crab and the spicy fish soup. They won’t let you down!

Food is really expensive and quite mediocre. $ 75 for few shrimp sushi and fish soup. The setting however is very back yard lower class restaurant. They don’t use plates or silverware just cheap 99 cent plastic ware and plates. You get a Dixie cup for drinks and the cheap plastic spoon they give you cuts the side of your lips you’ll feel for days. Not my first time here but definitely my last.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are from family outings at Redondo Pier and eating seafood. I like this I lace since they have cool views and you don’t have to fight for a table. We ordered steamed Dungeness crabs, calamari, fish and chips, and shrimps. The crabs were good, especially if you haven’t had it in awhile. The huge disappointment were the shrimps. They were dried out and very little meat. I think I should’ve ordered the large shrimps. Overall, if you want to get your crab fix without cooking it yourself and stinking up your home, this is a good option.

OMG! My friend and I ate here yesterday. We ordered lobster and fish soup; however, we both got food poisoning! I vomited three times within 3 hours after my lunch there. And my friend began to vomit up the food and suffered from diarrhea in the late afternoon. I did not eat breakfast yesterday, so the only reason I got food poisoning is because of their food. Maybe the lobster or the fish soup was not fresh. I will dispute the transaction with my bank. And I am also gonna to discuss the problem with the restaurant and CDC after getting better next week. Could never imagine this would happen. So dangerous!

I’ve been coming here since I was a toddler so this place holds near and dear to my little heart and it hasn’t changed one bit.
You order and pay at the front register (the menu is on the left wall at the very top) before you get seated but you can always order additional items in between your meal.
But don’t even bother looking at the menu because this is all you need to know:
1. Sashimi platter (get the medium or large size)
2. Fried shrimp heads
3. Oysters
4. Mae oon tang (spicy fish soup)
5. Crab (I don’t particularly like crab or at least the labor part of it but it’s too fresh to pass up on. just bring a friend that’ll do the work for you)
There are other items available but only the noobs order fish and chips.
The ahjuma (korean ladies) servers are all very sweet and attentive which is rare when it comes to korean customer service. The sashimi is incredibly fresh and every time! I’ve never had bad tasting sashimi here. Now it is on the more expensive side but if you prefer quality over quantity, trust me, you will not be disappointed with the quality or quantity.
Another tip: This place starts getting pretty busy right at 6 so try to come here around 4−5pm if you’re coming for dinner. You can avoid some very loud ass tourists/​asian locals.

If you’re Korean and you grew up in So Cal then you know about this place. I remember coming here with my extended family when I was much younger. And my mom always references this place when mentioning crab.
Yah, it’s a bit expensive and the environment is a bit too casual. But if you want some good spicy fish soup and crab, you gotta come to this place. The spicy fish soup is so so good. I wouldn’t recommend getting the other dishes. Stick with the crab and the spicy fish soup.

I went last week they had no more crabs and only
Lobstas. I was pist but luckily there was a similar spot couple doors down. What happened? Crab game gone with the wind. :/

With so many mixed reviews going on here, I would still give this place 4 solid stars! We have a Christmas tradition in our family to come here to splurge on some seafood, and so far it hasn’t disappointed — here are some tips to make your experience better.
The key here is 1) knowing what to get (and what NOT to get) and 2) expecting that you will be shelling out a ton of money for the seafood.
+ The Dungeness crab and lobster are usually consistently fresh and delicious!
+ Their spicy seafood soup is one of the best that we’ve ever had — tons of good fish pieces swimming inside. Their kimchi is also surprisingly on-​point.
+ DON’T expect to be fancy here. Yes, they use plastic and paper everything. Accept it as part of the atmosphere, and it won’t be such a big deal.
+ I’ve never had problems getting ice water here — I believe it is CA law now to not serve customers water at a restaurant unless they ask for it (yay drought!!). So ask for it early, and you shouldn’t have any problems.
+ The waitresses always seem rushed, but I’ve never felt like we’ve had bad service. It might be because my family is Korean so the language barrier isn’t there — I can see how the barrier might be bigger for non-​Koreans
+ Nice views of the ocean!
— The fried calamari was frozen and not so fresh, although still pretty good. But I would stick with their fresh seafood items above.
— The sashimi platter is just meh — there are lots of good sushi/​sashimi places in the city (that would be Los Angeles) that have much better pieces of sashimi. Again, I would just stick to their specialty which is fresh crab/​lobster.
— The environment is a bit chaotic, especially when they are busy
— Avoid the weird side menu options (e.g. fried rice, corn dog, etc) that seem random for a seafood place that has a ton of live seacrawlers up front. It doesn’t excuse that these items are bad (imo they shouldn’t be there in the first place), but just don’t opt to get these and avoid the trouble
The ordeal: There is usually a pretty long line to get to this place (esp during rush lunch/​dinner times). Wait in the line and look at all the live lobsters and crab you’re about to eat! Order at the counter, you PAY FOR IT FIRST, and then they will call you when your table is ready. You can tip with your CC up front or with cash (leave it at the table).
Enjoy!

I am not a fan of eating with my hands, so my really nice friend SZ had to agree to deal with the crabs for me in order to get me to come here with her. I have never been a fan of eating crabs, mainly because I would have to crack them myself and try really hard to wrangle the meat out, but when someone else does that for me? I LIKE THEM!
… It probably helps that the crabs here are good. And they give you buttaaaaaaaaaa… and I love butter!
Anyway, starting at the beginning. Pacific Fish Center is on the Redondo Pier. Park in one of their parking lots, pay for it (unless it’s a holiday? I think it’s free then), and walk on over. Place your orders with the nice Korean ladies first and then someone will seat you. Sit down, put on your bibs (necessary), and get ready to get violent with some dead crabs (with the cool hammer they give you). We ordered their Dungeness crab, hwe-​dub-​bab, and fish & chips along with some Hite beer.
The crab is fresh and juicy, delicious with the butter and other condiments on the table. I don’t eat raw fish so I just looked at the hwe-​dub-​bab, but it looked really nice and fresh and Selina said it was delicious. I just took the salad-​y part of it to eat with my food. The fish and chips were alright. Pretty good but nothing special. We got pretty full off of all this food though and it was a good meal.
There is a restroom in the back but the sinks are outside so people can wash their hands easily since this is a pretty messy meal. SZ really likes this place and I can see why. I probably wouldn’t seek this place out (because next time I’m going to have to crack open those crabs myself) but I would not be opposed to coming back here ;) Probably more 3.5 stars but let’s round up to 4 since SZ made me enjoy my time here.

What’s better than a chill unpretentious place with good food? Well, this spot gets my 5 stars!
Redondo beach fisherman’s wharf has a lot to offer for tourists and residents. And I think this restaurant is a catcher! The location appears to be perfect because of the nice water view and multi-​cultural people.
There was a short line when we went and 2 Asian ladies were getting the orders so it wasn’t a hassle at all. As we waited, we also decided to get the Fish soup, oysters and of course, uncracked medium size Dungeness crab just because the boyfriend loves to disintegrate the crustacean. SPICY FISH SOUP: it has mixed veggies, chunks of fish (jaw part), dried little shrimps and tofu. Super tasty, not too spicy and just delicious! OYSTERS: It had the taste of something that I was looking for, sweet and brassy, I just loved it!
The lady servers were traditional since this is an authentic Korean place. The kimchi was yummy and I would assume that this is made in the house. Overall, we were treated politely and the experience was pretty interesting. Beer with seafood is a must, oh by the way.
A corner for hand-​washing was a plus!

This place was really good. The flavor on the spicy fish soup was on point. It’s not as spicy as the regular Korean recipe, which I liked because I can’t handle how spicy this soup can get. The fish was tender. The shrimp in the soup wasn’t as fresh. I didn’t bother touching them, but no matter, I’m still dreaming of the flavor. I went on a weeknight, so it wasn’t busy at all.
The reasoning for my minus 1 star is the price. I think it was around 24.99, and it just seemed a little pricey in my point of view. The amount of soup is good for 3 people not as hungry, and 2 people who are really hungry.

Don’t be a crab… eat one and get happy.
* GET — Live Dungeness Crab = the only reason we ventured to Redondo amidst crazy LA heat wave in 100-​degree weather!
1) Live (ie: seasonal & market price), steamed, cracked open at your table.
2) Served with rice & butter (you’ll need ask for sriracha, vinegar, gochuchan, sesame oil or soy sauce on the side).
3) Put on bib.
4) Pound away with your wooden mallets & feast away!
* GET — Spicy Korean Stew = oh so good! Spicy with turnips, green onions, and fish… tastes like it’s home-​cooked.
* YES — Fast, friendly service! Quite accommodating with all requests
* YES — Window seating available, right by the pier
* YES — Great for large parties or small groups
* YES — Doggie bags available for leftovers
* AOK — Joint’s a bit old so don’t think of this as anything but casual-​dining
* WOA (words of advice):
— You will get dirty if you’re crackin’ your own seafood
— Parking at pier lot available with pay stations
— Accepts credit cards

This place is located way at the end of the pier in Redondo. While walking the entire boardwalk and pier we were thrilled to find this place and how appealing it was to have a view of the ocean from the seating area.
We ordered at the counter. Had a half dozen raw oysters and shared a crab. I don’t recall the prices, but I know the bill was higher than the norm.
They waitresses bring out the sliced crab for you along with additional surgical tools.
It’s not the most pleasant or romantic space, but when you’re getting down and dirty hammering away at your legs, there’s no time for smooching.

Review in #Haiku:
Way overpriced here
For most food one gets next door
Eat it all elsewhere