My partner and I visited Carlsbad Aquafarm in August 2023, right after a storm. Unbeknownst to us, due to the recent hurricane, Carlsbad Aquafarm sourced their oysters from a farm in Canada because their local oysters were not edible. They failed to disclose this crucial information.
My partner contracted Vibrio from these oysters and spent two weeks in and out of the hospital. Being out-of-town visitors, we incurred substantial costs, including extended stay, hospital bills, hotel bills, and numerous Uber rides to and from the hospital. Despite initially admitting the oysters were not their own, the farm refused to take responsibility or cover any of our expenses.
Additionally, they did not issue any public service announcements or shut down operations, which is deeply concerning and irresponsible for a “local” oyster farm and small business owner. We are now out thousands of dollars, and my partner has suffered residual symptoms for months post-illness.
We will never return and strongly advise the public to avoid Carlsbad Aquafarm for oysters. Their negligence and lack of accountability are alarming and disappointing. Choose other places for your oyster needs.
Denise Suerth
They are no longer doing tours and are not refunding money for tickets that were purchased. I never knew they were not giving tours until my daughter and I went there for the tour and the gate was locked up. I’ve tried to contact then several times by phone and email but no response or refund. Not a good way to run a business.
Mila
The tour is great, a lot of information in a short time. The shucking class is great, learn, eat, yummy. Then you can buy everything you need to feast on fresh, delicious oysters for dinner. And thereafter you can pick up fresh, delicious oysters by ordering on line or a quick phone call.Give a man a shucked oyster, he'll enjoy and oyster. Teach a man how to shuck an oyster, he'll have fresh, delicious oysters for the rest of his life.
Walter Leviz
Awesome!
sonja jovanovic
Interesting tour and yummy oysters! Very informative- we had no clue how oysters are farmed before we came. It’s great to see how it helps the environment and more research is being done all the time. Awesome.
Alexander McNeil
Beautiful view! Great experience here with my wife and kids. We learned how to open oysters, and the tour was great! Highly recommended!
Kimmie Uyen
My family and I went to Carlsbad Aquafarm to eat fresh oysters. They are huge, fresh, and taste amazing. The best oysters we’ve ever had! The hot sauce that they sold complimented the oyster so well!We didn’t go on the oyster farm tour but will definitely book a tour next time. Great place to visit with lovely people!
Valerie Renk
We loved our tour...learned a lot and got to practice opening oysters! Brought some home for dinner.
Gail
Interesting & Insightful tour led by Pete. Definitely learn a lot more! Would be better if we could have the chance to see the rope being pulled out or some oyster sorting on the spot. We had fun shucking the oysters, they were delicious & the condiment provided were great! The hot sauce & the vinegar one! Thanks Pete & Team.
Really cool to see what’s going on here, and tasty oysters.
Gil YG
Interesting & Insightful tour led by Pete. Definitely learn a lot more! Would be better if we could have the chance to see the rope being pulled out or some oyster sorting on the spot. We had fun shucking the oysters, they were delicious & the condiment provided were great! The hot sauce & the vinegar one! Thanks Pete & Team.
Eugene Park
I came for the oysters. Had to order them online and picked up 3 dozen. My only regret was not getting more. Extremely fresh and delicious! Drove back home to Los Angeles and they didn’t last an hour of getting home. Highly recommend this spot! They also do tours and stuff. Check them out!
C Freeze
Very cool place! Our guide was fantastic, very knowledgeable, funny, & passionate. My first time trying oysters…delicious!
wdsf shew
We ordered 3 dozen oysters online and called the Aquafarm for some help with our order. The person on the phone was friendly & very helpful as to availability & selection of the varieties. The oyster were marvelously fresh & delicious. I often visit a couple of oyster farms in Mendocino so was really happy to discover the Carlsbad Aquafarm. We enjoyed them so much, we decided to order 6 dozen for an event. Unfortunately, these were very gritty and we had to spend almost 3 hours scrubbing them & removing the crumbly edges on the shells. Even with the prepping, pieces of shell got in while shucking. Also a few were so oversized, they bent the oyster knife. I wish the farm would have rinsed & tumbled the oysters more thoroughly before selling them. It was wonderful to be able to get farm fresh oysters that morning to serve to our guests but due to results and time & labor intensity to manually clean so many, I do not know whether I would repeat this for a large event.
Great place
FOODBORNE ILLNESS / NEGLIGENCE WARNING!
My partner and I visited Carlsbad Aquafarm in August 2023, right after a storm. Unbeknownst to us, due to the recent hurricane, Carlsbad Aquafarm sourced their oysters from a farm in Canada because their local oysters were not edible. They failed to disclose this crucial information.
My partner contracted Vibrio from these oysters and spent two weeks in and out of the hospital. Being out-of-town visitors, we incurred substantial costs, including extended stay, hospital bills, hotel bills, and numerous Uber rides to and from the hospital. Despite initially admitting the oysters were not their own, the farm refused to take responsibility or cover any of our expenses.
Additionally, they did not issue any public service announcements or shut down operations, which is deeply concerning and irresponsible for a “local” oyster farm and small business owner. We are now out thousands of dollars, and my partner has suffered residual symptoms for months post-illness.
We will never return and strongly advise the public to avoid Carlsbad Aquafarm for oysters. Their negligence and lack of accountability are alarming and disappointing. Choose other places for your oyster needs.
They are no longer doing tours and are not refunding money for tickets that were purchased. I never knew they were not giving tours until my daughter and I went there for the tour and the gate was locked up. I’ve tried to contact then several times by phone and email but no response or refund. Not a good way to run a business.
The tour is great, a lot of information in a short time. The shucking class is great, learn, eat, yummy. Then you can buy everything you need to feast on fresh, delicious oysters for dinner. And thereafter you can pick up fresh, delicious oysters by ordering on line or a quick phone call.Give a man a shucked oyster, he'll enjoy and oyster. Teach a man how to shuck an oyster, he'll have fresh, delicious oysters for the rest of his life.
Awesome!
Interesting tour and yummy oysters! Very informative- we had no clue how oysters are farmed before we came. It’s great to see how it helps the environment and more research is being done all the time. Awesome.
Beautiful view! Great experience here with my wife and kids. We learned how to open oysters, and the tour was great! Highly recommended!
My family and I went to Carlsbad Aquafarm to eat fresh oysters. They are huge, fresh, and taste amazing. The best oysters we’ve ever had! The hot sauce that they sold complimented the oyster so well!We didn’t go on the oyster farm tour but will definitely book a tour next time. Great place to visit with lovely people!
We loved our tour...learned a lot and got to practice opening oysters! Brought some home for dinner.
Interesting & Insightful tour led by Pete. Definitely learn a lot more! Would be better if we could have the chance to see the rope being pulled out or some oyster sorting on the spot. We had fun shucking the oysters, they were delicious & the condiment provided were great! The hot sauce & the vinegar one! Thanks Pete & Team.
Restaurantji Recommends
Really cool to see what’s going on here, and tasty oysters.
Interesting & Insightful tour led by Pete. Definitely learn a lot more! Would be better if we could have the chance to see the rope being pulled out or some oyster sorting on the spot. We had fun shucking the oysters, they were delicious & the condiment provided were great! The hot sauce & the vinegar one! Thanks Pete & Team.
I came for the oysters. Had to order them online and picked up 3 dozen. My only regret was not getting more. Extremely fresh and delicious! Drove back home to Los Angeles and they didn’t last an hour of getting home. Highly recommend this spot! They also do tours and stuff. Check them out!
Very cool place! Our guide was fantastic, very knowledgeable, funny, & passionate. My first time trying oysters…delicious!
We ordered 3 dozen oysters online and called the Aquafarm for some help with our order. The person on the phone was friendly & very helpful as to availability & selection of the varieties. The oyster were marvelously fresh & delicious. I often visit a couple of oyster farms in Mendocino so was really happy to discover the Carlsbad Aquafarm. We enjoyed them so much, we decided to order 6 dozen for an event. Unfortunately, these were very gritty and we had to spend almost 3 hours scrubbing them & removing the crumbly edges on the shells. Even with the prepping, pieces of shell got in while shucking. Also a few were so oversized, they bent the oyster knife. I wish the farm would have rinsed & tumbled the oysters more thoroughly before selling them. It was wonderful to be able to get farm fresh oysters that morning to serve to our guests but due to results and time & labor intensity to manually clean so many, I do not know whether I would repeat this for a large event.
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