Please check your crab before you leave,, they will give you a dead one and starting to smell BAD!!! And of course they will also give you missing legs.
Vicky L.
Fabulous seafood distributor with amazing prices (follow their posts on social media!) During crab season last year they had some of the freshest, cheapest crab prices around. They consistently bring in high quality uni and other shellfish critters. Service is relatively fast if you go early and they're found at the Burlingame Farmer's market too!
shawn p.
So I swung by today after seeing this ad a few days back. Super excited. Well let me just tell you they don't honor the price advertised. I was told since I didn't pre-order and walked in. ( this ad doesn't say anything about this) I would be charged $7 a pound and not the $6. Pretty lame, I asked for explanation why and after getting the lamest excuse of the truck being late and they were having problems filling the pre-orders and I didn't place the order ahead of time and I walked in. If I didn't just drive all the way from San Francisco and would have walked out. Some advice to Ocean Empire, change your ad you're lame. Put a disclaimer on there "prices change daily to suit our needs". Really hoping the seafood is good, because your business model isn't
Amy T.
Freshest, sweetest clams I've ever had! And I do not say that lightly, bc I am a HUGE snob. Check my profile, I give very few 5 star reviews, but this place deserves it. I like to tell people how to best enjoy a place, so I'll start with DO NOT EXPECT A GROCERY STORE. This is essentially a distribution business. There is almost no signage (I passed it twice and had to check the address). You walk in, and there is a table with some produce on it and a guy behind a desk. What you see on the website is most of what they have, and next time I'll probably shop that way. But today I just walked in. I bought about $70 worth of stuff: shiitake ($5/lb), bok choy, lychee, oysters, Manila clams ($6/lb), hot pot meat... So far I've only eaten the clams and I literally put my dish down mid meal to write this.
Julia N.
Truly the best seafood plug in the bay! They have extremely fresh and high quality seafood as well as Asian fruits and vegetables. They also have the best prices. Must get's:- Dungeness crab ($3.99/lb during crab season !!)- Maine lobster (also great price)- Manila clams- Hokkaido uni- Lychee (one of the best lychees I've ever had, they're so sweet) I would highly recommend going to ocean empire for the best quality & priced seafood!
Nick S.
Ocean Empire is the best place to get fresh and live seafood in the Bay. I highly recommend them to all my friends and family
Tiffany C.
Eric is very knowledgeable about his seafood and was able to answer all my questions. He recommended the Kusshi oysters for Father's Day. Everyone in my family loved the oysters. They were very sweet and fresh. We also got it for a great price. I highly recommend to everyone. I'll definitely order more seafood to try in the future!!!
Sindy S.
Ocean empire has some really affordable seafood for sale! $3.99/lb crabs!! Wow!! (2-15-23) all the seafood are fresh!
Cindy C.
4.6 starsOcean empire has some really affordable seafood for sale! $3.99/lb crabs!! Wow!! (2-15-23) all the seafood are fresh!
Lauren P.
This review is so overdue. This is one of the best places to get really fresh seafood in the Bay. The Dungeness crab was sweet, plump and delectable and they let us know it was local. Mussels and clams were also great. Their uni was also delicious and tasted very fresh. They also have a fresh selection of prized Asian fruits and veggies on rotation. Their lychee was very firm and delicious (highly approved by me and my parents and is totally comparable to the lychee we used to get fresh in the homeland) and their pea shoots were nice and tender for stir fries (compared to the stringy ones you can rarely get locally or from 99 ranch). You can also message them on ig if you want to know if they have anything in stock since their stock changes pretty frequently. If you are looking for good seafood, this is definitely the place to check out and it's great to support a local small business! We will definitely be back!
Saw the $5/lb Dungeness crab advertised. Got 3 crabs for $28! The crabs were a bit on the smaller side but still delicious. Great for a crab feast! The head/brains were inedible but we found that with other live crabs we've purchased recently are in similar condition so must be the time of year. These were excellent and we'd get them again!
Eva O.
Such awesome service and such a wide variety of seafood!O R D E R E D- Hawaiian Longan- Australian Lychee- Santa Barbara Uni V E R D I C TI love exotic fruits and I'm so excited Eric has the best in stock! He always updates his customers of his latest inventory via wechat, instagram and his website - then you can go directly to his website to order and then pick up in in person. His South SF shop isn't hard to find, you just need to look out for the big seafood flag outside of his shop then park alongside it. I've seen so many of his customers post the dishes they make form his seafood, I can't wait to buy some next time and make dishes of my own as well. He's also at the Millbrae and Burlingame Farmers Market on the weekend.
Grace T.
I drive out to Foster City every Thursday just to pick up some super tasty sashimi grade salmon! Such amazing quality (and great price) that I feel a bit bad mangling it with my non-existent knife skills. I've used it to make sushi, sushi rolls, and also been caught eating it as I cut right from the fillet -- it's that good. The sellers are also lovely people who sometimes give complimentary beef bones or have meaty salmon bones for sale, great for soups/stock!
Giao L.
I stumbled upon Ocean Empire through an Instagram ad and for once, I'm so glad to have been targeted! I've only gotten their sushi grade salmon and beef bones here and I am OBSESSED with the salmon. It melts in your mouth! I make poke with it and it's so hard for me to not eat it all up while cutting it. I also used the beef bones to make pho broth and it turned out delish! It's a fraction of the price you see at Ranch 99. If I have other seafood needs, I'm definitely checking with Ocean Empire first. My first pickup was on Thursday and it was a very awkward pickup. Being my first time there, I wasn't sure how the pickups were supposed to work (and I still don't). The guy there must not have been in the talking mood because he didn't walk me through it either. There was a lot of "um ok, so what do I do?" muttered from me. Nevertheless, I got the goods and will endure as many awkward moments as needed, as long as I can keep getting this salmon!
Wil L.
I recently made a purchase at Ocean Empire and I was really satisfied with how fresh all the seafood were. I am a fisherman myself and I expect high-quality and freshness from my seafood. Ocean Empire offers just that. The sashimi grade salmon literally melts in your mouth. The Dungeness crabs were crawling and the live oysters were the best I have eaten. For the quality that you get, the prices were very decent. The staff was also very kind. I would highly recommend giving Ocean Empire a try if you are looking for high-quality seafood.
Please check your crab before you leave,, they will give you a dead one and starting to smell BAD!!! And of course they will also give you missing legs.
Fabulous seafood distributor with amazing prices (follow their posts on social media!) During crab season last year they had some of the freshest, cheapest crab prices around. They consistently bring in high quality uni and other shellfish critters. Service is relatively fast if you go early and they're found at the Burlingame Farmer's market too!
So I swung by today after seeing this ad a few days back. Super excited. Well let me just tell you they don't honor the price advertised. I was told since I didn't pre-order and walked in. ( this ad doesn't say anything about this) I would be charged $7 a pound and not the $6. Pretty lame, I asked for explanation why and after getting the lamest excuse of the truck being late and they were having problems filling the pre-orders and I didn't place the order ahead of time and I walked in. If I didn't just drive all the way from San Francisco and would have walked out. Some advice to Ocean Empire, change your ad you're lame. Put a disclaimer on there "prices change daily to suit our needs". Really hoping the seafood is good, because your business model isn't
Freshest, sweetest clams I've ever had! And I do not say that lightly, bc I am a HUGE snob. Check my profile, I give very few 5 star reviews, but this place deserves it. I like to tell people how to best enjoy a place, so I'll start with DO NOT EXPECT A GROCERY STORE. This is essentially a distribution business. There is almost no signage (I passed it twice and had to check the address). You walk in, and there is a table with some produce on it and a guy behind a desk. What you see on the website is most of what they have, and next time I'll probably shop that way. But today I just walked in. I bought about $70 worth of stuff: shiitake ($5/lb), bok choy, lychee, oysters, Manila clams ($6/lb), hot pot meat... So far I've only eaten the clams and I literally put my dish down mid meal to write this.
Truly the best seafood plug in the bay! They have extremely fresh and high quality seafood as well as Asian fruits and vegetables. They also have the best prices. Must get's:- Dungeness crab ($3.99/lb during crab season !!)- Maine lobster (also great price)- Manila clams- Hokkaido uni- Lychee (one of the best lychees I've ever had, they're so sweet) I would highly recommend going to ocean empire for the best quality & priced seafood!
Ocean Empire is the best place to get fresh and live seafood in the Bay. I highly recommend them to all my friends and family
Eric is very knowledgeable about his seafood and was able to answer all my questions. He recommended the Kusshi oysters for Father's Day. Everyone in my family loved the oysters. They were very sweet and fresh. We also got it for a great price. I highly recommend to everyone. I'll definitely order more seafood to try in the future!!!
Ocean empire has some really affordable seafood for sale! $3.99/lb crabs!! Wow!! (2-15-23) all the seafood are fresh!
4.6 starsOcean empire has some really affordable seafood for sale! $3.99/lb crabs!! Wow!! (2-15-23) all the seafood are fresh!
This review is so overdue. This is one of the best places to get really fresh seafood in the Bay. The Dungeness crab was sweet, plump and delectable and they let us know it was local. Mussels and clams were also great. Their uni was also delicious and tasted very fresh. They also have a fresh selection of prized Asian fruits and veggies on rotation. Their lychee was very firm and delicious (highly approved by me and my parents and is totally comparable to the lychee we used to get fresh in the homeland) and their pea shoots were nice and tender for stir fries (compared to the stringy ones you can rarely get locally or from 99 ranch). You can also message them on ig if you want to know if they have anything in stock since their stock changes pretty frequently. If you are looking for good seafood, this is definitely the place to check out and it's great to support a local small business! We will definitely be back!
Restaurantji Recommends
Saw the $5/lb Dungeness crab advertised. Got 3 crabs for $28! The crabs were a bit on the smaller side but still delicious. Great for a crab feast! The head/brains were inedible but we found that with other live crabs we've purchased recently are in similar condition so must be the time of year. These were excellent and we'd get them again!
Such awesome service and such a wide variety of seafood!O R D E R E D- Hawaiian Longan- Australian Lychee- Santa Barbara Uni V E R D I C TI love exotic fruits and I'm so excited Eric has the best in stock! He always updates his customers of his latest inventory via wechat, instagram and his website - then you can go directly to his website to order and then pick up in in person. His South SF shop isn't hard to find, you just need to look out for the big seafood flag outside of his shop then park alongside it. I've seen so many of his customers post the dishes they make form his seafood, I can't wait to buy some next time and make dishes of my own as well. He's also at the Millbrae and Burlingame Farmers Market on the weekend.
I drive out to Foster City every Thursday just to pick up some super tasty sashimi grade salmon! Such amazing quality (and great price) that I feel a bit bad mangling it with my non-existent knife skills. I've used it to make sushi, sushi rolls, and also been caught eating it as I cut right from the fillet -- it's that good. The sellers are also lovely people who sometimes give complimentary beef bones or have meaty salmon bones for sale, great for soups/stock!
I stumbled upon Ocean Empire through an Instagram ad and for once, I'm so glad to have been targeted! I've only gotten their sushi grade salmon and beef bones here and I am OBSESSED with the salmon. It melts in your mouth! I make poke with it and it's so hard for me to not eat it all up while cutting it. I also used the beef bones to make pho broth and it turned out delish! It's a fraction of the price you see at Ranch 99. If I have other seafood needs, I'm definitely checking with Ocean Empire first. My first pickup was on Thursday and it was a very awkward pickup. Being my first time there, I wasn't sure how the pickups were supposed to work (and I still don't). The guy there must not have been in the talking mood because he didn't walk me through it either. There was a lot of "um ok, so what do I do?" muttered from me. Nevertheless, I got the goods and will endure as many awkward moments as needed, as long as I can keep getting this salmon!
I recently made a purchase at Ocean Empire and I was really satisfied with how fresh all the seafood were. I am a fisherman myself and I expect high-quality and freshness from my seafood. Ocean Empire offers just that. The sashimi grade salmon literally melts in your mouth. The Dungeness crabs were crawling and the live oysters were the best I have eaten. For the quality that you get, the prices were very decent. The staff was also very kind. I would highly recommend giving Ocean Empire a try if you are looking for high-quality seafood.