The Absolute Best Place to Buy Seafood in Seattle

Everyone has their “guy” at what they consider to be the best place to buy seafood in Seattle. That’s because Seattle has a huge fish and seafood scene thanks to its prime location near Alaska and the Pacific Ocean’s vast commercial fishing scene.

But the other reason we’re the best city for seafood is because we give a damn. Seattlelites care about how their food is treated, so only the freshest seafood sustainably caught will do.

I have a lot of favorite places to buy fish in Seattle, but there is one that sticks out above the rest. I share the best place to buy seafood in Seattle and all my insider tips of what to buy at each of my other favorites around the city.

The Absolute Best Place to Buy Seafood in Seattle

If you want to know the best place to buy seafood, this is it.

Wild Salmon Seafood Market

website | neighborhood: Interbay | Fishermen’s Terminal, 1900 W Nickerson St | best for: a large variety of locally-caught fish

Wild Salmon Seafood Market is tucked inside the Fisherman’s Terminal in Interbay, an unassuming area between Ballard and Magnolia. They have a huge variety of fish available, including Copper River Salmon, black cod, Dungeness crab legs, lobster tails, clams, mussels, spot prawns, and more. You’ll even find less common fish like opah.

What makes them the best place to buy seafood in Seattle? Their prices and freshness.

pike place market
pure food
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fish and chip
raw oysters
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Given their prime location on the docks where fishermen moor their vessels (including the Deadliest Catch TV show boats!), they are positioned to source from small fisheries catching seafood local to the Pacific Northwest. However, they also import items from overseas to balance out their inventory. Given their ratio of variety to quality and price, this is my favorite place to buy fresh fish in Seattle.

Pro tip: Little Chinook’s is right next door. They’re one of the best fish and chip joints in Seattle, so grab some after you shop!

Other places to find the best seafood in Seattle

It was really difficult to pick the best place to buy seafood in Seattle because we have so many great fish markets given our access to the sea. Here are my other favorite places to find the best seafood in Seattle.

Notice none of these are in Pike Place Market. There’s a reason! Pike Place is a tourist attraction and so the fish is marked up higher than it should be, so buy from these local fish shops instead.

Fresh Fish Co

website | neighborhood: Ballard | 2364 NW 80th St | best for: crab cakes

This is my go-to fish monger given its convenient location near my house. It’s a tiny spot on a neighborhood-y area between Ballard and Crown Hill that feels like such a hidden gem. You’ll find all types of really fresh fish here, with a case lining the left side as you enter and a grocery section to your right. Among the grocery section you’ll find some produce, but you’ll want to b-line for the fridge and freezer cases where you can find frozen fish packs and pre-made dips, soups, and more.

While their fish is good, I find the pre-made items where they really shine. One of our absolute favorite things to get are their crab cakes. They’re more than an inch thick and so, friggin’ flavorful. It’s an easy weeknight meal that we look forward to because it tastes like we spent hours in the kitchen.

Seattle Fish Company

website | neighborhood: West Seattle | 4435 California Ave SW | best for: smoked salmon chowder

Seattle Fish Company is on California Ave in West Seattle just before the main street starts becoming residential. They have a pretty extensive case where you’ll find a lot of fresh fish and fresh seafood options. They have some of the most beautiful scallops I’ve ever seen! You can visit the store or order online for delivery.

Besides a fish market they also have a grill where they serve seriously addictively seafood snacks you’d find at a fish shack slinging tacos in San Diego or clam strips in New England. I’m obsessed with a lot of their fried shellfish snacks like oysters, clam strips, and calamari, but the true stunner here is their smoked salmon chowder. It’s got both tomato and cream, so there’s a really interesting depth of flavor you don’t get with typical clam chowder. If they have any of this while you’re there, pick some up to take home!

Seattle Fish Guys

website | neighborhood: Central District | 411 23rd Ave S | best for: poke

Seattle Fish Guys reminds me of my favorite poke shops in Maui. You walk in and there’s a casual, aloha vibe and a long case filled with everything you could imagine. There’s a ton of fresh fish and seafood here, including salmon, cod, scallops, lobsters, mussels, squid…you name it.

You’ll also find pre-made items like their famous smoked salmon candy and poke. In true Hawaiian style, the poke is pre-mixed and served in heaping portions. It’s the perfect quick meal to go, or you can get sushi-grade fish to make yourself.

Taylor Shellfish Farms

website | neighborhood: Capitol Hill | 1521 Melrose Ave | best for: raw oysters

This oyster farm is located along the Chuckanut Drive, one of my favorite things to do in Skagit County and the area about an hour north of Seattle where I host my small group food tours.

Luckily, you don’t have to trek to visit the restaurants in Skagit County to get Taylor Shellfish Farms oysters. They have a few oyster bars in Seattle, but their Capitol Hill location also sells fresh oysters. You’ll walk into their tiny oyster bar and spot bubbling tanks of oysters begging you to take a dozen or three home.

Town & Country MarketS Shoreline

website | neighborhood: Shoreline | 15505 Westminster Way N | best for: variety

One of the absolute best places to buy seafood in Seattle is just outside Seattle in the town of Shoreline to the north of the city. Previously called Central Market, this spot is part of the local Town & Country grocery chain and it’s the place we go every year to pick up fish for our annual Feast of the Seven Fishes Christmas Eve meal.

We make the drive here because it’s the best place in north Seattle to find affordable seafood and a lot of variety. They have a pretty large fish counter with a ton of fishmongers behind it ready to make buying seafood easy with their expert tips. They’ll also clean your fish for you, removing skin and pin bones or filleting it to your desired size. It’s also convenient because you can pick up other items on your shopping list since this is a traditional grocery store.

Uwajimaya

website | neighborhood: International District | 600 5th Ave S | best for: sushi-grade fish

Uwajimaya is the place to go when you have a lot of Asian ingredients and delicacies on your shopping list, including fish. You’ll find every type of fish you could imagine, including ones not as common in typical grocery stores. There are also shellfish staples like dried shrimp that are common in popular Asian dishes. This is usually the place I direct people for the best, sushi-grade quality fish in Seattle, particularly if they live in South Seattle.

Loki

website | neighborhood: Interbay | 4005 20th Ave W | best for: salmon

If you want to buy directly from the source, Loki is the best place to buy seafood in Seattle. It’s a fishermen-owned and operated cooperative that catches fish in Seattle and Alaska. They sell their catch at farmers markets, but you can also pick up your order directly from their boat docked in the Fisherman’s Terminal if you want to expand beyond city fish markets.

You’ll want to cook their fish with a recipe that doesn’t do too much to hide the quality of the fish, like this salmon with pistachio and cacao gremolata.

St. Jude

website | neighborhood: Interbay | 1900 W Nickerson St | best for: albacore tuna

St. Jude is another direct-from-the-fisherman seafood option in Seattle. They fish year round in both the north and south Pacific using the sustainable troll method. This is where fishermen pull lines of bait from their boat close to the surface as they continue driving the boat near fishing schools. The tuna gets hooked and dragged through the water a bit before being pulled up, quickly killed, and frozen for optimal freshness.

I haven’t had a chance to try their fresh albacore tuna yet, but I’ve picked up their canned tuna at the Ballard Farmers Market and can tell you, it’s on another level. It’s so juicy and flavorful, nothing like that watered-down, dry junk you get at the grocery store. It’s what pure food should taste like!

Drifter’s Fish

website | CSA with various Seattle metro area pick up points | best for: wild-caught salmon

Drifter’s Fish is owned by a cute-as-a-button husband and wife duo who catch their own salmon in Alaska and sell direct to consumers once a year through their CSF (community supported fishery) program. I bought this as a gift for my dad one year and he absolutely loved it. They deliver their salmon in individually-portioned vacuum sealed bags that make it super easy to use. If you want one of the best gifts from Seattle, this is definitely a contender!

They also sell their smoked and tinned salmon direct to consumer or through their friends at Ebb & Company, a cafe and natural wine shop in Seattle.

Hama Hama Oysters

website | delivery nationwide | best for: oysters

Hama Hama Oysters is one of my favorite oyster farms in Washington. I usually go to their oyster farm on the Olympic Peninsula to forage oysters and clams during their “Farm Days” events. However, they started delivering nationwide during the pandemic and haven’t looked back since!

They’re some of the best oysters I’ve had and more affordable than others I’ve seen, particularly if you do pick them up directly from their farm. This is definitely a Seattle for foodies bucket list item you need to cross off at least once!

The MARKET Fishmonger & Eatery

website | neighborhood:Edmonds | 508 Main St | best for: lobster

The Market Fishmonger and Eatery is on my list of the best restaurants in Edmonds, WA for their lobster roll, but this tiny fish shop also sells raw seafood to take home.

Note, their lobster and lobster rolls sell out fast in the summer, so make sure to order online or call ahead.

Kuzma Fish Market

website | neighborhood:Edmonds | 21104 70th Ave W | best for: poke

I haven’t been to Kuzma yet, but this is another fishmonger that also sells some of the best poke in Seattle. You can also buy fresh fish out of the case and they’ll help you clean it so it’s easier to cook at home.

Ken ‘Kuzma’ Hewitt has been living and breathing fish since he was a kid. His grandmother owned a fish market in West Seattle until he was 13, where he often worked. He then got a job with the Yoshimura family at the legendary Mutual Fish (now closed) where he learned their deep appreciation and skill for Japanese cutting techniques and care. Then he moved onto Uwajimaya. So basically, Ken knows his stuff!

Other places to get fish in Seattle

Hey, sometimes you just want to buy some fish you can eat right away. Here are some of the best seafood spots in Seattle.

• The Best Fish Restaurants in Seattle
• Seattle’s Best Places to Get Poke
• The Ultimate List of Dishes You Must Try in Seattle