Family run since 1956 and one of America's busiest restaurants, home of the World Famous Shrimp Tray and the Kings of Fi$h series.
For 70 years, the San Pedro Fish Market has been the place where Los Angeles comes to eat seafood by the harbor. What started as a tiny corner fish shop is now one of the busiest restaurants in the country, a social media sensation and, four generations in, still a family business.
From a corner store to the waterfront
On Good Friday in 1956, Italian immigrant Mackey Ungaro opened Vista Seafood, a small fish counter at 9th and Meyler streets, selling the day’s catch to San Pedro families from ice chests. He put two 15-year-olds in charge: his son, Henry Ungaro, and his nephew, Tommy Amalfitano.
Within a few years the business moved to the waterfront, taking over Norm’s Landing fish market. It added live crab and lobster, started smoking its own fish, and in 1981 opened a new building with a full restaurant under a new name: the San Pedro Fish Market. In 1990 it took over the neighboring Crusty Crab, and in 1998 the two were joined into one harborside complex of about 55,000 square feet with seating for 3,000, the anchor of Ports O’Call Village.
When Ports O’Call closed in March 2023 to make way for the new West Harbor district, the market reopened a few hundred yards away that May and kept the trays coming. It has signed a 49-year lease at West Harbor, where a new waterfront restaurant of about 55,000 square feet, mostly outdoor patio with room for around 3,000 diners, is planned.
One of the busiest restaurants in America
At its peak at Ports O’Call, the San Pedro Fish Market served close to two million guests a year and brought in about $30 million in annual sales, placing it among the largest and busiest independent restaurants in the United States. The kitchen turns out more than 30,000 of its World Famous Shrimp Trays a week: pick your seafood at the counter, and the cooks grill it with potatoes, onions, peppers and tomatoes and pile it on a tray with garlic bread, made to share at long tables by the water.
The market holds four Guinness World Records, three of them set in a single day at its 2010 lobster festival, and Food & Wine named it one of the 10 most Instagrammed restaurants in the country.
Famous online
In 2015 the family started telling its own story on video. Kings of Fi$h, a reality series about the family and the market, drew more than 40 million views over its first two seasons and is now on Amazon Prime Video. The family says sales rose 25 to 30 percent in the first month after it debuted.
Then came the Super Tray: a giant platter piled with king crab, swordfish, shrimp, scallops and mussels. After a viral video, which has since passed tens of millions of views, roughly 30,000 people showed up in a single week, and police had to help with traffic. CEO Mike Ungaro also hosts the Fi$h Factor podcast about the business.
Still a family business
Four generations of the Ungaro and Amalfitano families have run the market. Mike Ungaro, Mackey’s grandson, is CEO and owner, working alongside family members including Henry Ungaro Jr., Jennifer Ungaro and John Ungaro, and the next generation, including Andy Amalfitano. Co-founder Tommy Amalfitano, who helped build the business from the age of 15, is remembered as a guiding force. Besides the San Pedro flagship, the family runs a second market on Alamitos Bay in Long Beach and has announced a new location at Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey.
Visiting
- Where: 706 S. Harbor Blvd., on the San Pedro waterfront at West Harbor.
- Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 am to 7:30 pm, Friday 11 am to 8 pm, Saturday 9 am to 9 pm, Sunday 9 am to 7:30 pm. Check the market’s website before you go, as hours change seasonally.
- Tips: Weekend afternoons are the busiest; come early or on a weekday for shorter lines. Trays are sized to share, so bring friends.
Frequently asked questions
When did the San Pedro Fish Market open?
On Good Friday in 1956, as a small corner shop called Vista Seafood. It moved to the waterfront a few years later and took the name San Pedro Fish Market in 1981.
Who owns the San Pedro Fish Market?
The founding Ungaro and Amalfitano families, now in their fourth generation. Mike Ungaro, the founder’s grandson, is CEO and owner.
What is the San Pedro Fish Market famous for?
Its World Famous Shrimp Tray, the giant Super Tray, its harborside seating and the Kings of Fi$h series on Amazon Prime Video.
Where is the San Pedro Fish Market now?
At 706 S. Harbor Blvd. on the San Pedro waterfront, while its new restaurant at West Harbor is built. There is also a location in Long Beach.