The Jolly Oyster

Home
United States
Ventura, CA
The Jolly Oyster

We have the freshest oysters and clams in Southern California, because they come straight from our f We are a BYOB; YES ALCOHOL is allowed in the State Park.
(260)

Ventura Location Information:
We are an oyster and clam farm located in Baja California. Here in the San Buenaventura State Beach Park in Ventura, California we've set up a fun outdoors area that allows you to:

- Buy our fresh oysters (Pacifics and Kumamotos) and clams (Manilas) to go,
farmers' market style.
- Stay and shuck / cook your own at our picnic tables and BBQ grills right on the

beach.**
- Dine 'al fresco' from our food truck (Fri-Sun). There is 1 hour free parking.

** Before you come please visit our website http://www.thejollyoyster.com/ to see what you need to bring with you, such as charcoal, drinks, oyster knife, salsas and limes. You'll enjoy your time here so much more if you come prepared! Culver City Location Information:
As of December 2020, We have proudly opened a space in beautiful Culver City. We are located in the historic Citizen Public Market at 9355 Culver Blvd. Please come in and say hello! You can look at our current menu and even order online at https://www.toasttab.com/the-jolly-oyster-9355-culver-boulevard/v3 . We look forward to serving you!

08/26/2024

Labor Day Weekend Hours. See you at the beach 🏝️ 🦪 ☀️

04/16/2024

We’re serving up oysters and other bites alongside some of our favorite producers. Open to the public, get your tickets ! Looking forward to seeing you there!! 🦪 🍷

04/06/2024

TOMORROW- Sunday, April 7th 1-5pm
Jolly Oyster & Stanley’s Wet Goods are teaming up again this Sunday, April 7th for Oysters & Wine! Sip Spring’s best wines while indulging in delicious bites from Jolly Oyster from 1-5pm at

The menu:
⁠
Oysters on the 1/2 Shell (Kumamoto & Laguna Bay) $22 / $40
served with lemon and jolly mignonette

Peruvian Purple Scallop Crudo $5 Ea.
spring dashi, chive oil, flowering herbs

Yellowtail Carpaccio $15
english pea, green garlic, meyer lemon

03/26/2024

Culver City, we’ve loved getting to know you!

As a project that originated in 2018, we couldn’t ever have anticipated how COVID would change all aspects of this industry. We turned the lights on and opened this location with no indoor/outdoor dining options, pivoting to a to-go only model for a product that is best enjoyed on site.

We are proud to have made it through these challenging years, always putting the well-being of our team and guests first. We’ve always championed quality sourcing, and committed ourselves to the best output we could manage in just under 300 square feet. We’ve had a good run and A Jolly Good Time.

Our last service will be May 26th, 2024, so come raise a glass with us before we go. We’d love to see you back with us once more to slurp oysters, stock up on tinned seafood, sip wine, and experience everything we have to offer. The specials board will still be rotating and the sake will be cold!

-The Jolly Crew ❤️

02/02/2024

We’re headed back to this Sunday! Serving up Peruvian purple scallops, Mount Lassen Trout Tiradito and of course, oysters! Come say hi! Sunday February 4th 1-5pm 🍷 🦪 🐟 wine🥂

01/26/2024

Culver City’s menu is always rotating! With constant inspiration from the farmer’s market next door, ask the team what’s new!

01/23/2024

An update from us on the Norovirus cases. As always, guest safety is our number one priority.

01/19/2024

Working with a sustainable natural product is our greatest joy but it comes with hurdles! We will keep you updated as always. It’s a great time to come support our beverage program and additional menu items. Ventura will be open this weekend. We love our guests so much. You’ve seen us through a pandemic, opening a restaurant with no indoor or outdoor dining options, invited us to cater your weddings and birthdays. This too shall pass. Thank you for your concern and support!

01/07/2024

Happy New Year, everyone!

Don’t forget that The Jolly Oyster is available for all of your 2024 event needs! Dates are already getting snapped up fast.

Last year we were so honored to be a part of weddings, milestone birthdays, engagements, music festivals, activations, intimate plated dinners, and more!

Drop a line to [email protected] for any inquiries.

We look forward to bringing the joy of delicious and sustainable seafood to you and your guests this year!

11/06/2023

We’re stopping by the neighbors! is located just around the corner from our Culver City location. If you haven’t been, its got a menu with great little bites, a market place of gourmet finds, and an elaborate selection of wines, beers, and spirits.

We're bringing the oysters over for a pop-up. Come say hi!

When: Sunday November 12th
At: 9620 Venice Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232
From: 1-5pm

We hope to see you there!

09/29/2023

We’re gonna be shucking it up! Don’t miss this great event! 💃🏻 🦪 🍷 Details provided by our friends : SOUND MATERIAL - Our experimental outdoor sound x wine x dance experience in Los Angeles is now 8 days away! And now, it is full of hand-curated friends that will be slinging the goods throughout the day..

Sip with the best including wine and drinks from Good Boy Wine (duh), Homage Brewing, Madre Mezcal, and Rancho West (with NA bevs by Canyon Coffee and Something & Nothing) 🧃🍷

Chow down on some delicious delicacies by Roberta’s Pizza, Jolly Oyster, One Hot Minute, and Bake Some Noise 🍕🍪 🦪

And of course, dance till your legs are sore with tunes ALL day and into the night by Colored Craig, Space Ghost, Bianca Lexis, In Sheep’s Clothing (), and Sound of Make Believe (Dewey Chan). With a full hi-fi soundsystem via Sound of Make Believe 🪩🔊

Oh, and to keep things interesting, our friends at Pure Beauty will be bringing the goods 🌿😮‍💨

Get your tix asap!

09/13/2023

will be taking over Smorgasburg on September 17 in advance of Restaurant Week’s 15th anniversary. Join us in celebrating culture through cuisine with exclusive Restaurant Week style Dine LA menus from all of your favorite Smorg vendors!

08/29/2023

Join us on the beach this weekend! It’s the last weekend for the beverage shack in its current form! Check our story highlight for more details and exciting things to come ☀️ 🏝️ 🦪

08/20/2023

☔️

07/12/2023

Join us this Sunday. Author Nils Bernstein will be on site with his book “The Joy of Oysters”. Grab a signed copy of the book and some of our oysters for inspiration. Nils will be there 11 am- 1 pm. Hope to see you there! 🦪 📚 🍋

07/03/2023

Awww shucks!! We’re out!! Thank you to all the folks who joined us on the beach!

06/28/2023

Both locations closed Tuesday July 4th. We’ve got an additional day for you at the beach on the 3rd. Wishing everyone a safe holiday 🇺🇸

Address

San Buenaventura State Beach Park
Ventura, CA
93001

Website

http://www.thejollyoyster.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Jolly Oyster posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Jolly Oyster:

Videos

Happy Friday. Hope to see you this weekend! #thejollyoyster

‘It’s hard to find an outdoor eatery practicing strict sanitary protocols next the beach, but it’s not impossible.’ Here’s to another beautiful weekend 🍺 BYOB #jollyoyster #oysters #ventura #santabarbara #losangeles #laeats #venturaeats

An oyster's tale step 4 This is the last of our larvae videos where you'll see a group of 20 day olds losing the ability to swim and start to 'walk' with a 'foot'. This metamorphosis can be likened to a caterpillar's transformation to a butterfly.

Larvae transitioning at the umbo stage

An Oyster's tale step 3 A larva's journey on the road to adulthood is physically stressful. This video shows a group of 8 day olds forming a bulbous 'umbo' at their hinge. It's a critical few days and our hatchery breathes a sigh of relief once the transition is complete.

An oyster's tale - Step 2 For the first 3 weeks of their lives oysters can swim. It allows the population to drift off with the currents and repopulate new areas. Here are some larvae 4 days after fertilization, they're active, growing daily and digesting their food well. Bravo! #oysters #jollyoyster #ventura #santabarbara #losangeles #venturaeats #losangeleseats #oysterfarm #oysterfarming

With spring around the corner our hatchery is starting to produce again. In this video you can see oyster eggs being fertilized. Focus on the eggs at 11 and 1 o'clock and you will see the vibration caused by the sperm penetrating the egg wall. Life begins... Over the coming weeks we'll be bringing you a series of videos of the 2 year journey from egg to larvae to seed to farm to plate. #jollyoyster #oysters #oysterfarm #oysterfarming #oysterlovers #ventura #santabarbara #losangeles #losangeleseats

San Quintin farm

Getting ready for a beautiful Labor Day weekend. Our extended hours will be Sat-Mon 11am to 6pm :)

Larvae into adults (seed)

After 3 weeks our oyster larvae metamorphose and lose their ability to swim. The new seed gain mobility with a new 'foot'. Larvae still waiting to change can be seen whizzing around overhead (out of focus).

Thumbs up to a wonderful weekend. Thank you for all your great energy and for bringing out the joy in life :)

San Quintin Farm

For their last 2 months the oysters while away their time in a gently rocking intertidal system. We effectiively provide the housing and they take care of the rest. It is completely natural and we love it :)

Oyster larvae a few days old

Spring is in the air and the hatchery has sprung to life. Here we have a handful of our 80 million microscopic oyster larve that are starting their beautiful journey :)