Robbie Torrise, Robbie's Ocean Fresh Seafood

Wholesaler

Tucked unassumingly on the northwest end of Monterey’s Municipal Wharf II, stands a small fish business that packs a punch through the Monterey Bay area and beyond. Robbie Torrise has run his namesake seafood business on the wharf since 2000 and has been in the industry for more than 35 years — with a few years early on hauling in the catch before he took to the tidelands, connecting fishermen and chefs.

“I love the camaraderie, I love the work ethic, whether it be on a fishing boat or in a kitchen,” Torrise says as he’s cleaning a fresh caught California king salmon while wearing fishing boots and a heavy-duty apron.

Large statured with a playfully boisterous demeanor, Torrise brings character and charisma to Monterey’s working waterfront. He sees his position as less a fishmonger and more a facilitator bringing both ends of the local seafood supply chain together. 

“I have a great relationship with chefs in the area. I’m their eyes and ears on the ocean,” Torrise says. 

At Robbie’s Ocean Fresh Seafood there’s no display case, lists of fish, or prices, just a cleaning table in the main room with a large walk-in refrigerator toward the back. The most recognizable aspect of Torrise’s business is a small fleet of trucks and vans delivering seafood as far as San Francisco.

He tries to always keep the local catch in stock but he also sources seafood from outside the area, including farm-raised oysters from Washington State. And while he doesn’t consider himself a retail operation, he won’t turn anyone away looking for fish.

One afternoon in early June when salmon were running and Torrise was running around buying and selling them, a family from Frenso stopped by his shop on the wharf and asked if he was Robbie and said that they had seen good Yelp reviews about his business.

“If I’m here, I’ll help you,” Torrise says. “But it’s always wholesale price, never retail.”

Sounds like a good deal, but trying to catch the frenetic seafood wholesaler while he’s in his shop is like throwing a hook off the wharf — takes a little luck and takes a little skill.