Review

The Bougiest of Bougie Lists of the 15 Best Places to Buy Osetra Caviar Online

Featured image, Osetra Caviar & Beau Soliel Oyster Beignet by Kurman Communications,

Taking on this challenge of “where to buy ossetra/osetra caviar online” felt incredibly intimidating because it comes off as all champagne flute vibes. Although, I plan on providing you everything you need to know to give you that casual Adidas tracksuit feels when it comes to purchasing caviar.

If you are the type to drink from a Champagne flute with your pinky finger up, I have the mother of all lists for you. Although, if you know nothing (like a certain someone who may be writing this), I will help you to break everything down to what you need to know. Da, horosho (I learned a few Russian phrases from my best buddy of three decades who is from St. Petersburg, Russia, so I have a certain kinship to this content).

The Top 15 Google-ranked caviar online retailers/delivery services are listed, along with a price comparison and which companies have the highest web traffic (the most popular website).

What is Osetra Caviar (Acipenser guldenstadtii)

Photo Description: an illustration of the osetra sturgeon which looks like a dinosaur due to it's long body and freckled and spiny looking body.
Acipenser gueldenstaedtii. The history of what people ate and how they came about eating it has got to be an amazing story.

Ossetra caviar is from the Ossetra sturgeon (FYI, it seems as though most people spell it with one ‘s’) and is found in the Russian Caspian Sea. You will not need to know more about this fish, but if you are looking for additional information, many of the vendors below have blog articles on why Osetra caviar is so highly valued to the origins of the Osetra sturgeon (all by CaviarLover.com). 

The Caviar Vendor Basics

You do not have to be a caviar snob to feel comfortable purchasing because almost every vendor helps you along the way to make your purchase as informed as possible:

  • Suggested Serving Sizes: As a rough rule of thumb, approximately 1.75oz/50g serves 1 to 2 people, 4.4oz/125g serves 2 to 4 people, to 8.75oz/250g serves 4 to 8 people, and 1.1lb/500g serves 8 to 16 people.
  • How to Serve Caviar: optimal pairings such as crème fraiche, lemon wedges, blinis (Russian mini crepes), to hard boiled eggs and several other suggestions can be found on Markys.com
  • Caviar Spoons (“mother of pearl spoons”) and and other accessories are available on most of the vendor sites below (but you can shop for them on Petrossian.com).
  • Caviar vs. Roe: caviar refers only to sturgeon eggs (not to be called roe, and you can read more on “Raise Your Caviar IQ” on Petrossian.com).
  • Shipping: due to the perishability of items, they know better to have items shipped overnight, so you do not have to be deliberating between economy or express shipping at checkout.
  • Shipping Costs: most vendors offer free shipping on orders of $300 with a flat rate of approximately $25-$30 on all orders except Alaska and Hawaii (you people in the 808 and “I can see Russia from here” land already knew that tho).
  • Less Than Hundred Dollars: you can spend under a hundred dollars although expect to pay a couple hundred for a quality brand/sourced product (1.0oz/28g to 1.75oz/50g).
  • Where Does Osetra Caviar Come from: Osetra caviar does not just come from the Caspian Sea anymore and can be sourced from Israel, Bulgaria, China, Madagascar, and Uruguay.
  • Wild vs. Farmed Caviar: the Osetra caviar in the United States is sustainably farmed because wild caviar is currently banned to help restore the wild sturgeon population (“Ban on trade in wild caviar as sturgeon stocks plunge” via the Guardian).
  • Osetra Sturgeons Cousin: a homie to the Osetra sturgeon is the Beluga “Great” sturgeon (also no relation to the Beluga whale) which lives in the same sea and is also on the critically endangered list.
  • Keep Refrigerated: Store at 32ºF to 34ºF
  • Shelf Life (Varies): Four weeks refrigerated to six weeks in the metal tin.

1001 Osetra Caviar Delivery Services

I am only going to list the top 15 osetra caviar online sellers (all listed in alphabetical order).

  1. BesterCaviarStore.com, 10% discount code with your email, along with free overnight shipping (USA), and they offer Russian and Siberian osetra caviar. Also, they are “bester” than the “bestCaviarStore” (I’m making a joke, till it’s not funny anymore when I come out with bestessCaviarStore.com).
  2. CaviarLover.com, massive selection of caviar from Beluga hybrid, Kaluga Amur, Kaluga Premium, Royal Imperial, Imperial Russian Ossetra, to Crown Russian Ossetra. CaviarLover is out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and they are the same company as HouseofCaviarandFineFoods.com (the Bemka Corp) which has been in business since 1984.
  3. CaviarRusse.com, the company has restaurants in New York, Beverly Hills, and Miami and sells a unique selection of their finest caviar available. The product range includes Osetra, Beluga, and American caviar, exclusively imported and sourced from artisanal, small-batch, sturgeon farms in Germany. They also flat out and state that they do not source from China or Chinese sources, differentiating themselves from the rest of the market.
  4. CaviarStar.com, Great Atlantic Trading is out of Ocean Isle Beach, NC and has been in business since 1991. They offer 10% off with your email, and they only offer free shipping for orders over $500 (the highest amount by all the vendors listed). They may not have enticing shipping rates, but the three decades they have been in business must be the reason why they rank #2 for monthly web traffic.
  5. Citarella.com, a seafood store in Manhattan’s Upper West Side that has been around since 1912, but it was bought by Joe Gurrera in 1983. The site is not focused on caviar (they were out of stock at the time of this post), so I am not going to highlight the business although they are listed because they were part of the top 15 search results.
  6. GourmetFoodStore.com, they seem to carry about everything from caviar, smoked salmon & seafood, foie gras & pate, to truffles & mushrooms (the list goes on and on).
  7. GourmetFoodWorld.com, 10% off with email (the same company as Gourmet Food Store), but their focus is cheese & butter, wagyu beef & charcuterie, baking & pastry, molecular gastronomy, to chocolates & desserts.
  8. HouseofCaviarandFineFoods.com, is out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and are the same company as CaviarLover.com (the Bemka Corp) which has been in business since 1984. The one thing that has this company standing out from the rest, is that they show off their staff (that is a huge plus for me because it feels like fam).
  9. ImperiaCaviar.com, 10% off your next order with your email, and is based out of Los Angeles, California. The company was founded by Sony Mordechai who also operates a kiosk at the Westfield Mall in Santa Monica (you can order with Doordash or UberEATS and free shipping is offered on orders over $300 (otherwise a $30+ flat-rate applies to all orders). Imperia offers both Kaluga Hybrid and Ossetra caviar which are sustainable and 100% eco-friendly farmed.
  10. Kolikof.com, caviar and gourmet foods from meat and seafood. They also tout that Michelin Star chefs prefer them (along with a quote from Nobu Matsuhisa), and they use the best sources in the world. Prices start at $105 for Golden Russian Ossetra caviar to $135. The business has been around for 35 years and was started by Jim Miller.
  11. Markys.com, “Since 1983” is what they tout under their logo, and since 2001 they have been offering domestic surgeon caviar by Sturgeon Aquafarms. The farm is meant to protect and preserve endangered sturgeon species and it is the only Beluga farm in the U.S. (along with being HACCP certified). Marky’s/Optimus Inc., is out of Miami, FL.
  12. Olmafood.com, The Brooklyn, New York company offers a range of Beluga Sturgeon, Russian Osetra, Kaluga Royal, Siberian Osetra Aurora, and several other types of caviar. The company has been in business since 2001 and is a direct importer, producer, distributor of caviar in the USA. OLMA is also HACCP certified.
  13. OmCaviar.com, 10% off with your email address and this website is one of the only ones that feels it is necessary to heavily market the benefits of caviar (I think it is because they are at a loss of how to brand and market a business). It also does not get any better with their “About Us” which only says they are “caviar enthusiasts.”
  14. Petrossian.com, the most “foo foo” and robust website also has some serious credentials because they have been in business since 1920. The Petrossian family is focused primarily on providing the finest caviar and smoked fish, and they have locations and restaurants throughout the world. The business may have been born in Paris, but Petrossian has locations in Brussels, Las Vegas (Bellagio), New York City, and West Hollywood (their menu).
  15. SasanianCaviar.com, imported and wild American caviar and one of the most amateur sites of the bunch. Although, logistics wise “our company packs Caviar fresh to order and ships in thermo-secure boxes overnight, nationwide. We guarantee our cherished clientele pure satisfaction.”

The standouts as full-fledged, caviar-focused, decades-old operations are obvious from their website, which include Caviar Russe, Marky’s, Petrossian, Kolikof, and OlmaFood (the vast majority of these operations are out of the East Coast from New York to Miami, Florida).

An Extra One From the West Coast

  1. Tsar Nicoulai Caviar, I just had to look this one up because I kept coming across this brand through acquaintances (my homie in the Bay Area), and here is why they kept popping up. It is because they started in San Francisco in 1984, and they include all the key buzzwords “small-batch, handcrafted, without the use of antibiotics, growth hormones, GMO’s, or synthetic preservatives.” On top of that, they tout they are “pioneers of sustainable, farm-to-table, American caviar.”
Photo Description: a pure stark white bowl with Golden Osetra Caviar, Sicilian Pistachio, IPA
Golden Osetra Caviar, Sicilian Pistachio, IPA. Image courtesy of Lou Stejskal

The two West Coast companies are Imperia Caviar (Los Angeles) and Tsar Nicoulai (San Francisco).

The Paid Caviar Delivery Service Advertisers

I chose a bunch of key phrases such as “osetra caviar,” to see who the big advertisers are. The list below is not an ideal indicator who you should buy from, and I would only recommend three of the five below (two are leaders in the caviar marketplace).

  • GoldBelly, major retailer
  • Imperia Caviar, major up and comer
  • Markys, industry leader
  • OmCaviar, newcomer
  • Petrossian, industry leader

Caviar Sellers By Approximate Web Traffic

These numbers are for approximate monthly web traffic, and they will be off from the actual numbers, although they are good enough to give you an idea of how competitive (or uncompetitive) these companies are. Also, the 3rd column is for the approximate number of paid ads because acquisition costs (getting you to click on their web link) takes Kardashian-sized bags of loot.

(1st) for monthly traffic is Marky’s, (2nd) Caviar Star, (3rd) House of Caviar and Fine Food, (4th) Caviar Lover, and with one of the business standouts out of the bunch being Petrossian coming in at (5th) place.

COMPANYMONTHLY
TRAFFIC

PAID
ADS
Bester
Caviar
Store
60283
Caviar
Lover
21,954
#4
410
#5
Caviar
Russe
4,9339
Caviar
Star
34,986
#2
415
#4
(Citarella)(35,754)(42)
(Gourmet
Food
Store)
(91,408)(2,279)
(Gourmet
Food
World)
(36,994)(34)
House
ofCaviar
andFine
Foods
22,424
#3
259
Imperia
Caviar
11,288838
#2
Kolikof4,23999
Markys43,452
#1
1,306
#1
Olma
food
1,485588
#3
Om
Caviar
95325
Petrossian13,638
#5
325
Sasanian
Caviar
4,111206
Tsar
Nicoulai
1,9550
The listings in parentheses are for sites that are not dedicated caviar websites.

Osetra Caviar Product and Price Comparison

The comparison intends to do an apples to apples comparison by type of caviar (Russian Osetra), along with comparing a small quantity (typically 1oz/28g) to a large (17.6oz/500g) quantity purchases (there are even larger options in the pounds costing tens of thousands).

COMPANY.5oz/14g
1oz/28g
PRICE
1.75-3.50oz
50-100g
PRICE
3.50oz+
250g+
PRICE
Bester
Caviar
Store
Russian
Osetra
(Indian
Ocean)
3×1.75oz
(150g)
$249
(Caspian
Sea)
1.75oz
(50g)
$169
Malossol
1.76oz
(50g)
$129/Amzn
Osetra
Karat
Black
(Caspian
Sea)
17.6oz
(500g)
$899

35.2oz
(1kg)
$1,750

Malossol
3.50oz
(100g)
$199/Amzn
Caviar
Lover
Imperial
Russian
Ossetra
1oz (28g)
$114
Crown
Russian
Ossetra
1oz (28g)
$96
Imperial
Russian
Ossetra
3.5oz
(100g)
$391
Imperial
Russian
Ossetra
35oz
(1000g)
$3,795
Caviar
Russe
Platinum
Osetra
1.0oz (28g)
$345
Classic
Osetra
1.75oz
(50g)
$165
Gold
Osetra
1kg
2.2lb
$10,295
Caviar
Star
Caviar Star
Karat
Israeli
Osetra
Caviar
1oz (28g)
$75
Caviar Star
Golden
Dynasty
Impertial
Osetra
Caviar
2oz (56g)
$135
Caviar Star
Karat
Israeli
Osetra
Caviar
16oz
(453g)
$1,200
CitarellaOut of
Stock
(at the
time
of this
post)
Out of
Stock
(at the
time
of this
post)
Out of
Stock
(at the
time
of this
post)
Gourmet
Food

Store
American
Osetra
White
Sturgeon
Caviar by
Marky’s
1oz (28g)
$82.13
American
Osetra
White
Sturgeon
Caviar by
Marky’s
35.2oz tin
$2,771.10
Gourmet
Food

World
Same as
Gourmet
Food
Store.
Same as
Gourmet
Food
Store.
Same as
Gourmet
Food
Store.
House
ofCaviar
andFine

Foods
Same as
the
Caviar
Lover
Same as
the
Caviar
Lover
Same as
the
Caviar
Lover
Imperia
Caviar
Royal
Osetra
Caviar
3.5oz
(100g)
$169
Kaluga
Hybrid
3.5oz
(100g)
+1oz(30g)

$169
Royal
Osetra
Caviar
59.2oz
(1680g)
$1,345
KolikofRussian
Ossetra
Caviar
1oz (28g)
$105
Golden
Russian
Caviar
1oz(28g)
$135
Golden
Russian
Triple 0
1.75oz
(50g)
$255
Russian
Ossetra
Caviar
8.75oz
(250g)
$825
Golden
Russian
Caviar
2.2lbs
(1 kilo)
$4,830
Marky’sAmerican
White
Sturgeon
Caviar
1oz (28g)
$82.13
American
White
Sturgeon
Caviar
3.5oz
(100g)
$278.69
Olma
food
OLMA’s
Russian
Osetra
Caviar
.5oz (14g)
$37
1oz (28g)

$72
Siberian
Osetra
Aurora
Caviar
.5oz (14g)
$30
1oz (28g)

$59
OLMA’s
Kaluga
Royal
Caviar
2oz (56g)
$128

4.4oz
(125g)
$275
OLMA’s
Russian
Osetra
Caviar
17.6oz
(500g)
$1,169
Siberian
Osetra
Aurora
Caviar
17.6oz
(500g)
$932
Om
Caviar
Ossetra
Caviar
1.76oz (50g)
$75
59.2oz

(1.68kg)
$1,345
PetrossianRoyal
Ossetra
Caviar
(the most
popular)
30g, $123
Special
Reserve
Ossetra
Caviar
30g, $406
Royal
Ossetra
Caviar
(the most
popular)
50g, $201
Special
Reserve
Ossetra
Caviar
50g, $664
Royal
Ossetra
Caviar
(the most
popular)
500g,
$1,950
1kg,

$3,900
Special
Reserve
Ossetra
Caviar
500g,
$6,450
1kg

$12,900
Sasanian
Caviar
The Classic
Osetra
1oz (28g)
$65
Osetra
Supreme
1oz (28g)
$85
The Classic
Osetra
16oz (1lb)
$1,040
35oz (1kg)

$2,275
Osetra
Supreme
16oz (1lb)
$1,360
Tsar
Nicoulai
Golden
Osetra
(Greece)
1oz (28g)
$225
Golden
Osetra
(Greece)
2oz (56g)
$450
Golden
Osetra
(Greece)
17.6oz
(500g)
$2,999
I am sure that Google will end up aggregating pricing in the future, but until that happens, here you go.

Like most industries, it appears that several businesses offer up an affordable and competitive product from China, and you can watch the news story by SkyNews on Kaluga Queen, a mainland China producer.

They are the largest producer of caviar in the world and responsible for 30% of world production.
Photo Description: caviar served on a piece of coral. The blackish grey colored caviar is from the osetra sturgeon is a nice contrast to the whitest and corse piece of coral reef.
Russians may have plenty of Osetra caviar, but we have bananas. Yea, banana’s, and my Russian buddy Sveta would tell me how hard it was to get them. Image by K Tao.

How accessible is
1oz (28g) of caviar?
Marky’s $82.13,
Caviar Star $75,
OLMA food $72,
and
Imperia offers
4.5oz (130g) for $169.

Приятного аппетита (priyatnogo appetita)

Trying to make heads or tails of all these vendors seemed so overwhelming and intimidating at first, although I tend to enjoy the challenge because worthy competitors stand out from the crowd. So it was easy peasy in the end.

Caviar icons created by Eucalyp – Flaticon

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