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)
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).
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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).
- 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
- 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.”
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.
| COMPANY | MONTHLY TRAFFIC | PAID ADS |
|---|---|---|
| Bester Caviar Store | 602 | 83 |
| Caviar Lover | 21,954 #4 | 410 #5 |
| Caviar Russe | 4,933 | 9 |
| 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 | 11,288 | 838 #2 |
| Kolikof | 4,239 | 99 |
| Markys | 43,452 #1 | 1,306 #1 |
| Olma food | 1,485 | 588 #3 |
| Om Caviar | 95 | 325 |
| Petrossian | 13,638 #5 | 325 |
| Sasanian Caviar | 4,111 | 206 |
| Tsar Nicoulai | 1,955 | 0 |
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 |
| Citarella | Out 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 |
| Kolikof | Russian 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’s | American 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 | – | – |
| Petrossian | Royal 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 |
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.
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
