This The Caviar Co review looks at a San Francisco caviar specialist that sells sturgeon caviar, fish roe, ready-to-serve sets and caviar accessories online, and runs a retail shop in San Francisco and a caviar and champagne lounge in Tiburon. We rank it first on our page for buying caviar online because it pairs a clearly labelled range with careful cold-chain shipping and some of the best gift and tasting sets in the category. This is an editorial assessment built from the company's own policies and product pages, regulators, and independent coverage; we do not claim to have ordered or tasted anything ourselves.

The Caviar Co review: our verdict

The Caviar Co is the easiest recommendation for most people buying caviar online for the first time or buying it as a gift. Every caviar on its site names the species, whether it is farmed or wild, and the country it comes from. Sets arrive with the blini, crème fraîche and mother of pearl spoons you need, and its shipping policy and FAQ explain clearly how orders are packed and when they leave.

It is not perfect. There are no returns on caviar, delivery dates are not guaranteed, a few of its pages contradict each other on sourcing, and the farms behind each tin are not named. Buyers who already know which producer they want, or who want the lowest cost per ounce, can do better elsewhere. For everyone else, it is a well run, transparent shop with a strong gifting range.

What is The Caviar Co and who is it for?

According to its Our Story page, The Caviar Co was founded in San Francisco by two sisters, Petra and Saskia Bergstein, and describes its mission as offering a caviar collection built on quality, integrity and sustainability. The same page says the business rests on three commitments: sourcing high quality caviar, educating customers about it, and championing sustainable farming.

Local press coverage fills in the background. Hoodline reported when the Union Street shop opened that one sister had worked for a caviar farm and the other was a former accountant, and that the pair self-funded the business. CBS San Francisco described the company as supplying restaurants in several US cities as well as private chefs, events and home buyers.

It suits three kinds of buyer well:

  • Newcomers who want to try caviar without a guessing game, because each listing explains texture and flavour and the flights let you compare three side by side.
  • Gift buyers who want something that arrives ready to serve, with accompaniments and spoons in the box.
  • Hosts planning a party, since the larger sets are built to serve a group and the FAQ gives a simple rule of thumb for how much to order per guest.

Key features: what you get when you order

A clearly labelled range of caviar and roe

The catalogue covers farmed sturgeon caviar and fish roe. Farmed options include California White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus, farmed in California), Siberian sturgeon farmed in Poland, and Osetra and Kaluga Hybrid farmed in China. Two American caviars are wild: Hackleback from shovelnose sturgeon and Paddlefish, both listed as from Tennessee. The roe side includes wild Alaskan salmon roe, farmed French trout roe, a cold-smoked trout roe and wild whitefish roe from the Great Lakes.

That labelling is the single best thing about the shop. Many caviar retailers give a grade name and little else. Here, every product page states the Latin species name, farmed or wild, and the country of origin, so you know what you are buying before you pay. The FAQ also explains the difference between true caviar, which comes only from sturgeon, and roe from other fish.

Gift sets, flights and the Caviar Club

The sets are where the company stands out. The Variety Flight includes three tins chosen from a beginner, enthusiast or expert selection, with blini or latkes, crème fraîche, three mother of pearl spoons and a tin key, in an insulated cooler. Smaller and larger sets follow the same idea for two people or a party of six. There is also a subscription, the Caviar Club, with tiers that ship monthly, quarterly or twice a year.

Tastings and two Bay Area locations

The virtual tasting page offers guided tastings in which a staff member walks a group through three caviars, with the jars and accompaniments shipped in advance. In person, the Tiburon lounge serves caviar dishes and flights and sells caviar to take home. The FAQ says in-store pickup is available at both the San Francisco and Tiburon locations.

How much does The Caviar Co cost?

Our listing above shows current prices, so here is how the pricing is structured rather than the figures.

  • Single tins are sold by weight. Each sturgeon caviar comes in a ladder of tin sizes, from a single serving up to a full kilogram, with the cost per gram falling as the tin grows.
  • Roe is the entry point. Salmon, trout and whitefish roe cost far less than sturgeon caviar, and Hackleback and Paddlefish sit at the affordable end of true caviar.
  • Sets are priced as bundles and let you pick which caviar goes in, so the same set can be modest or lavish.
  • The Caviar Club is billed automatically per shipment on the monthly tier, and members get a standing discount on caviar.
  • Extras at checkout include optional third party package protection, which the company recommends.

The site often runs promotions and a newsletter sign-up offer, and free domestic shipping applies above an order threshold. Check the basket total, including shipping and any protection add-on, before you compare it with other sellers.

Is The Caviar Co caviar sustainable and legally sourced?

The company's mission statement says it uses aquaculture and sustainable sturgeon farming so as not to affect wild sturgeon, and its FAQ says it sources from responsibly managed aquaculture farms that prioritise fish welfare and environmental care. Most of the range is indeed farmed, and that matters: the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch assessment says aquaculture now accounts for more than 99 percent of global black caviar supply, after more than a century of heavy fishing pressure on wild sturgeon for their eggs.

The nuance is that two caviars are wild, and the shop says so on their product pages. Hackleback comes from shovelnose sturgeon, which the US Fish and Wildlife Service treats as threatened where its range overlaps the endangered pallid sturgeon in the Missouri and Mississippi basins, because the two are hard to tell apart; commercial harvest of shovelnose roe is prohibited in those overlap areas. Seafood Watch rates the US commercial fisheries for shovelnose sturgeon and paddlefish as a Good Alternative, not a Best Choice, noting limited population data and patchy management across states. If you want only farmed caviar, choose one of the farmed species; the labelling makes that easy.

On legality, all sturgeon and paddlefish caviar is covered by CITES. A Fish and Wildlife Service notice explains that caviar imported into or exported from the US must carry a non-reusable label with a species code, a source code, the country of origin, the processing plant and a lot number. The Caviar Co does not publish CITES documentation or name its farms on the pages we reviewed, so you are relying on the species and country labels plus the importer's legal obligations. If farm-level traceability matters to you, ask the company before ordering.

How does shipping work, and is it safe to eat?

The shipping policy says orders ship within one to three business days, Monday to Thursday, and that the largest tins need an extra day or two of preparation. The FAQ adds that orders travel by UPS Priority Overnight, that overnight refers to transit time only, and that every order is packed in biodegradable insulated packaging with frozen ice blocks. It also says the company does not offer scheduled ship dates or guaranteed delivery dates, and it cannot ship to P.O. boxes.

On storage, the Caviar Care page and product pages say unopened caviar keeps for up to four weeks in the coldest part of the refrigerator, should be eaten within three to four days of opening, and should not be frozen. The FAQ says the caviar and roe are not pasteurized. The FDA advises keeping refrigerated seafood at 40°F or below, and lists pregnant people, young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems as groups more vulnerable to foodborne illness; it advises those groups to avoid refrigerated smoked seafood unless it is cooked. If you are in one of those groups, speak to a doctor or other qualified professional before eating unpasteurized or smoked roe.

What could be better

  • No returns. The refund policy says returns are not accepted; defective or damaged items may be replaced, and the FAQ asks you to report a problem within a day of delivery.
  • No guaranteed delivery date. For a dinner or a gift with a fixed date, the company itself suggests ordering one to two weeks ahead, and the shipping policy says it is not responsible for carrier delays once a parcel has left.
  • Mixed messages on sourcing. The FAQ says caviar comes from aquaculture farms, while two products are clearly labelled wild. The virtual tasting page also still lists caviar names that do not match the current catalogue.
  • No named farms. Country and species are listed, but the producing farm is not.
  • Package protection is an extra. Cover for loss, theft and some delays comes through an optional paid add-on rather than as standard.

Who should choose something else?

  • Price-first buyers. If you want the lowest cost per ounce and do not need sets or presentation, a bulk importer or a supermarket tin will cost less.
  • Buyers loyal to one producer. If you know you want a specific farm's caviar, buying from that farm directly gives you the name on the tin.
  • Last-minute shoppers. With processing time on top of overnight transit and no fixed dates, an order placed the day before an event is a gamble; a local fishmonger is safer.
  • Anyone who wants only farmed caviar should avoid the wild Hackleback and Paddlefish, and pick from the farmed list instead.
  • Casual cooks. For a garnish on pasta or eggs, salmon or trout roe from a good grocer does the job.

What other reviewers found

  • Food & Wine put a large field of caviars through a blind tasting and named The Caviar Co's Kaluga Hybrid its pick to eat with potato chips, praising its earthy depth and its bronze colour.
  • The Daily Beast, in an affiliate shopping guide, included the company for making caviar feel relaxed and accessible, and pointed to its in-person and virtual tastings.
  • Travel Curator described it as a women-owned business focused on farmed sturgeon and recommended the Kaluga Hybrid as a firm, nutty, creamy choice.
  • CBS San Francisco profiled the founders and highlighted their stress on transparency and care for sturgeon, along with a range that starts at the affordable end.
  • Hoodline covered the shop's opening and noted the founders' aim of making caviar more approachable for their generation.

The outlets agree on two points: the company's strength is approachability, and its Kaluga Hybrid is a standout. Where they differ is depth. Food & Wine is the only one that compared the product blind against competitors, while the others are profiles or shopping round-ups, and one is openly an affiliate piece. None of them examined shipping reliability or sourcing in detail. For a buyer, that means the taste and presentation case is well supported, and the questions about delivery dates, returns and wild versus farmed species are ones to settle from the company's own policies, as set out above.

Bottom line: is The Caviar Co worth it?

Yes, for most people buying caviar online. It labels every caviar honestly, explains storage and shipping plainly, ships overnight in insulated packaging, and its sets make it one of the easiest ways to give or serve caviar well. Plan ahead because delivery dates are not guaranteed, accept that caviar cannot be returned, and pick a farmed species if wild sourcing concerns you. If price per ounce is all that matters, look elsewhere.

Frequently asked questions

Is The Caviar Co legit?

Yes. It is a San Francisco company founded by two sisters, with a retail shop in San Francisco and a lounge in Tiburon, and it has been covered by CBS San Francisco, Hoodline and Food & Wine. Its product pages name each species and country of origin, and its policies set out shipping, storage and refund terms clearly. As with any perishable order, read the no-returns policy before you buy.

How long does The Caviar Co caviar last?

The company says unopened caviar keeps for up to four weeks in the coldest part of the refrigerator, and should be eaten within three to four days once opened. It advises against freezing. The FDA recommends keeping refrigerated seafood at 40°F or below. Refrigerate the tins as soon as the box arrives, even if the ice packs have partly thawed in transit.

Does The Caviar Co ship overnight?

Yes, but processing comes first. The company says orders are processed within one to three business days, Monday to Thursday, then travel by UPS Priority Overnight in insulated packaging with frozen ice blocks. Large tins need extra preparation time. It does not guarantee delivery dates, so it suggests ordering one to two weeks before an event.

Is The Caviar Co caviar sustainable?

Most of the range is farmed, which Seafood Watch says now supplies more than 99 percent of black caviar worldwide. Two products, Hackleback and Paddlefish, are wild American caviars, clearly labelled as such, from fisheries Seafood Watch rates a Good Alternative. The company does not name its farms, so ask it directly if farm-level traceability is important to you.

Can you return caviar to The Caviar Co?

No. Its refund policy says returns are not accepted because the products are perishable. If an item arrives defective or damaged, the company may replace it, and it may ask for proof of purchase and photos. The FAQ asks customers to get in touch within a day of delivery. Optional package protection at checkout covers loss, theft and some delays.

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