“Are we in the right place?” is what we thought to ourselves as we approached the gate of what seemed to be someone’s house.

When one thinks of a family-owned restaurant, the family’s role might be unclear. Are they the ones cooking, or do they only own it and oversee operations? At Mariscos Osuna, the family runs every single part from the comfort of their home.

The address to Mariscos Osuna is a home address, in a residential neighborhood. The home was converted into a restaurant, with the back of the house operating like a dining room. Someone takes your take-out order at one window, while there are lawn chairs for people to wait at. Walking to the back of this house, buzzing with life, the patio had 10 folding tables with chairs, a small market with Mexican candies, a fridge and enough people to feel like this was a family barbecue. People around us were chatting, eating and spending time as if they were part of the family.

The menu was completely in Spanish, with plenty of pictures and no prices. It was thin and listed just less than 20 items. After looking at the menu, it was time to order from their seafood only options. Even with such a simple list, we were optimistic.

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One of our dishes, camarones al mojo de ajo or shrimp in garlic sauce, matched its simplicity with the presentation. The dish was served on a styrofoam plate of shrimp doused in sauce. The highlight was the sauce: rich, buttery and flavorful. While the shrimp themselves were slightly on the overcooked side, the sauce helped make the fact that they were overdone still tasty.

The Osuna family has been cooking out of their personal kitchen since 1994. Since then, multiple generations have been cooking, waiting tables and making sure Mariscos Osuna runs smoothly.

“It started because I couldn’t find work,” said Jose Osuna, owner of the restaurant. “(We received) a box of fish a week and two little boxes of shrimp – it started from there.”

This work ethic and family commitment has carried through in all of their operations in the restaurant.

Inside Mariscos Osuna, the family runs every part of the business. Our waiter was a teenager who took our order on a Post-it note. Through the chaos of running a restaurant within one’s house, you can hear an occasional shout of someone telling someone another family member to do something. Patrons were grabbing beers so comfortably, it looked like they were in their home, grabbing a beer from their own fridge.

Of our dishes, the shrimp empanadas were one of the most memorable. They were uneven, flaky, the proper shade of yellow resembling something homecooked and the only dish to come out on a ceramic plate. Warm and especially tasty if you added any sauces from previous dishes to it, they felt even more like they were homecooked.

Regardless of the texture or color of the empanada, we had only received three of our promised four. The waiter immediately told us that the fourth would be out soon. At any upscale or trendy restaurant in Los Angeles, they would likely never mess up your order because they pride themselves on the perfection of each dish. But at Mariscos Osuna, it’s easy to forget that this is not a restaurant meant to win awards like the James Beard Award or a Michelin star – it was meant to serve family and the restaurant’s definition of that word extends far beyond its own home.

From Wyoming, Texas, Colorado and various parts of California, patrons of Mariscos Osuna have travelled far and wide to try their famous seafood. Despite this, Osuna feels proud that people travel for his food, yet is sad that they aren’t able to serve everyone who may walk through their gate.

“It makes me sad when people come when we’re closing. We’re already closed because we have to clean dishes and everything,” said Osuna, who was interviewed by the Daily Bruin in Spanish. “It makes me sad that they leave without eating.”

Our next dish, the shrimp ceviche, was a simple dish with raw fish, tomatoes, cilantro, cucumber and onion all cooked by the acid of the lime juice. It was light and refreshing. The flavor of the shrimp came through but wasn’t overpowered by the acidity of the limes. The ceviche, supplemented by their housemade chips, added a saltiness and crunch that highlighted each component in a way that felt very balanced.

Our last dish was the filete de pescado, or fish fillet. Despite it being a simple dish of fried fish, the freshness alone couldn’t save it from the rather bland flavor. Granted, the taste did improve when we added the sauce from the shrimp or lime, but the dish itself was not memorable. We would not order it again on our next visit.

Was Mariscos Osuna the best seafood we’ve ever had? The answer would be no. However, what makes it stand out amongst any other seafood in LA is their commitment to treating everyone like family. It is quite impressive that they produce the quality of food that they do out of their home kitchen, with a total of four people cooking for the 10s of people who come on a given day. That being said, Mariscos Osuna is definitely a place to visit if you’re looking for a unique, fresh and family-like experience that will have you feel that you’re at your uncle’s barbecue.

“I feel joy in my heart that if we had a larger space, forget about it,” Osuna said. “Bienvenidos todos, y gracias.”