One of the fun places we visited was The Jolly Oyster. It is located inside of the San Buenaventura State Park (inside of their parking lot!!!) and they serve fresh oysters that come from their oyster farm. They have two trucks standing by. One is selling unprepared oysters and clams by the pound and the other one is offering prepared food including panko fried oysters and scallop ceviche! (my favorite)
I just love the entrepreneur spirit that they have. Their business concept to park their trucks in the state park is so original and really maximizes the resources around them. Their set up is really open ended for creative dining. We saw customers bringing a tent to pitch over a picnic table, a charcoal grill to cook the fresh seafood that The Jolly Oyster offers and a fully equipped picnic (including "real" wine glasses and baguette) to make a French style picnic lunch!
Also it's extremely family friendly. Kids have an open field to run around and all these empty oyster and clam shells to make a castle! It's definitely one of the places where I want to keep going back whenever we drive by Ventura!
p.s. also there was a lovely beach to visit! Harbor Cove Beach is so kid's friendly since it's inside of a harbor and doesn't get whole a lot of waves. Definitely recommended!
