Go Fish, but Stop at the Sushi Bar

A 16-seat sushi bar is the centerpiece of Cindy Pawlcyn's (of Mustard's fame) newest restaurant, Go Fish. Located in St. Helena, the restaurant opened last fall to mixed reviews. I was skeptical from the start because it is one of the few Napa Valley restaurants that always has availability on Open Table. Not a good sign.

The restaurant is known for their ultra-fresh fish flown in daily. They are also known for their "expansive menu and wine list." Yes, the fish was fresh, yes the menu was expansive (jack of all trades master of none is what comes to mind when I hear boasts about expansive menus); and if you call having three Pinot Noirs and three Chardonnays by the glass expansive then...well...we will agree to disagree.

The service was lousy. Our waiter was sarcastic and not well versed on the menu, wines or food and wine pairings. After reviewing the menu, I asked about an item I had seen on the website menu - a Thai curry noodle dish. The waiter sighed and said that if I was looking at the menu on the website then I was "way behind the times". Apparently they don't update the menu and haven't since they opened. Maybe they should. In any event, insulting me within the first five minutes of sitting down certainly did not bode well for the tip I was going to leave.

My husband asked if they paired wines and was told yes. He then asked what would best accompany his entree and was asked what he liked. He said that he liked lots of wines and wanted to know what would pair best. This went on for awhile. He finally settled on a Pinot. I also asked for a wine pairing with my entree and was told that I should have the same wine that my husband was having. We like to try different things so I asked what the difference was between the three Pinots on the menu. The first one was "jammy" according to our waiter. I asked again about how the other two differed from the "jammy" one. He appeared flustered (but the sarcasm stopped), could not describe the other Pinots and said he would bring me a different Pinot to try.

We started with some sushi: they were out of the butterfish so we settled for Amerjack, Maguro and Tai Snapper. This course was excellent. Next we shared an heirloom tomato salad with "lamb chopper" cheese, basil and a red wine vinaigrette. Our waiter informed us that "lamb chopper" cheese is a fancy name for goat cheese. Turns out it wasn't. I'm not sure what it was but it was sliced and tasted an awful lot like Swiss. I didn't taste any red wine vinegar either - just unflavorful olive oil. Fortunately it's hard to mess up the amazing fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes in The Valley. They were ripe and delicious.

For my main course I had the Ahi tuna with Olive & Piquillo Pepper Tapenade with a side of Cilantro Basmati Rice. The tuna was served rare upon my request, however it was stone cold in the center. The best restaurants inject the fish with warm liquid using a syringe. Not this place. The Basmati Rice was sauteed in an excessive amount of peanut oil. The chef must have been trying to justify the $5 charged for the rice, covering it with sliced almonds and pickled mangos, resulting in a dish with too many competing flavors.
My husband selected what our waiter said was the restaurant's signature dish: Miso Marinated Black Cod with a delicate Shitake broth. Served on a crispy rice cake, the fish and miso flavors infused the clear broth. This was, by far, the highlight of the meal.

Based on the food and service quality throughout the meal, we opted to have dessert at Meadowood instead (separate blog review forthcoming).

Bottom line: Go at lunch; go for sushi only -- avoid contact with the waitstaff. And if your time in the Napa Valley is limited, skip it altogether.