350 Harbor Drive, Sausalito, CA | website
Open daily 11:30 – 8:30 (with limited food from 4:30 -5:30)
I wanted to take my father somewhere special to celebrate his 80th birthday. True to character, he did not want to go anywhere with us on the actual date of his birthday, as he was going to eat at Todai, the mother of all seafood buffets where you can eat for free on your birthday (they check your drivers license). He and my mother were going for lunch, and were planning to be too full to go out for a celebratory dinner afterwards… So we planned to go on the following weekend which was even better because the rain had moved on and the weather was so sunny and gorgeous. We decided to go to Fish. in Sausalito because we love seafood and wanted to be outside to enjoy the views and weather. And so we detoured slightly to drive up into the Marin headlands to enjoy the amazing view of the bay.
The restaurant is in a marina and has a nice big outdoor area with picnic tables. You start off by ordering your food and paying for it at the counter, then are given a number so that the server can find you when your food is ready. They drop it off at the table. The interior is bright and clean and open feeling.
We met Mank and CDR who were holding a picnic table with a lovely view and as they had to leave early for another event, they had already ordered. Their food began to arrive soon after we were seated. The Glad Hand Salad was huge so we gladly helped them finish it. It’s served with a zesty housemade dressing from Glad Hand blue cheese that is ladled over a half head of iceberg lettuce with deliciously crunchy homemade sourdough croutons.
CDR had one of the daily specials, 3 Prawn Tacos served on white corn tortillas topped with pickled red onions and served alongside roasted tomatillo salsa, lime crema and salsa fresca. The prawns were battered and fried, my favorite…
We started with a bowl of Portuguese Red, a ribera styled red chowder with a tomato base, linguica sausage, clams, smoked red paprika, and topped with watercress. It was tart and clean tasting, with a thick vegetable consistency that was not rich or creamy, it was hearty and we savored every last drop.
Our favorite dish was the Saigon Salmon Sandwich, which has been marinated and grilled and then served with fresh cilantro, jalapeno and julienned carrots with a housemade Vietnamese ginger scallion sauce.
The salmon was perfectly grilled, juicy and succulent on the inside and a little crispy and chewy on the exterior. It combined with the creamy sauce and crunchy vegetables in the soft chewy roll really well.
It came with a enthusiastically piquant and spicy coleslaw made zesty with lime chili. This was seriously the best coleslaw ever!
I ordered the Crab Roll, which is a west coast rendition of the east coast favorite. It was piled with sweet dungeness crab slathered with butter, salt and pepper on an acme sweet torpedo roll, along with a gigantic pile of perfectly crisped golden fries.
The roll was filled with succulent crabmeat that had been liberally drizzled with rich butter – we sighed and rolled our eyes with delight at the unexpected decadent treat.
We were adventurous and tried another special from the board, Grilled Sardines over pasta tossed with garlic, olive oil and parsley. It was an unsightly dish piled with the little butterflied carcasses, but the flavor of the sardines was sweet and fresh and lightly charred, which added a finger-licking smokey flavor.
The pasta was definitely handmade and had a nice chewy substantiality that held up against the rich dark meat of the sardines.
The restaurant has a great informal atmosphere that is rustic and refined at the same time. There are nice charming touches like serving the beverages in old fashioned glass mason jars and an odd inflatable vulture smoking a cigar overlooks the dining area. I noticed several panting dogs tied to the tables, surely it must be torture for them to be sniffing such delicious smells.
Here is the nice view we enjoyed during our meal.
Another really great thing is that Fish. is dedicated to serving organic and sustainably caught seafood and we were very impressed with the fresh tasting and well-prepared food. The chef, Chad Callahan, worked at Masa’s and there is a definite difference with the food served here than with any other self-serve seafood shack we have been to. The prices are high (entrees are $20ish), but the view from the outside tables combined with the exceptional quality of the food really make it worthwhile. There is also a seafood market that we must return to check out. What an awesome find!
Oh and cheers dad, here’s to many more prosperous years and delicious meals!
Single Guy Chef said,
October 31, 2007 at 10:08 pm
I miss going to Sausalito since I don’t have a car any more, but after seeing your pictures I’m thinking I may hop on the ferry to try this fish place. I like cole slaw too, although I have to say I haven’t had cole slow that red/purple looking. It looked really pickled, but I’ll take your word for it when you say it’s the best you’ve ever tasted. The crab looked luscious too! Oh, and happy birthday Foodhoe’s dad!
Restaurant Reformer | Whitney Gaunte, Fish (Sausalito, CA) said,
February 1, 2008 at 9:14 am
[...] on Fish from around the web: The Chronicle, twice, Foodhoe, Sausalitoeats, Yelp, Metroactive, Citysearch, Tripadvisor, Fork and Bottle , and Off the Meat [...]