Go Fish Review
Interesting experiment in all things fish. Best thing about it is we get Hana level sushi (arguably best sushi in North Bay) without driving up to Rohnert Park.
Hours: Mo-Fri 11:30 am - 9:30 pm, Sat - Sun 11:30 am - 10 pm (Sushi bar has the same hours everyday)
Go Fish food
Fish has a surprisingly small voice in Napa Valley cuisine given its location. Another scarcity in Napa Valley is the depressing lack of ethnic food here. GoFish tackles this problem by specializing in fish by marrying California fish dishes with...a sushi bar. Don't laugh. It's not just any sushi bar. It's Ken Tominaga of Hana in Roehnert Park which is one of the best, if not the best, sushi place in North Bay. We used to drive to Hana every now and then, and we were thrilled when we found out we could get Hana sushi in St. Helena.
The restaurant is the brainchild of Cindy Pawlcyn of Mustard's and Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen. I think it's a noble idea, but I suspect the sushi is the foundation of the place. If they just served sushi, the place would still exist and do great business. Once you get the hankering for good sushi, your options are limited in the Valley. That quality of sushi in Napa Valley means the townies can keep that place in business for a while. Without the sushi, I don't know how well the Go Fish concept would work.
GoFish has a bewildering amount of fish to choose from for the sushi including the high-end stuff like uni, tobiko, and toro. Since Tominaga is not a purist, you will see things like foie gras nigiri or filet mignon nigiri. Interesting idea, but both are so strong that it it totally overpowers the rice and you wonder what the point was outside of making an expensive piece of sushi. But the fish is awesome. Fish that just melts in your mouth. Perfect rice. One time, my wife got a bit of connective tissue in her toro which is a bad gaffe (mine was great.) I think that's the only bad sushi experience we've ever had, and we've eaten there quite a few times. GoFish offers some makimono rolls as well, and most of them are quite good. Favorites include Ken's Roll (pine nuts, shrimp tempura, tuna (in some sauce), chopped bell peppers), the GoFish roll (shrimp tempura, wakame (seaweed), pine nuts, ahi poke), and the spider roll. And they're all beautifully presented.
We've had the non-sushi dishes fish before, but found them somewhat underwhelming. They used to have a "create your own fish dish" where you pick your fish, the sauce, etc, but we tried it once with the guidance of the waiter and were disappointed. It wasn't bad, but it was so far behind the sushi that as soon as we took the first bite, we knew we made the wrong choice. Or maybe I just like sushi a lot more than others do. /me loves sushi. I think GoFish recognized this too and removed that part of the menu in favor of prepared dishes that reflect more of chef Victor Scargle's skills. I think they've narrowed down the menu a bit from when the first opened up.
I think where the non-sushi does well are the appetizers and the desserts. One addictive appetizer is their onion rings which are a bit of a misnomer as they're really these small, paper thin rings or strings in a light batter. Not greasy at all and well seasoned. Probably one of the most addictive appetizers I've had. They have this really light, grilled calamari which is a nice change of pace from the typical fried calamari appetizers you see. GoFish's desserts are a pleasant surprise too. We enjoyed the roasted banana-Rum Ice Cream Sandwich, lemon verbena panna cotta, and some strawberry soup dessert that I enjoyed a lot more than my wife did. Their desserts were a lot better than we were expecting.
Go Fish setting and service
GoFish is surprisingly big inside. That was quite a risk to take on Pawlcyn's part for a seafood-driven place. But GoFish can be packed sometimes so it looks like her bet paid off big.
Price of our meal
Typical bill for us for sushi (3 nigiri, 3 rolls), appetizer, 2 glasses of wine, and a dessert: $110
