Fish has been around since 2004. In that time, there have been tweaks to the menu — for instance, the requisite beef burger has been replaced by a griddled smash burger made with seasoned trout, and the expected Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc has been joined
by a delicious shandy, an albariño, and a number of nonalcoholic options to drink. What hasn’t changed is the team’s commitment to renewable seafood, or the steady queue spilling into Fish’s outdoor seating area on sunny weekends.
What to order
- Get the chowder, brothy and red with linguica, clams, Madeira, smoked paprika, and cilantro — Portuguese Red. Or, go for New England-style ($8 cup/$12 bowl) with salt pork, surf clams, and celery, that’s somehow still brothy (read: not too thick) despite the cream, unlike so many I’ve had back on the East Coast.
- Both Fish and co-owners Bill Foss and Kenny Belov’s wholesale business TwoXSea require their catch to meet strict criteria, meaning its catch can’t harm other inhabitants or deplete the ecosystem’s greater resources. The proof: King salmon only just returned to Fish’s menu after three years of commercial overfishing dropped Northern California’s population to dangerous lows. To celebrate its return, enjoy the generous (10-12 oz.) bone-in steak ($36) on special, served with a perfectly blackened crust on a bed of charred Brentwood corn with black garlic miso aioli. It wouldn’t be hyperbole to note this was some of the best I’ve had prepared this way.
- It’s wise to order the Dungeness Crab Roll ($43), tossed with proper restraint in only butter, cream, and chives. But the trout dog ($18) is a fun gateway, especially for the seafood-trepidatious. The sausage is housemade, grilled over oak, and finished with any permutation of classic toppings you’d like. Somehow, without the natural casing you’d find on a pork hot dog, it retains a juicy snap.
Insider tip
Fish is a restaurant and a market. While the display case still remains, sadly, it no longer houses the day’s catch as it did a decade ago; the restaurant is just too busy these days. But don’t take that to mean you can’t still purchase their fresh catch to-go. Just ask. On our way out, we grabbed a few pounds of that king salmon to cook at home, along with two dozen Tamal Liwa oysters from Tomales Bay Oyster Company, named as a nod to the area’s indigenous history.
