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We were excited to try chef Cindy Pawlcyn’s restaurant Go Fish since we had a fantastic meal at her other establishment Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen earlier this year. When we arrived the decor was similar to other Pawlcyn joints — homey and comfortable. The menu was a cross between a Pier 39 seafood shack (with items like chowder/fish & chips) and a Japanese sushi bar. It was a weird combo but I thought if anyone could make it work she could. My first impression of the menu was that the sushi was over priced at $10-20 per roll. Luckily, I came in craving fish not sushi or we would have been in for a whopper of a bill. We did decide to order a Spider roll as an appetizer because I wanted to see if the sushi was worth the hefty price tag. The $12 roll arrived and it was just crab rolled up in rice NO avocado, lettuce or cucumber. It was the most boring, unoriginal version I have ever had, and to boot there was only 5 pieces not 6. Maybe the chef got hungry… For a main course I chose the cod with clams and Mike the branzino with mushrooms. I was surprised to see such a limited selection of fish entrees. When they arrived they were fresh but tasteless. The fish had no seasoning whatsoever, not even salt. We both barely got through our dishes. I will say that the 4 miniature clams on my plate were out-of-sight. I wish I had ordered a big ol’ bucket of them. After all that I was ready to bolt but Mike was still hungry so he ordered dessert. It was the highlight of the night – a pear pandowdy (like a tart). Needless to say we were highly disappointed with our dinner. As we left there was a gang of people waiting to Go Fish… I just don’t see why this place is popular, maybe because it’s one of the few sushi spots in town? I hate to say it but I’d rather go to Red Lobster.
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Website: http://www.gofishrestaurant.net/
Filed under: Napa Valley | Tagged: Cindy Pawlcyn, food, go fish, napa, restaurant, review, St. Helena | Leave a Comment »
For our first night in Napa we decided to check out Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena. The owner Cindy Pawlcyn, is the James Beard award-winning cookbook author, Chef and owner of Mustards Grill, so we knew it would be good. It was a beautiful evening so we chose to sit outside on the small patio under a large 100 year old fig tree. Light Jazz music pumped through some speakers. Don’t expect a loud, mardi gras like environment. Some colorful hand blown drinking glasses and rooster signs are as crazy as you will get. Cindy’s serves up home inspired dishes in a charming rustic setting.
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