790 Main Street / Downtown Napa / 707 251-5600 / map / web

OVERVIEW: Fresh and sustainable seafood in a trendy and upbeat setting in the new downtown Napa Riverfront development.

WHAT'S GOOD: Wines on tap, micro brewery on premise, fish so fresh it's unbelievable.

THE VIBE: Lively bar in front, patio open to the river on the side, perfect for casual and unpretentious dining.

THE COST: Surprisingly reasonable, <$25 for most entrees, plenty of wines by the glass for around $8.

While most Napa restaurants are bistro inspired, Fish Story takes on a big city urban vibe. The bar is upbeat and noisy, a great place to unwind with friends and a micro brew. Inside, the restaurant eschews the white tablecloth and goes wood table with fishing lures hanging from the ceiling as a sort of modern art decoration. Sounds weird, but it's cool.

Most of the diners were young and enjoying the scene, and the setting was casual enough for jeans and the prices reasonable enough to treat the family. Wines and beer on tap, there's no bottle shock when the bill comes.

The side patio opens to the river on nice days but for dinner I'd wait for one of the nicer tables in the main dining area, especially in the off season months.

 

 

I'm always second guessing my entree decision but when it comes to appetizers, I'm Johnny on the Spot! I order them up with barely a second thought and I'm like a kid on Christmas when they start arriving. Happily, Fish Story has lots of good appetizer options.

Oysters and ceviche, two raw dishes, have to be fresh to be good and Fish Story didn't disappoint. The oysters were plump and succulent, the sauces a perfect compliment. The ceviche had the nice tang of lime and the texture was spot on, a testament to its freshness. The taro chips were a nice touch, though if you get this ask them to bring some extras - they're good!

 

 

I grew up in the Bay Area so I'm partial to Dungeness Crab. You can keep your giant Alaskan King Crab, your supermarket Snow Crab, and east coasters, sorry, but those Blue Crabs are just too much work. To me, nothing is better than the sweet flavor of fresh Dungeness. But it has to be fresh. Just cooked fresh.

Fish Story has tanks of lobsters and crabs along the walls, and they're not just for decoration. The crab on the Louie salad was plentiful, a crab lovers feast, and if they took some liberties with the crab louie recipe it all worked out in the end. A winner. Big winner!

Since I can never decide on the entree I took the chicken way out and let the waitress decide. I was torn between the Day Boat Scallops with Kurobuta Pork Belly and the fresh Sand Dabs served on the bone. But the waitress was pretty eager for me to try the shrimp and grits so that's my decision and I'm sticking to it. Good one? Yes, pretty good, with the creamy polenta (err, I mean grits) and the large pile of shrimp with spicy sauce, if you love shrimp you will love this dish.

My wife got the Black Cod with cranberry beans (scroll over photo to the left to see it) and while the beans were slightly under seasoned the fish was to die for. So fresh and flaky it literally melted in my mouth, the crispy exterior a perfect contrast.

menu

 

Remember when you were a kid and Mom would make pudding for dessert? You know, out of a box? It was good, but hardly gourmet, so when the waitress recommended the Butterscotch Pudding I was skeptical. That is, until the first bite. Creamy and smooth, one of the best things I ate all week... and that's saying a lot in Napa Valley!

When the bill came it was under a hundred for two, which is hard to do in Napa, making this one of the better values for top notch seafood anywhere. There are a lot of good places to eat in Napa and with the opening of Fish Story your decision just got a little bit harder!

Local Wally, 2011

 

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