Gord Martin of renowned Vancouver tapas bars, Bin 941 and Bin 942, opened a top-flight seafood shack called Go Fish overlooking False Creek and promising responsibly harvested, seasonal, local seafood. With seafood so fresh, it wouldn’t take much to make it sparkle. Still, chefs Ian Johansen, Kunal Ghose, and Cameron Barker do a great job. As their sign says, Go Fish is open year-round, “(rain or shine or sleet or snow!)” We arrived during the first and finished our meal with the second. As a bonus, a rainbow even sprouted over False Creek. As an even bigger bonus; we landed one of the four blue tables.
A fleet of fishing boats dock in the adjacent marina. Note the boat touting “wild salmon.” FYI, that’s downtown Vancouver in the background.
Taking a water taxi called an Aquabus to Go Fish is a viable option.
Granville Island Brewery, the first microbrewery in British Columbia, sponsors the daily specials board. There’s usually a “globally inspired” soup and a couple special fish preparations.
Go Fish’s commitment to local fishermen is evident on plates and even extends to their trash bin.
Yellow curry with winter vegetables and “cod confit” was a tremendous soup of the day. Fresh fish chunks soaked up the curry to wonderful effect.
These BBQ Fanny Bay oysters (C$1.50 apiece), from nearby Vancouver Island, were succulent, with smoky flavor from the grill. The saucy drizzle added a nice sweet note.
The Mexican influenced tacone (C$5) featured a soft flour tortilla filled with a mix of flaky grilled wild salmon, cilantro-spiked salsa, and creamy chipotle crema slaw.
Granville Island beer-battered fish & chips came in a bamboo dim sum basket. There was a slab each of flaky halibut and cod. The pommes frites were some of the best fries in years, crispy thick-cut beauties. Served with a dish of tartar sauce and a sesame-tinged Pacific Rim slaw, this was one great basket of food.
This dusted a five-ounce seared cod fillet with “Go Fish seasoning” and set on a bed of carrot-studded saffron risotto. Served with another portion of the Pacific Rim slaw, the plate was still just C$11.
Go Fish is a simple establishment, but they know how to go upmarket and still keep prices downmarket.
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