Wild Fish

Service was great, but… food so so. Oysters on half shell that owner raved about were so so. Recommendation for dinner was the sable fish. Fish was under cooked. A big no no for a fish restaurant. We were the first ones in for dinner so was seated at what we thought might be the best table. However, even with a great ocean view, we had to look past a big blue garbage can, empty boxes and other garbage. Not our favorite place. Would not go back

Delicious, delicious, delicious! Not only was the food great, but the service was impeccable. Everyone was so nice, attentive, and made us feel right at home. The views were beyond gorgeous as well. Definitely worth the trip!

Wild Fish was a wonderful meal in a lovely setting. It was fresh, local, and thoughtfully prepared. We had the seafood platter w home smoked fish. The sauces were delicious! We also had the bouillabaisse and Moroccan spiced black cod (sablefish). The cod was perfectly cooked paired w a fresh herbed salad. So delicious. We also had the Rose geranium lemonade: a must. It was interesting and aromatic, one of a kind! Finally we had the sticky toffee pudding and strawberry rhubarb semifreddo. The semifreddo was delicious but the sticky toffee pudding was número uno: rich and fantastic. Overall I recommend this place if you love seafood and interesting flavors you won’t find everywhere.

Some of the best prepared fish dishes that I’ve had — ever. And I can truly be a critic here as I am a veteran line cook of Le Bernardin, NYC.
Fresh, cooked to perfection, flavourful and interesting compositions. Great service — truly hospitable with no Bay Area snarky attitude.
This little hidden restaurant is a gem. And if you are lucky enough to get a table, do not miss the opportunity to dine here. The wines are amazing too…

For starters, loved that it is in a town called Little River. Fantastic intimate ambience. Not only blown away by the fish, but also the quality of the vegetables. Owners took time to chat with us despite being a busy Saturday night. We were in Mendocino for three nights and two of the nights we came to Wild Fish (and this is coming from people that live on the coast in Vancouver, BC!!!)

This place could compete with any 5 star restaurant in Los Angeles. The food was spectacular.
It’s a little tiny 10 table restaurant. You must guarantee your reservation with a credit card — but do it and make sure you get there! I had the most incredible Halibut and my boyfriend had the Whole roasted fish. The wine selection was fabulous and the service was great too. We highly recommend.

We had the salmon and petrale sole, special mussel soup, two glasses of wine, one dessert and a coffee. Entrees were ample and service was very good.
As noted with a $$$ designation, bill without tip was $ 137, a bit on the high side but it is all fresh and local.

What a wonderful meal! The restaurant is right off Highway 1 and in back of a little gas station. The view is amazing and the décor clean and quaint. We started off our meal with the Bibb lettuce served with smoked fish and it did not disappoint. My wife had the sole cooked in parchment paper and served with a sticky rice and I had the salmon with was by far the freshest salmon I have ever had (and I eat a lot of it). The sticky toffee pudding at the end put my meal over the top. SO GOOD!!!
Don’t miss out on this lovely spot if you are lucky enough to be in the area.

Truly amazing. In my opinion this tiny little gem of a foodie-​haven is the best restaurant in the Mendocino area, a cut above Café Beaujolais and Trillium. This simple yet elegant creation of a master chef has an aesthetic all its own, from the simple but distinctive artwork to the lovely Jazz in the background, not to mention the cozy ambience and view, every dish is delicious and unique. Can’t wait to go back!

This is a tiny little place tucked in behind a gas station. They serve fresh local fish and have a beautiful local wine list.
My wife had their bouillabaisse and I had black cod with a togarishi crust. We washed it down with a bottle of viogner and listened to the ocean outside.
The black cod was caught late Friday night, cleaned and portioned on Saturday and served to us Sunday at dinner time. It was incredibly fresh and perfectly cooked.
We’ll be back for sure.

Unbelievable location. We walked in, no reservation, at 8:30 pm on a Sunday night. I would normally never do this but we’d just arrived in the area after driving up from San Francisco. We were graciously seated by the friendly waitstaff that promptly attended us with service.
Fantastic wine selections — the best Pinot Noir I’ve ever tasted.
Perfectly executed cuisine of the freshest, organic and local ingredients prepared in unique ways. The strawberries were so fresh, I’ve picked them of the stem but they’ve never tasted as good as those in my spinach salad with creamy blue cheese. Beet fettucine? Yup, and it was amazing. My daughter had dungeoness crab which at $ 38 I was worried it would be overcooked. She said it was ‘the best ever’.
So glad we stopped by instead of going to bed hungry, thanks Wild Fish!

We had an amazing meal here during our recent trip up the coast. When I told my honey that I was going to give Wild Fish five stars, he said, «Yes! I liked everything! Wait… was there something I didn’t like? No! I liked everything, such as [insert detailed list of everything we consumed here].»
They offer up lots of local wine options, which only makes sense based on their proximity to Anderson Valley. We ordered a bottle of white from Toulouse Vineyards. They also offered us still or bubbly water, as well as their focaccia. The focaccia is super soft and flavorful. We were offered another slice, although we passed because we wanted to save plenty of room for the rest of our meal.
To start, we couldn’t resist the wild mushrooms (foraged that morning!) with asparagus and a creamy, delicious hollandaise. We also ordered a half dozen oysters. They give you the choice of mignonette — French (vinegar and shallot) or Asian (rice vinegar/​cilantro/​jalapeño/​lime). The oysters were incredible — some of the best I’ve ever had.
For our main dishes, we both got the chicken. KIDDING. This place is called Wild FISH, not Wild [Insert Other Protein Here]. I got the halibut. It was perfectly cooked — moist and accompanied by crispy bites of potatoes, greens, and a sauce with a nice hint of mint. I restrained myself and didn’t lick the plate… although I kind of wanted to. My honey had the petrale sole, cooked in parchment with fresh herbs, champagne, and lemon, with carrots and risotto. Oh. My. That was good too.
Since we were celebrating (anniversary) we ordered two desserts to share — the crème brûlée and the semifreddo. Both were rich and delicious. The crème brûlée had the perfect burnt top that I love to crack and the floral flavor was a nice change from the standard vanilla.

Two years ago we had a great experience here, a lot has changed in two years. We arrived for lunch and the waitress immediately told us she was sorry there was no music, my husband responded «that’s ok I can sing» — dorky I know, but maybe she could could have at least cracked a smile.
We looked over the wine list and asked what she recommended as a red, she said she doesn’t know, she doesn’t drink, wow, sorry we’re drinking your overpriced wine.
My husband ordered an entrée, and I needed more time, she came back and I ordered my entrée and side, and my husband asked if she remembered his order and she said «yes.»
After our slice of bread (no butter or dipping oil) my order and side were delivered, but no entrée for my husband, she said she didn’t hear him. So, I ate my meal entirely and then he ate his. The waitress did apologize several times for the mistake, but honestly, a comp glass of wine would have gone a long way at that point.
At 1:55 a group of four came in, and the waitress almost didn’t seat them, until it was pointed out that it wasn’t 2:00 yet. A few minutes later another couple came in but you guessed it — too late. You would think if you had just seated a group you could squeeze another couple in, maybe tell them it’s a limited menu at that point… if I were the owner I would see money flying out the window. When we laughingly pointed out that she was turning business away she said she’d rather be at the beach…
To sum it up the food was very good, not great, the ambiance lacking greatly. Too bad. We were looking forward to eating lunch here on day one of our trip and dinner on day two. We didn’t go back for dinner…

A meal with so much potential but ended up leaving such a bad taste in my mouth. Don’t waste your money by eating at Wild Fish. The emperor truly has no clothes on.
After reading the positive reviews on Unilocal,my man and I decided to try Wild Fish. We should have spent our money somewhere else. Like the other experiences of other reviewers, the food COULD have been good but the service was seriously lacking.
1. Took forever to get drinks and refills. After starting with some pellegrino, I ordered the seasonal shrub of strawberry and thyme and my man ordered a simple iced tea. Took almost ten minutes plus to get the drinks. Shrub was good, no complaints. Ice tea needed a refill, but no one even notice in this tiny restaurant with three servers, taking care of ten tables, until we had to ask for one when our salad came. The iced tea never came. We asked again. The server told us that the kitchen had to make the iced tea and it would be coming. We made jokes that they must be hand picking the leaves and roasting and fermenting the tea leaves. The refill finally arrived about ten minutes later. At this point, we had no plans asking for another refill.
2. Salad with the «shrimp» debacle. We order the salad of with strawberries and shaved fennel. We added the shrimp for $ 7. Salad came beautifully composed but the «shrimp» were not shrimp. They were prawns with large heads and legs still attached with thick inedible shells. If we had known, we were going to be shelling and deveining our own prawns while eating a delicate salad, we would have passed. I have no problem eating prawns this way but not in this preparation. Liz, the person who took our order, should have informed us that the «shrimp» came this way.
3. Dessert menu given before main entrée served. We were patiently waiting for our entrée of whole local rock fish to arrive, when Liz offers us the dessert menu. We inform her that we haven’t had our main entrée yet. She disappears. Minutes later our, obviously forgotten now cold, rock fish appears. The fish had great potential. We ate it wbecause we were starving and at this point this meal was becoming horrendously comical and we just wanted to leave. At no point did Liz apologize or attempt to correct this. At $ 34 for this, you would expect the service to be different.
I could go on about not having our silverware replaced after the salad course, our empty water bottle not being removed or asked if we wanted another one, the measly single sliced of «house made» dry and uninspired focaccia preciously doled out like it was the nectar of the gods. Also the prideful description how everything was local yet the halibut on the menu was from Alaska. Maybe, as my man commented, they bought the fish from a local purveyor. Sarcasm intended.
Bottom line. Expensive for what you get. Service lacking immensely. Do not eat here. Also horrible horrible elevator smooth jazz burned my ears.

Went there last week as a party of 4. We were welcomed and seated and given menus. So far so good or at least I thought. Ordered our drinks and dinners.
*** As our drinks were served we were each given a small slice of bread with no butter or dipping sauce. I expected the basket of bread to be left on the table but no. One piece of bread per person. With these prices I expected more bread. Totally cheap!
First order: Wilted Savoy Pomegranate Salad with shrimp (additional price of $ 5). Salad came but no shrimp with it. Told waitress/​owner that shrimp was ordered with this. Her response, «I didn’t hear you», Really, instead of saying I’m so sorry and just leaving it at that. She had a negative attitude. The 2 shrimp came after the salad was almost done.
Second order — Creole Shellfish Platter — overcooked, bland, boring with no rice or potatoes with it. No creole taste.
Third Order — Cod: no taste, fingerling potatoes undercooked and carrots undercooked
Fourth Order —. Sole — no complaints
Owner came over and asked about our dinner. Told them about experience and not happy with it. No offer of a comp dessert or anything! Most restaurants want their diners to leave happy and full, not this place. With their overpriced menu and overcooked and undercooked food would NOT recommend or ever go back there!
Also went over to the Little River Inn after for desserts .Was originally going to eat at restaurant but after our terrible experience we opted for another restaurant. Also, my boyfriend was still hungry so he had to order another dinner after leaving The Wild Fish.
Overpriced…disappointed…never again…

Let’s start out with the fact that I would be comparing this restaurant with Trillium, another upper scale restaurant in Mendocino. We have visited Trillium 3 times in the past and at our last visit we were disappointed in the service and the food. Wild Fish is a very, very small restaurant about 3 miles south of Mendocino. We ordered the Bouillabaisse for myself and the Ling Cod for my wife, a bottle of Pinot Noir and a Desert for a total of $ 170.00.
The Bouillabaisse was good but not outstanding considering its price and the fact that it did not have many «goodies», about 6 or 7 clams, several pieces of white fish and a large shrimp and a piece of bread — not much for $ 32.00. My wife’s Cod was appreciated but not outstanding — it was served on plain white rice rather than something more interesting like black sticky rice.
So, good, but not outstanding food at a high price point.
Perhaps, we will try the Trillium Café once more

This is a lovely little place. Highly recommend making reservations as seating is very limited.
Wild Fish was recommended by a local art gallery owner as we browsed his gallery. We attempted to stop for lunch but when we check the hours realized they close at 2:00 pm to reset for dinner service. We made reservations and came back the next day for dinner and we’re not disappointed.
Menu is short but very upscale fine dinning class. Food was lovely, I have the swordfish which was cook perfectly. Each item on the menu included a wine pairing which is a nice complement to the menu and ordering.
The location is strange, yes it is next to a gas station and a post office, but if you can get over these little items this is a great fine, although pricey.

Reservation for early dinner recommended. We booked our party of 5 at 5pm when they open to ensure we have the first setting available. Of course we read all the good reviews on here and had to try it while road tripping to Mendocino.
Restaurant is small but with the right table you will get a good front view of the Mendocino coast. No high chair for kids so keep that in mind if you have young kids. Luckily our child is 3 so high chair is optional for him.
Food is 5 star rating. Price is expensive but you do get what you pay for high class dining on the coast. Plan on spending an average of $ 30+ per meal. Highly recommend the Seafood Bouillabaisse and Sticky Toffee Pudding for Dessert. They were both very delicious and flavorful.
Great customer service with the owners (husband and wife) and waitress all very friendly and fast to the service.

A romantic weekend in Mendocino requires a suitable dining setting to maintain the mood, don’t you think? After all, Jamie W. and I were staying at the Heritage House, the height of all things romantic with spectacular sunsets, crashing waves and even a gazebo perched on a bluff. But the reviews of the hotel restaurant appeared lackluster, and we just didn’t want lackluster. I noticed this spot when I was looking through local listings on Unilocal but couldn’t tell where exactly it was from the online description. We were surprised it was a compact spot just behind the post office and local market and gas station.
Welcome to downtown Little River. Blink and you indeed miss it which we did trying to find it the first time. I made a reservation at 5PM when they opened because I didn’t want us to miss the sunset back at the Heritage House. There are only six tables for two and a couple of tables for four, so it didn’t take long for the place to fill up. Except for a $ 39 Rack of Lamb for the hopeless carnivores, it was a pescaterian menu highlighting fish caught nearby or elsewhere on the Pacific coast. I took advantage by starting with their special, the $ 14 Salmon Collar which they pan-​roasted with the skin crisped and added a swoosh of a honey mustard sauce (photo:
).
A fairly common dish at sushi restaurants looking to maximize their fish purchases, this version was deliciously moist if a bit light on flavor. Jamie took a healthier route and ordered the $ 17 Arugula and Strawberry Salad which added rhubarb, radishes, toasted hazelnuts, shards of aged Estero gold cheese, and a trio of grilled prawns, all of it drizzled in a vanilla balsamic vinaigrette (photo:
). It was indeed a fresh starter which he segued into the $ 36 Swordfish prepared Moroccan style as it was spice rubbed and grilled and served exotically with basmati rice, stewed heirloom tomatoes and squash medallions (photo:
).
It was a nice twist although the swordfish serving looked a bit small for the price. I think I scored the dish of the evening with the $ 28 Bouillabaisse in which the chef mixed chunks of wild salmon with clams, mussels, prawns, fennel, saffron, carrot and tomato. They were all bathing in a shallow but pungent fish stock, and the creation was topped with a crunchy rouille croûton (photo:
). This satisfying dish best epitomized what the restaurant is all about… in case you’re not clear, it’s about the fish. The complimentary foccacia bread was so addictive that limiting us to two slices each seemed downright criminal (photo:
).
We drowned our sorrows not in wine but in their specialty citrus drinks — Jamie with the $ 6 Limeade and me with the $ 5 Lavender Lemonade (photo:
). They were quite refreshing libations on a brisk summer evening. Even with most of the inhabitants of the Steinhart Aquarium swimming in our respective bellies, it didn’t take much arm-​twisting for us to try the $ 11 Sticky Toffee Pudding, a house specialty date and brown sugar sponge cake ladled liberally with hot toffee sauce and accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream (photo:
). It was indeed a full meal that blurred the line between romance and gluttony.
FOOD — 4 stars… fresh wild seafood nicely presented with the bouillabaisse a standout
AMBIANCE — 4 stars… cute space overlooking the Pacific at sunset
SERVICE — 4 stars… friendly staff, a tight ship run by a devoted husband-​and-​wife team, Kelvin and Liz Jacobs
TOTAL — 4 stars… definitely worth a return visit for yet another romantic weekend

Extraordinary meal! Last night I was in food heaven…
First of all, I love the concept of fresh local fish, produce, wild mushrooms and wine, it is a win win concept for the community. The setting is charming and over the years many small restaurants have succeeded in this tiny place, and Wild Fish is one of them. Four of us celebrated an 85^th birthday and this was a meal we will all remember.
We shared two appetizers, one was oysters with a sauce, they were so fresh… The second was a salad with slices of smoked fish, asparagus, egg, goat cheese and watercress with a dressing, the smoked fish was coveted and wish I could buy some to take home! Bread was also served, I am gluten free and sadly watched the garlic bread disappear.
For my main course, I had the sablefish, and my plate left me in the stars, the fish was grilled to perfection, it was crisped in a ponzu sauce served over a bed of rice. The flavors were just wonderful, and the fish was ever so moist and tender. I was able to steal a bite of salmon and it would be hard to choose which one I would order when I return one day.
We shared three desserts, the rich chocolate torte with no crème was heaven, a lemon basil crème which was pleasantly not too sweet, and the third never made it to my place! Coffee is served with a french presse and cream, it was a nice way to end the evening.
Of course I read the Unilocal reviews and knew I was in for a treat, and I noted some of the complaints and I was curious to see what my experience would be. First of all, this is a tiny place, I believe 7 tables. We made our reservation for 5 pm assure a table at the reserved time. I have family on the coast that have tried to dine here and arrived late for their reservation, they cannot wait for late arrivals, so be on time. Also, a restaurant cannot predict if a party eats slow. I watched a group of women behind us order their dinners and it took almost ½ an hour for them to decide what they would have. If I arrived and my table was not ready and I had to wait 40 minutes, I would happily drive down to Van Damme park which is ¹⁄₈ mile away and sit in the car if it was too cold to be outside and be very content with the view.
The setting is charming, it is attached to a store and post office. It is very coastal and if someone wants a dining room, they should go elsewhere. If I arrived and my table was not ready and I had to wait 40 minutes, I would happily drive down to Van Damme park which is ¹⁄₈ mile away and sit in the car if it was too cold to be outside and be very content…
The owner was so charming, and our server timed out plates perfectly. By the way she was so patient with the group behind us, hats off to her!
I live 17 hours away by car and I will be returning… until my next trip, I will fondly remember our meal and celebration!