San Francisco Fish Company

A niche restaurant in San Francisco’s Ferry Building, the San Francisco Fish Company serves fresh sushi and even fresher clams and mussels to stand out even in the bustling restaurant-filled Ferry Building. They offer seating where other eateries offer none, and attract people with a big open atmosphere.
Seating: Actually existed, a feat in the crowded Ferry Building, which is basically a 1-story mall for restaurants. Even more impressive considering that the day I went was the day that people were allowed to set up tents with food and wares outside, tripling the attractions in terms of live entertainment and available stores to browse. There was a white guy playing Billy Joel, two black fellows playing reggae, and a Mexican playing the guitar (A 3 person mariachi band would have given the sequence a progressive theme). Anyway, seats. The tables on the outer edge of roof on the side were raised  a little, forming a bit of a wall against the noise and people in the walkway, while the insides were sheltered. There were trashcans surrounding the establishment, which were surprisingly rare elsewhere.

Decor: Little room for pictures, but what space was available was taken up by fish specie charts. Their name sign outside also had a fish hanging from it. Besides that, there was no view of the sea besides the sea of hungry people, and the smell was of nothing despite me sitting beside the two tables of fresh seafood.

Actual Food: I ordered two oysters, one with Tabasco and one with lemon juice. I guess the difference between clams and mussels and oysters is that clams and mussels have nice, smooth shells and oyster shells look like the jagged rocks that the main movie protagonist hangs on a cliff over as the main antagonist threatens to step on his fingers. I didn’t really understand how to eat them, but a nice couple beside me told me to just “lower your face and suck”, whereupon the flesh flew into my mouth. They tasted like nothing if it weren’t for the sauce, and I found out that I could not handle hot sauce in any form. I don’t understand their appeal, honestly. These critters just feel like raw meat in your mouth, which they literally are, and don’t taste like much besides a savory umami aftertaste. I also got the best box sushi I’ve ever found. Don’t settle for Sprouts’ $5 Sushi Wednesdays with the hard rice pellets and spiky fish meat, go here instead. They had nigiri and maki sushi, and the ginger and wasabi were in a separate little dish in the corner of the box so their juices couldn’t contaminate my wonderful, entirely non-spicy meal.

Rating: A lively environment that serves only recently killed food, San Fran Fish Company attracts the nicest locals in a fiercely competitive section of town with their calm presence and unique specialties. 7/10 craggy raw oysters.

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