Finally, great seafood in Napa: Cindy Pawlcyn's latest venture, Go Fish, includes sushi master Ken Tominaga

Reviewed on Sunday, October 29, 2006

The Napa Valley has many restaurants that serve thick, juicy steaks that stand up to its world-famous cabernet sauvignons. But until now, it didn't have a dedicated fish restaurant to pair with its equally delicious chardonnays and sauvignon blancs.

Go Fish in St. Helena, the latest venture from restaurateur Cindy Pawlcyn, fills that niche to overflowing. She's teamed up with sushi master Ken Tominaga of Hana Japanese Restaurant in Rohnert Park to create a truly global fish house. Seafood is flown in daily from Asia, Hawaii, Europe and the coasts of North America.

The building was formerly Pinot Blanc, a restaurant with Los Angeles-style class that never really succeeded. The Napa Valley's elegance has always been a thin veneer over a jeans-and-T-shirt world of grape farmers and hose pullers.

That insight is shown perfectly in the simple decor of Go Fish that, when you look closely, has some very elegant touches. The long sushi and sashimi bar that zigzags back into the restaurant is topped with Carrera marble, hewn from the Tuscan mountain that yielded stone for Michaelangelo's sculptures. The metallic blue, black and coppery fish that separates the sushi bar from the dining area is a brilliant piece of work. The floor is set with thousands of minitiles. Pillows and plush banquettes are upholstered in rich Donghia fabrics.

The architect was the renowned Howard Backen, whose office is just a few hundred yards away. Backen's overall design for Go Fish is luxurious simplicity with Japanese overtones.

Pawlcyn's hand is evident in the relaxed, friendly feel of the place, a little more upscale than her other Napa Valley restaurants (Mustards and Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen), but not at all snooty. The David Bowie and B.B. King on the sound system help keep the place grounded. Tables are set simply, with white linens, a salt cellar and a pepper grinder. The lighting is soft.

Service is first-rate. Whatever utensils are left on the plate will be removed with the finished dishes and replaced immediately. The staff is coolly efficient and warmly engaging. I found myself thinking, ''I like being here.''

That feeling only increased as I perused the wine list. Prices are reasonable -- not always true at Napa Valley restaurants -- and the range of wines, especially the whites, is stunning. Yes, you'll find chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, but also a Greco di Tufo from the Naples area for $25, a vermentino from Sardinia for $24, a torrontes from Argentina for $25, a gruner veltliner from Austria for $44, plus riesling, pinot blanc, pinot gris, gewurztraminer, chenin blanc, semillon, albarino, grenache blanc, viognier, roussanne and more from regions around the world. The whites are served cool but not so iced that you can't taste them.

And if you're having sushi or sashimi and want to go Japanese, you can choose among 16 sakes in a wide range of styles.

Let's say that someone in your party doesn't like seafood -- raw or cooked -- or has an allergy. There is vegetarian ravioli, grilled chicken, and a 24-ounce T-bone ($45) on the menu to accommodate them. But it's the seafood you go for.

At $2.50 each, the oysters on the half shell aren't cheap, but the

Atlantic Oysters ($7.50 for three ****) were outstanding. These aren't from East Coast waters, but are the superior East Coast native species of oyster (Crassostrea virginica) grown in the clean, cold waters of the West Coast. The result is the best of both worlds -- delicate, briny, delicious morsels served ice cold with three dipping sauces (real oyster lovers avoid such sauces in favor a squirt of lemon juice).

The sushi bar serves 31 kinds of nigiri sushi and 20 makimono (rolls) sushi. You get two pieces when you order nigiri. The Unagi Sushi ($7 **** ), freshwater eel, reminded me why Tominaga's restaurant in Rohnert Park is so highly regarded. Each of the two pieces was made from white rice, with the grains cooked so perfectly they barely held together, rather than welding themselves into a sticky clump they way they do at lesser places. Two generous pieces of grilled eel were laid on top of each sushi, and a black band of seaweed was wrapped around the middle of each piece.

Four slices of velvety Hobbs' Smoked Salmon ($11 ****) are served under a salad of red and golden roasted baby beet rounds mixed with baby arugula, all ingredients cold and drizzled with creme fraiche. It's no chore eating through the salad to get to the perfect smoked salmon.

Wild-caught prawns from the Gulf of Mexico set the standard for quality, especially if, like these at Go Fish, they are flown in fresh and have never been frozen. Six Salt-Crusted Gulf Prawns ($10 ***1/2 ) arrive shells on, lightly floured and rolled in salt crystals, then flash deep-fried. The prawns are meant to be eaten crunchy shells and all, dipped in the accompanying sweet and sour sauce.