S.F.'s Ferry Building is transforming. This new restaurant shows its dining future
Now, change is afoot. The Ferry Building management's new strategy appears to be modeled less on Safeway and more on Stonestown, the San Francisco mall filling its storefronts with restaurants that are destinations in their own right. Grand Crêperie, an unassuming French bistro that I thought of as 'the crêpe place,' did not have its lease renewed, for example. Coming soon? Full-service restaurants from the teams behind A16 and Michelin-starred Sorrel.
Daytime foot traffic may be at an all-time high, with office workers and tourists queued up for soft serve and sandwiches. But happy hour and dinnertime have yet to be conquered, and no one is going to plan a night out around a cute crêpe place. In the hopes of luring locals to the Embarcadero in the evenings, the Ferry Building is focusing on marquee restaurants with pedigree.
Nopa Fish is exactly the type of tenant the new, took-her-hair-down-and-switched-to-contacts Ferry Building is banking on. Until 2020, Nopa Fish's space was occupied by another fishmonger, the San Francisco Fish Company, a name so generic I have already forgotten it. Nopa Fish provides the same services — fresh fish in the case, hot food made to order and, soon, prepared foods to-go — but this time, with name brand recognition.
Nopa, on the corner of Divisidero and Hayes, has been a literal neighborhood-defining restaurant since 2006. It's the type of place that friends visiting from out of town will have saved on a decade-old Google map, inquiring, 'What about Nopa, is it still good?' (It is.) Chef Laurence Jossel — who, after a post-pandemic shakeup, is now the sole owner — had been considering opening another concept when one of his longtime seafood suppliers, Joe Conte of Water2Table, approached him with the Ferry Building opportunity. Jossel didn't take long to decide that, in his words, 'this would be a stupid thing to turn down.'
As of now, about 85% of Nopa Fish's revenue comes from the restaurant side of the business, although Jossel and his partner, Holly Rhodes, expect fresh fish sales to increase once they open earlier to coincide with the morning farmers market rush. For now, lunch is the main attraction. If Jossel was serving corn chowder and corn chowder alone, it would be reason enough to stop by ($10 for a cup, $15 for a bowl). The seafood element is morsels of McFarland Springs trout, brined in molasses and beer before Jossel smokes it over cherry wood. The corn kernels retain a bit of a snap — no mushfest here — and the whole hearty jumble is drizzled with a potent basil pesto. Come fall, corn will make way for mushrooms, or maybe squash.
Fish and chips ($25 for three pieces of sustainably caught local rockfish) are requisite fish counter fare, punched up. While I didn't much detect the ras el hanout in the batter, which Jossel says is a tribute to Nopa's popular Moroccan fried chicken, the overall spice profile of the dish rings loud and clear with toasted cumin fries, turmeric pickles and harissa aioli. Fried rockfish also appears on a veg heavy, bánh mì-inspired sandwich ($21). Opt for it, if you're in a bready mood, over the open-faced bay shrimp and egg salad sandwich ($17), which features feather-soft milk bread that offers little resistance to the gloppiness of the topping.
While Jossel, who is currently at Nopa Fish every day, oversees the kitchen, the fish case is the domain of Nate Li. With over 17,000 followers on Instagram, Li is a certified 'fish-cutting celebrity,' Jossel says. In his videos, which I can best describe as ASMR for butchery freaks, @mrniceguy415 breaks down halibut, black cod and bluefin tuna, displaying the translucent carcasses to the camera, not a scrap of flesh left behind. A former employee of Water2Table, Li has exacting standards. 'He's not afraid to turn fish away,' Jossel says. 'If it's not good enough for Nate, it's not going in the case.'
Li and Jossel's combined talents reach their pinnacle in Nopa Fish's chirashi bowl, listed on the menu as 'pristine fish over sushi rice' ($26). If that sounds like hyperbole, try it. The three types of fish change frequently, sometimes throughout the day, but both times I've ordered it, I've been delighted by halibut, bigeye tuna and kampachi. The slices are gently draped over seasoned koshihikari rice, nestled in with avocado, pickles and a wobbly egg, precisely poached in an immersion circulator. Swirl it all together with a dash of soy sauce, and savor it while sitting on a bench overlooking the Bay.
Depending on when you visit Nopa Fish, a bench might be the extent of the seating that is available to you. Two communal tables can accommodate around 20 customers, and although Nopa Fish staff do an admirable job of helping to bus and turn seats, it can be a lousy game of hover-and-wait during the lunch rush. Unless you show up at 3 p.m., it is not a spot for a leisurely catch up.
This, to me, is the slight tension inherent in the Ferry Building's new schema. Management is stacking the landmark with restaurants serving destination-worthy food, but they don't always have welcoming physical spaces to match. Nopa Fish's layout would be perfect if 85% of its business was fresh fish sales, but it just isn't so.
Right next door to Nopa Fish is chef Nite Yun's acclaimed Cambodian spot Lunette, which opened in a space formerly occupied by a butcher shop. When my mother wanted to host a birthday lunch for six family members there, I advised against it, despite the fact that it's gotten even better since my colleague Cesar Hernandez raved about it last year. With counter service and just 30 seats, would a party of seven seniors be able to secure a table? And if so, would they feel comfortable lingering and celebrating?
Nopa Fish is worth a visit, but temper your expectations about the dining experience. On a Saturday, 20,000 visitors pass through the Ferry Building. That's terrific news for Jossel, but you're competing with all of them for a seat.
Nopa Fish
Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday (fish market only from 9-10 a.m.); Sunday and expanded hours coming soon
Noise level: Moderate
Meat-free options: Crispy tofu sandwich ($18, vegan); summer salad ($12)
Drinks: A California white, rosé and chilled red are available by the glass ($15-$18); housemade lemonade, strawberry limeade and Arnold Palmers ($6-$7)
Best practices: If you're coming during the lunch rush, be prepared to either take your order to-go and sit elsewhere in the Ferry Building or do the awkward hover-and-pounce dance. After 2 p.m., seating should be wide open.
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