The Great American Fish Company

November 8, 2015

Morro Bay, California – I saw this place after an event last year and made a mental note to visit when I came back this year. The event this year was challenging but it went very well. So I decided to make the outing a celebration of sorts.

The Great American Fish Company – or GAFCO as they are also known – has been around for more than 30 years. They are famous for their mesquite grilled fish and steaks. GAFCO is well known locally. Visitors come from miles around to eat here. According to the website, San Luis Obispo County has voted them Best Seafood Restaurant 12 years in a row. Let’s find out if they are worthy of that honor.

Once you get to the embarcadero, there is plenty of parking in the lot, on the street, or in the lot across the street. GAFCO is very easy to find. Just look for the blue building with white trim and the Great White shark on the roof.

Ok, let’s go inside.

Off to your right as soon as you enter, you’ll find the lounge. The lounge features flat-screen televisions. NFL games are shown during football season.

Continuing on, there is a small aquarium close to the entrance, and a larger one in the center of the restaurant. Vintage twin ship throttle speed controllers, aka engine order telegraphs, add nostalgia and authenticity. Stop here at the hostess station. We will be seated soon.

Depending on how busy they are, you can choose to sit at tables along the wall, in the center of the room, or at a table next to a window. All have fantastic views. Great American Fish Company sits right on the bay. Beautiful vistas greet you from noon on past sunset, especially with the sun reflecting off the water.

As you walk to your table, you’ll notice paintings of Morro Bay on the wall, along with mounted fish here and there. The magic happens on the mesquite-fired grill, which is anchored near the center of the room. You can see the chef preparing your selection on it.

Wood posts, beams, and rafters really enhance the maritime look of the restaurant. Wood chairs belly up to tables of wood with rope on the posts. While being seating, you might see two separate booths, both elevated. One looks like you’re boarding an old Spanish galleon. If you are lucky, you may be seated there.

Once seated, you’ll find sea scenes painted on the tabletops covered in lacquer. On the tables by the windows are figurines such as lighthouses, fish, mermaids, etc. Look out the window and you may see otters and seals playing in water below, sea gulls and pelicans, kayakers paddling around, or boats heading out to sea or a tour of bay.

Ready to order? You’ll find a pretty extensive menu with a plethora of seafood and other items. GAFCO claims to have the largest selection of seafood on the Embarcadero. Once I saw swordfish on the menu, there was no need for me to look any further.

Having decided on swordfish, I wanted to order a white wine to go with it. After consulting the wine list, I chose a local wine: Di Bruno from nearby Santa Barbara ($8/glass).

Swordfish ($26.95) comes with your choice of two side options: red cabbage salad, rice pilaf, sliced tomatoes, or fries. Baked potato and seasonal vegetables are available after 4pm. I opted for the rice pilaf and the red cabbage salad.

The red cabbage salad, a house specialty, tasted like it was dressed with some sort of vinaigrette. It was a nice complement to the cabbage. The rice pilaf is prepared with green bell pepper, julienne carrots, celery, mushroom, and onion. Separate grains were nice to see. Best of all, it was not salty. I appreciate that.

Moving on to the star of the show, one of the first things I noticed was the freshness of the swordfish. Real fresh. Recently caught like yesterday or today fresh. Perfectly cooked, moist, and firm. It was dusted with dried parsley. Though the rub on the swordfish was a bit too much, I still could taste the mesquite flavor. It comes with tartar sauce but that just brought it down to fish and chips level when I added some of it. I did hit it with a quick drizzle from the included lemon wedge. Aside from that, I thought it tasted better without anything else added.

The Di Bruno was a Pinot Grigio. Its light fruitiness was welcome on my palate. It paired very well with the swordfish; the entire meal, actually.

For dessert, the homemade chocolate chip cheesecake ($8) sounded good. When it

arrived, I noticed my slice of chocolate cheesecake had bits of blueberry from the previous cut. No big deal, though.

On top was chocolate fudge, I think. Too thick for ganache. Supporting the cake was a type of chocolate crust. Not sure what the crust was but it was not Oreo. It looked like chocolate caviar with a few chopped nuts. Whipped cream and chocolate syrup accented the dessert.

My first forkful – oh, the decadence! Very rich. Even though there was a lot of chocolate, the flavor of the cake’s filling still came through. Surprisingly, it was not nearly as sweet as it looks. It was exceptionally good, a perfect finale to my meal. I thought about ordering another slice. Consideration of the long drive back home convinced me the second slice would have to wait until next visit. As delicious as this was, I think an Oreo cookie crust would really take this cheesecake up another level.

When you think seafood on the waterfront, GAFCO is probably what you have in mind. Solo diner. Perfect for a romantic lunch or dinner with your significant other. Or even a small group of friends or family. Though they can accommodate larger groups, I think fewer people in the groups are best as it is kind of a more intimate setting.

Does Great American Fish Company deserve the honor of being named Best Seafood Restaurant? In a word, “Yes!”

Great American Fish Company – 5 forks. Very highly recommended. Excellent seafood with a view to match.