Fresh fish is no joke in landlocked spot
Walnut Creek Yacht Club has had a running joke for 20 years.
When I told my friend we were dining there, his reaction was: “How can Walnut Creek have a yacht club? There’s no water there!” Precisely. Ever since opening the restaurant in 1997, the restaurant’s owners, Kevin Weinberg and Ellen McCarty, have wrung everything they can out of the joke. Diners are “members,” and when you leave, the host at the door will likely say “see you next week,” even if you haven’t been there for nearly two decades.
With all the nautical flags draped around the interior, the photos of sailboats, the shark above the bar, the menu with headings like Extra Riggings (sides) and Dockside (grilled fish), the entire operation should have sunk by now under its one-note theme.
Yet this restaurant has survived for two decades by serving what many people say is the freshest seafood in the East Bay — and it could compete in freshness with just about any restaurant in the Bay Area.
Since opening day, the supplier has been Osprey, which is owned by Weinberg’s brotherin-law.
The partners, who make sure at least one of them is there every day, have worked to become part of the community. They implemented a loyalty program so that diners earn points that can be cashed in for free dinners; on the oversize daily printed menu, they list the birthdays being celebrated that day.
In many ways the restaurant is still pleasantly locked in the ’90s. Its long menu is designed to please the largest number of diners. If you can’t find something to satisfy here, you’re pretty much out of luck anywhere.
The strength is the fresh fish, which can be grilled, blackened or sauteed. On my visit, only one was from Northern California — halibut ($29); it was perfectly grilled and was even better with the lemon aioli. Diners can choose one or two sauces from nine options. Some, such as stone-ground mustard and dill or citrus scallion butter, have been on the menu since opening. 1555 Bonanza St., Walnut Creek; (925) 944-3474 or www.wcyc.net. Open 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Full bar. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Limited free parking behind restaurant.
Other fish come from around the world: mahi mahi ($27) from Ecuador, king salmon ($29) from Canada, bluenose bass ($27) from New Zealand and rainbow trout ($25) from Idaho.
Fish and chips are some of the best around. The Anchor Steam beer-battered rock cod fillets ($18) are served with a pile of good fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce.
Crab cakes ($16) have also been a perennial. They have a bold seafaring flavor on a puddle of English pea and mint aioli, set next to a fennel, radish and cucumber salad with shallot and almond vinaigrette.
There’s also fried calamari ($11) and sesame noodle salad ($14) with seared yellowfin tuna, rubbed in fivespice powder and served with a sweet chile sauce, peanuts, mint and crisp shallots.
Weinberg also excels at Top Neck clam chowder thick with cream, potatoes and bacon ($9/$11).
The menu covers all the favorites you’d find along a wharf: bay shrimp cocktail ($10), albacore ceviche, seafood Louie ($23-$28) and a pound of steamers, either manila clams ($16) or mussels ($15). The restaurant always features a half dozen kinds of oysters and other raw bar items.
Desserts are also a draw, particularly on our visit. The strawberry and blueberry shortcake ($9) with a huge biscuit comes with enough fruit for two people. An exceptional Tcho chocolate and rum mousse ($8) is topped with coconut whipped cream and two crisp cookies with bits of espresso beans for added crunch and flavor.
I’m surprised they passed up an opportunity to call it Chips Ahoy.