A new fast, casual “fish shack” has opened in the heart of downtown destination town, but there’s nothing casual or shack-y about the quality of the cuisine.
The Mystic restaurant’s owner and food creator is Chef David Standridge, last year named best chef in the Northeast by the prestigious James Beard Foundation.
He also owns the acclaimed Shipwrights Daughter restaurant, also in Mystic, and is part of the Heidenreich Hospitality Group.
Kathleen and David Standridge own the new Mystic restaurant. He last year was named best chef in the Northeast by the prestigious James Beard Foundation. (Rane Gram)
“We’ve been working on this for years.” Standridge said. “We’re excited to see it come to life.”
Mystic Fish Camp is located in the heart of downtown right on the banks of the Mystic River and near the historic Bascule Bridge.
Just as he does at Shipwright’s Daughter, Standridge promotes sustainability at every turn, making use of fish, fauna and other products of the sea not in demand by commercial fishermen.
Every detail at the new place is “intentional,” he said.
“We created that feeling of community,” Standridge said. “We created that summer camp vibe.”
They call it fish camp because the “shack” fosters community and is intended to harken people back to a time fisherman gathered after a day of catching, said the chef’s wife, Kathleen Standridge, creative director of the hospitality group.
The website says it’s “inspired by a time when life moved slower and fishermen gathered by the water to share their catch…”
The couple says the new place is “fun and nostalgic.” They opened Labor Day weekend.
But it’s hardly shack-like decorated inside with a whimsical camp-like theme, and dark green walls.
And with Standridge as chef, the food is not like any seen at a typical banks of the river fisherman’s gathering.
All the sauces (except the ketchup and soy sauce), the rolls, the breads, the breadcrumbs are made from scratch.
The burgers are fresh, not frozen before they’re cooked and the fish is fresh and local, caught only miles from the restaurant.
Staying true to their ideals, the food at Mystic Fish Camp is served on compostable disposable materials, rather than the handcrafted glass plates at nearby Shipwright’s Daughter.
The restaurant, kind of a grab and go/order online place is at 4 East Main St., next to Mystic River Park where many elect to eat and watch boats go by.
They are open Thursday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The restaurant has eight seats inside, plus standing tables and a window seating bar. Guests are permitted to bring their own alcohol.
Kathleen and David Standridge at the new Mystic restaurant. He last year was named best chef in the Northeast by the prestigious James Beard Foundation. (Rane Gram)
The extensive menu includes fried local fish of the day; BBQ swordfish; salt and vinegar onion rings; fish sticks made with the fish of the day, pressed and breaded with bay leaf tartar sauce or cocktail sauce; fried local oysters with togarashi aioli; fried clam strips with fries; cheeseburgers; Caesar salad with yellowfin Caesar dressing, croutons and crunchy gremolata; green crab bisque; daily conserva, a local seafood preserved in olive oil, vinegar and seasonal aromatics, and tartare bowl.
Everything that’s fried is done so in beef tallow because it’s tasty and crisps well, the chef said.
Even their handcrafted dessert has a camp theme: S’mores ice cream made with graham cracker cake chocolate ganache, and toasted marshmallows.
A nice dish that illustrates the sustainability philosophy, the chef said, is the poor man’s lobster roll of poached monkfish warmed in green crab butter with herbs, lemon mayo. He said it has the taste and texture of lobster, but is fresher.
He said there is very little lobster left in Connecticut waters, so most that’s eaten here comes from Maine.
“People really love the poor man’s lobster,” he said.
They opened the place, David Standridge said, in part to get people more into eating sustainable seafood.
Sustainable ingredients from the sea are under less pressure from commercial fishermen, including invasive species, he said.
“They’re delicious, but lesser known,” fish, he said.
Kathleen Standridge said the catch of the day means they’re “supporting our local fishermen.”
Kathleen Standridge said that in creating the business they wanted to “give something back to the people (in the community) who have been there for us.”
Standridge has told The Courant he got his start in cooking as a Gen X latchkey kid who was home alone a lot and watched cooking shows to stay occupied.
When he was younger, the television shows were more how-tos than the competitions of today, he has said.
