In March 2018, a fire tore through the former Go Fish Seafood in West Reading. Instead of staying and rebuilding, the restaurant took the opportunity to make a move.

Eighteen months later, in September 2019, the new Go Fish Seafood & Sushi Bar finally opened in Sinking Spring.

Go Fish is tucked away along Hull Avenue, several blocks removed from the Penn Avenue traffic. Kline Building & Design Group were the most recent occupants of the site. To make the building restaurant-ready, a ramp entrance was added along with a sidewalk that runs from the parking lot to the front door. A single handprint can be found in the corner of the sidewalk, the words “Go Fish 2019” etched beneath it.

The ramp is a necessity not only for wheelchairs but for anyone who struggles with stairs as the front entrance features a tall, steep staircase. Stepping through the front door, you would never know that this was anything other than a restaurant. After checking in at the desk, we were led through the waiting room, complete with sitting chairs and a fireplace, into the dining area.

Exposed brick walls and pillars, Edison bulbs hanging from the ceiling and hardwood floors combine to give it the restaurant an upscale feel. The gorgeous bar is separated from the dining area by a half-wall. In the middle, above the TV displaying the night’s drink specials, “Go Fish” was lit in blue lights.

And at our tables, the black napkins were neatly folded in the shape of a fish.

With our toddler at his grandparents’ house for the evening, Julie and I were on our own for a Friday night date night. There was a decent crowd when we arrived at 5:30, and it only got busier in the restaurant while we were there.

Our server was attentive throughout the night and was with us quickly to take our drink order. Julie ordered the “Pear Fizz,” a mocktail with pear nectar, lemon, honey ginger simple syrup, Jamaican ginger beer and seared thyme.

We could smell the thyme before the drink was even on the table, and the aroma of the herbs in the glass continued to waft throughout. It was certainly fizzy – a product of the ginger beer – and a little sweet but the ginger helped to balance it out.

In addition, we also ordered water and were given the choice of spring, seltzer or chilled. Note: chilled means tap water. Spring is $4 a bottle, as we found out at the end of our meal.

The restaurant menu is carefully curated with only a few selections for entrees. Though it leans heavily toward seafood, the choices include chicken, steak, pork chop and gnocchi (also available with shrimp or salads). Sushi lovers probably already know this, but the sushi selection is the largest part of the menu.

I’m not a sushi fan – I’m not even that big of a seafood fan – but the one seafood item I have learned to like is scallops, and Go Fish’s version sounded too good to pass up.

The three seared scallops were served with lemon mascarpone risotto, baby spinach, garlic confit and lemon brulee.

The scallops were cooked very well, but what I enjoyed most were the bites with the garlic confit. I absolutely loved the garlicky sauce; I only wish there had been more of it. There were a couple small dollops on the plate, but I thought it was the perfect complement to the buttery scallops.

I was also a fan of the risotto. I was expecting it to have a little more sweetness to it with the mascarpone, but it was more of a hint than an in-your-face flavor.

Julie opted for the Go Fish and chips, a more casual offering of battered cod, rosemary frites (French fries) and sides of gribiche and cocktail sauce for dipping.

The cod was a very mild fish, and it was tossed in a light batter. I really enjoyed my taste with the gribiche sauce – think of it as the French version of tartar sauce. It was cooling and a little tangy and was a nice addition. It also went well with the fries, which we both enjoyed.

Neither of us really needed dessert, but it was a date night and the food had arrived so quickly that we felt obligated to stay a little longer and enjoy a post-dinner treat.

Our dessert of choice was the lemongrass crème brulee. We were not disappointed by the decadent creamy dessert. The lemongrass was a nice touch, adding just a hint of tang.

It was served in a very short Mason jar, which looked really cool but added a level of difficulty when trying to get to the cream at the sides.

With dessert added onto our bill, we ended up paying around $75. That’s a little more than we usually pay for a meal but a little less than we have paid at other finer dining restaurants around Berks County. And to us, it was well-worth it (though, maybe not the $4 spring water).

Go Fish is what the name implies – a place for seafood lovers. And it’s a great date night spot that has a finer dining feel to it.

It’s a place I would definitely recommend.

BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Excellent
Price: A Little Pricey

Go Fish! Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar
301 Hull St`
Sinking Spring, PA 19608

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