The Fisherman’s Wife Brings Local Fish to the Table
Imagine sitting down to a meal of fish that was actually swimming in the Pacific Ocean right off of the Ventura County coast the day before.
The grilled fish at The Fisherman’s Wife comes from real-life fisherman Chris Williams, who works off his 37-foot boat, the F/V Linde, out of Channel Islands Harbor. It’s that fresh.
That fresh fish, which is served at The Fisherman’s Wife, is cooked with a minimum of embellishment.
“We wanted to make the seasonings simple so people could actually taste the flavor of the fish,” says Chef Yulian Navarro, who honed his fish cooking skills at Brophy Brothers Clam Bar and Restaurant. “When you try to do too much to the food, it doesn’t work adding a bunch of ingredients. I want the meal to star the fresh fish. We’re always working as simple as we can, and making sense with what we have.”
Depending on the haul from each day’s fishing means the menu has to be flexible, says Dania Williams, Chris’s wife, who is running the recently opened restaurant.
“We have to adjust. Luckily, we have this digital menu that we can change at will. My husband fishes year-round. But he can’t catch white sea bass all of the time. So when that slows down, there’s halibut. We have to be flexible,” says Dania.
The Williamses’ still sell their fish at the Channel Islands Farmers’ Market, just as they have for the past 13 years. It was at the market, where they sold under the banner Fresh Fish Fanatics, that they were introduced to a group of avid regular customers. Those customers kept them afloat during the COVID shutdowns, when Chris was unable to sell fish to area restaurants that were closed.
“It was such a weird thing. We look back on COVID as letting us get to know our customers who had supported us for 13 years,” says Dania.
The Williams family turned to home deliveries for income during the downturn. Dania and daughter Anna Grace, 17, would drive around making fish deliveries. Son Max, 22, has his own boat and is following dad as a commercial fisherman. Son Micah, 14, hasn’t shown much of an inclination to follow his father and brother to sea, Dania says, adding that her youngest child helps out at the restaurant.
“It was such a wonderful thing that came out of that scary time—the people who support each other in difficult times,” says Dania.
Assessing her customer base, with regular customers from Ventura to Agoura Hills, Dania decided that Thousand Oaks would be a great location. So far, after opening in August, she’s been proved right.
“The Thousand Oaks community has been so welcoming and so kind,” says Dania. “We’re so blown away by the support in this area.”
The menu at The Fisherman’s Wife, a moniker Dania earned over the years as she ran the business side of things, reflects more than just the freshness of the seafood.
“We aim to get most of our fish from my husband, though it is supplemented by other local fishermen. Outside of that, some of our fish come from Harbor Meat and Seafood in Santa Barbara. The fruits and vegetables are local from The Berry Man, who has such an awesome reputation,” says Dania.
Breads come from Agostino’s Bakery in Ventura, which is a local family-run business. They also serve Ragamuffin Roasters coffee, which Dania declares “amazing.”
In addition to the fresh fish, customer service is a priority at the new restaurant. “Our main focus is to connect with people,” says Dania. “I constantly think about this. I want to make sure every person walking through the door has been seen and cared for. It’s what brings me the most joy and purpose in this business.”
The Fisherman’s Wife 1610 Thousand Oaks Blvd. 805-371-5651 For the menu and more information, visit FishermansWife.com.
