Fish Story review: Simple works best

Intellectually you can't find fault with Fish Story: It resides on the Napa River, it's run by a respected group that has many successful restaurants, and it's partnered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium to serve seafood that meets the organization's sustainability guidelines.

It's also a handsome space that seats nearly 150, including a spacious lounge and a hallway with glassed-in copper tanks. You can view the kitchen crew working behind a display of fish fillets cooling on ice. Through the evening, you'll see them choose the best pieces to grill, roast or saute for various menu items.

Fish lures hang like artwork to separate the main dining room from the entrance. Beyond is a wall of paned windows overlooking the river walk.

It makes for a pleasant entrance, but the booths on the entrance side feel as if you're in a staging area. Over the course of three visits, I never had a table that seemed comfortable. For such a large space there are too many floating tables or areas that feel cramped. It could be because of the shape of the space, or the fault of the architect, but it's a dining room that promises more than it delivers.

The same can be said for the food and service. Even after more than three months, the restaurant, owned by the Lark Creek Restaurant Group, seems to be struggling to find its footing. On my visits too many dishes were flawed; some were over-seasoned and doused in too much sauce and others were under- or overcooked. It's surprising because the chef is Stephen Barber, who made a solid name at Barbers Q, also in Napa.

I know Barber is a good cook with a strong Southern bent, but that didn't translate to such dishes as shrimp and grits ($19.50), where the acidic kick of the sauce stripped the flavor from the seafood. The same went for the half chicken ($18.50), flooded with gravy the color of motor oil.

The kitchen also floundered on Eastern-style fried clams ($14) - most of the batter ended up at the bottom of the serving bucket. The clams steamed with chorizo and pork belly ($13.50) were much better, but the nicely textured crab cakes ($12.50/$23.50) faltered due to an explosion of red bell pepper that overwhelmed the delicate seafood.

The best dishes were the simplest ones, where the combinations had a close California connection. I would definitely go for the seafood platter ($39) that includes six oysters, four shrimp, clams and an excellent ceviche with lime, jalapeno and avocado, served with yucca chips.