Sailing Goat Restaurant is one of those hidden gems that “probably” most locals know about and only outsiders like myself et el discover through television show recognitions. I saw this on a television show maybe a couple years ago and always wanted to go but the stars never aligned until today, June 15th, 2025, Fathers Day, when my wife independently sought this restaurant out and asked my son and I if we wanted to go. So we made a short drive from the East Bay westward to the last exit on Interstate 580 before entering the Richmond Bridge where there would be no turning back without a toll charge……so be careful, if you miss that 7A/Stenmark Drive turnoff, you’re ^*%*##*! …..$8.00 toll bill as of this date, but more importantly, lost time and position in line at the restaurant!

…..now cut to the chase, it was Fathersday understandably, and though we arrived at around 11:02am (the restaurant opens at 11:00am on this day), there was already a line almost back to the parking lot as shown in one of my photos. But that didn’t discourage us, the line started moving, we were sure we would get a table…….wrong! We ended up about 12 parties from the last seat, and you know what the last seat means, we would have to wait another 1 to 1-1/2 hours for any table to open up when the first cluster of people finish their meals and leave……and we were about 12 parties behind the last of the first cluster of people……but I digress and we persisted. Again, keep in mind this was a Fathersday crowd too, YMMV.

So we wandered around the area that was along a dock of boats and some houseboats but wondered whether they were still considered “houseboats” since they were clearly on top of some concrete foundation on the water. The area would be a nice hike with its hilly terrain if not for the notion that we were still waiting for a text from the restaurant that our table was ready and the hills would add to the potential that our text reception would be missed, so we stuck around close to the restaurant. Very pleasant surrounding docks, but there was a lady who appears to live on one of the houseboats planted on foundations screaming displeasures at some people (I could not make out exactly what the dialog was). “Karen” or not, I’m not going to judge here since it was her neighborhood and we were all just visitors at the restaurant. And to the houseboat residence’s defense, I’m pretty sure they don’t get a pleasure out of so many people wandering next to (even though not on) their property.

We made our way back to the restaurant after almost an hour as we pretty much knew that our table should be ready soo. We waited, live “Jazzy/nostalgic with a twist” music was playing, it was a great atmosphere even after now over an hour of waiting, we didn’t mind the wait. I went and asked the very young host how many parties were still ahead of us, and she responded cordially and respectfully, very appreciate that in this time and age! Literally moments later, we got a text notification that our table was ready about 2 hours after we first arrived!

We were given a table about 10′ from the live band which I thought was a little too loud at our distance but still manageable. The waiter was a young kid…come to think of it, the entire staff looked pretty young……but probably because I’m pretty old! LOL! The entire staff was very cordial and respectful especially when you consider the added level of difficulty on a very crowded Fathersday. I got the Seafood Stew and an IPA beer. My wife got some sort of salad and a Pilfner beer, and my son got the fish and chips with a cider which turned out to be alcoholic that he didn’t realize initially. We also got a chickpea/garbonzo bean fries appetizer which came with a dip and they were very good. I’ll only review my Seafood Stew here since I didn’t taste my wife’s salad nor my son’s fish and chips, though the fish and chips looked mighty tasty and abundant. Fwiw, I would have tried my son’s fish and chips, but he gobbled it up like he’s been eating college dorm food for the past year……and he has, LOL! …..but I digress again as I tend to do in my old age, LOL. Anyhow, back to the Seafood Stew. The “stew” was not so much a stew as it was a cioppino “soup”, very watery, not like a stew at all which has a much thicker stock. That aside, the taste was pleasant without being overpowering. But none of that matters since all that stuck in my mind is the smallness of any of the individual ingredients. The shrimps were just a little larger than popcorn shrimps, the mussels were at least half the size I am used to, and the fish was frugal. Even the potatoes where less than 3/4″ cubes! Think the 1989 movie “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” starring Rick Moranis and others, and you get the exaggerated version of this soupy Cioppino made for those shrunken kids. Come on, Mr. hip Bohemian Sailing Goat by the bay, up your game and bring it to the next level. I know times are tough with the tarrifs and the economy, and you have to balance the quality and substance of your offerings with staying alive, but hopefully you can find that middle ground that shows who you can be – and who you can be is a bay area destination where there is a lot of nothing in the area except for your worthy food that can’t be experienced anywhere else. I give you a 5 for your staff and their cordiality and the lively atmosphere, maybe a 3 for the seafood stew, and I’ll still give you the benefit of the doubt that you will be the little engine that could, and give you a 4 overall.

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