Register Staff Writer

Summer’s my season. I love the hot afternoons and the warm nights, ideal for alfresco dining and post-sunset gatherings under the stars.

I’m not certain why it’s taken me so long to discover a nifty dining option that fits right into this wine country resident’s warm weather scheme of things.

Responding to some well-placed advice, the other night a couple of hungry Napans strode onto the attractive, newly remodeled patio of St. Helena’s Go Fish and found a super warm weather hangout with terrific food, impeccable service and splendid acoustic music provided by a pair of seasoned wine country musicians.

Seems restaurateur Cindy Pawlcyn, who teamed up with partners Sean Knight and Ken Tominaga in 2006 to open the valley’s sole fish house, asked wine country architect Howard Backen to enlarge the original patio (that once was adjunct to Restaurant Pinot Blanc) and make it a place where locals could dine and just “hang out. We’ve created the (outdoor) bar and patio to be a place where people can relax, enjoy a casual bite and a glass of wine, sake or one of the bartenders’ inventive cocktails. It’s a fun place to be.”

I’d have to agree with Pawlcyn after spending a good four hours there last Thursday evening, dining on tasty offerings from Tominaga’s outstanding sushi bar and executive chef Victor Scargle’s first-class kitchen, quaffing an exceptional wine from Spain and basking in the pop and blues stylings of guitarists Mike Campbell and Scott Castro.

First of all, the Go Fish patio environment’s a winner. Shaded by a pair of canvas awnings and the sprawling branches of four tall mulberry trees, the outdoor dining room is cool as — well — a cucumber. However, if the mercury does inch toward the century mark, Pawlcyn and company turn on a new misting system to keep diners comfy.

The patio’s teak and marble-topped tables can accommodate groups of two to 20, while a half-dozen patrons can hang out at the slick Carrera marble bar. The restaurant’s indoor azure and navy color scheme is extended throughout the patio, from long pillow-backed banquette to awning stripe and matching placemats. And when the weather does turn chilly, heaven forbid, veteran general manager Jennifer Ingellis and crew can fire up the attractive stone fireplace.

Adding to the welcoming garden-themed atmosphere of Go Fish are the pots and planters filled with a diverse array of herbs, flowers and vegetables, while just outside the door a cook’s garden carries a banner boasting, “It’s all delicious.”

“There aren’t a lot of bars with cherry tomatoes, eggplant, basil and zucchini plans that greet you right as you walk in,” Pawlcyn points out.

The new patio is a welcome transformation — truly a casual dining room as well as what Pawlcyn intended, an only-in-wine-country watering hole.

We had the pleasure of catching up with waiter Tony Mutchmore last Thursday night, finding out what he’d been up to since we saw him holding down the fort at another St. Helena dining room just up Main Street. He and chef Scargle guided us through a thoroughly delightful dining experience that ranged from the best ahi poke this side of Honolulu (OK, OK, I know Silverado’s Peter Pahk makes a mean poke, too!) to my first bottle of xarel-lo, a distinct, flavorful white grape that typically makes up a third of the blend (along with parellada and macabeo) in Spanish cava. From the Segura Viudas cellars, this modestly priced, citrus-driven white wine proved ideal for a wide variety of fish dishes, with its green apple and citrus nose and grapefruit and melon flavors.

Start out with a combo spoon of sea urchin, oyster and freshwater caviar or a plate of tender, wood-grilled Monterey Bay calamari with spicy greens and olives. This time of year, who can resist a pesto-splashed tomato/mozzarella Napoleon?

If you want to bite into a mouthful of summer, order grilled sockeye salmon on a bed of Big Ranch Farm heirloom tomatoes and fresh-from-the garden potatoes, given a bit of added flavor (as if it was needed) by a little Meyer lemon confit and purple basil. Or how about grilled Alaska halibut nestled on a garden cucumber salad in a few ladles of cool Sharlyne melon soup?

A master with fruits of the sea, Scargle also offered the other evening white seabass from the coastal waters off San Diego with morels, grilled asparagus and sauce gribiche, a mayonnaise-style cold sauce that is as palatable as it is to pronounce. The menu also included local sole, black cod from Alaska, tasty Hawaiian bigeye tuna and a whole Mediterranean bronzino.

And the extensive sushi bar menu is offered to those who either belly up to the bar or opt for a table.

The remodeled patio at Go Fish is everything that veteran valley restaurateur Pawlcyn hoped it would be. It’s a hangout with all the earmarks of a fine dining establishment — good vibes, tasty food and drink along with terrific service. And music to boot every Thursday from 6 to 9. See you there this week?

For reservations, call the Go Fish team at 963-0700.

Take out at Juju’s

Starting Aug. 1 Juju’s Mediterranean Kitchen will be open for take out and dining in for all the specialties patrons once enjoyed at Gina’s Kitchen run by Karl and Joumani Shweiky.

After closing Gina’s, the Shweikys have been operating at catering business a 3375 California Blvd. (near Trancas) but they told the Register that, by popular request, they remodeled the kitchen so that anyone in the mood for kebabs, tabouleh, salads, falafel and savory Mediteranean dips can now drop by and go home with a healthy and flavorful dinner or eat at the on-site in the new dining space.

Joumani has also added a grocery section to the redesigned establishment where you can pick up ingredients for Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean dishes, including grapeleaves, dates, spices and herbs, kefir, olives, pomegranate syrups and Turkish coffee.

For more information, call Juju’s at 226-6537