Business Profile: Goldfish Oyster Bar & Restaurant, Ossining
Photo credit: Neal Rentz
Thornwood resident Tommy Stratis already owned Casa Rina restaurant in his hometown when he decided to try his hand at owning a second eatery about 13 years ago.
Stratis is the owner of the Goldfish Oyster Bar & Restaurant in Ossining. The roughly 80-year-old Rockledge Avenue building was a restaurant and former “speakeasy” for many years prior to Goldfish opening its doors.
“I liked the neighborhood. I liked the history,” Stratis said, adding he renovated the building. “We just went for a modern, New York City flair,” he said, stressing his prices reflect those of Westchester restaurants, not the city’s eateries. .
Stratis said there is no particular reason for calling his establishment Goldfish. “It just came to us one day,” he recalled. “We didn’t think too much about it.”
“I just felt there was nothing in the area that compared to our theme,” Stratis said. The eatery is s “Mediterranean restaurant with seafood flair,” he noted.
One of the main features of Goldfish is its raw bar which offers a variety of seafood including oysters and clams. “We go to the market direct two to three times a week and pick all of our seafood ourselves,” Stratis said.
The restaurant offers prix fixed menus every day, with a three-course meal offered Sundays through Thursdays for $18 and a four-course Friday and Saturday meal for $25.95.
“It works for us. The people seem to enjoy it,” Stratis said.
The restaurant has several signature dishes including Chilean sea bass, tuna, lobster with a saffron broth, and pork Ossobuco. Stratis said he enjoys many of his restaurant’s signature dishes and also particularly likes the shrimp with couscous appetizer and the pistachio cheesecake.
Most of the restaurant’s customers come from such communities as Ossining, Briarcliff and Croton, Stratis noted.
Stratis explained why he felt his restaurant has been successful. “We work hard. We try to stay on top of our business. And we try not to fool the public and rip anyone off,” he said. .
“We try to stay consistent and keep our business consistence every week,” Stratis said.
The Goldfish Oyster Bar & Restaurant is located at 6 Rockledge Ave. in Ossining. For more information call 914-762-0051 or visit Goldfishdining.com.
