Higuchi says he usually recommends sashimi, since the fish is so fresh. When the customer makes a catch, an attendant swoops in with a net, and then detaches the fish from the hook before sending it off to be prepared in one of four ways: sashimi-style, grilled, simmered or tempura-fried. “You don’t want to weaken the fish by putting it back in the tank.”

If you hook a salmon trout, “there is no catch and release,” Higuchi says. The foot-and-a-half-long salmon trout costs a whopping $110 - more than double the smaller rainbow trout ($38) and striped bass ($48) swimming in the same tank. A striped bass, for instance, is $55 if a staff member fetches it, but $45 if the patron reels it in themselves.īut the savings come with a catch: You have to eat what you reel in. “Down here,” she says, pointing to the vast tank of trout and bass, “is a waiting game.”Ĭustomers can also opt not to wait for a bite, but they’ll have to pay a little extra if they want a fish attendant to make the catch for them.

“Upstairs is all about aim,” says bartender and fish attendant Patrice Taylor, 26. Upstairs, it’s fluke, flounder, rockfish, lobster, abalone or prawns, which anglers can strategically hook, since they don’t move around too much. Customers then attach bait to a small rod and cast their line. If they’re in the mood for rainbow trout, striped bass or salmon trout (a hybrid between the two), they head to a large tank on the ground floor of the three-story restaurant. When guests arrive at the nautical Chelsea restaurant, they first have to decide what kind of fish they want. He’s spent the past month teaching his staff to fish so they can help guests struggling to make the catch. “There wasn’t one person who didn’t freak out when they had to touch the fish,” the restaurant’s manager, Rui Higuchi, tells The Post. The concept has some pretty unique staffing requirements: Fish attendants, as the servers are called at Zauo, were hired based on their experience, patience, and - perhaps most importantly - their willingness to grab a slippery, slimy fish and release it from a hook. Using a fishing rod, patrons lure in live fish from an indoor tank, then send it to the kitchen to be prepared. They say being a waiter in New York City is tough, but at least in most restaurants, the food stays still.Īt the Japanese restaurant Zauo, opening Monday, servers help their customers catch their own dinner.

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