A James Beard Winner Lures Diners to Mystic With Casual Seafood and Camp Vibes

The James Beard Best Chef Northeast winner for 2024, executive chef David Standridge, is building the legacy of his sustainable seafood destination, Shipwright’s Daughter, by opening a more casual sibling nearby, a counter-service restaurant that will offer a menu of sandwiches and fried fish.

A James Beard Winner Lures Diners to Mystic With Casual Seafood and Camp Vibes

Mystic Fish Camp, by chef David Standridge, will serve monkfish rolls and yellowfin tuna burgers.

On Thursday, August 25, Standridge is opening Mystic Fish Camp, on 4 East Main Street, in Mystic, Connecticut, right next to the charming town’s famous bascule bridge. A play on the nostalgia of summer camp with a family-friendly atmosphere and menu, the restaurant serves 100 percent sustainable, local, wild-caught seafood, such as monkfish, bluefish, and scup, depending on what’s biting that day.

“All our fish are living and sourced, and landed within 20 or 30 miles, sustainably harvested, and sustainable species, which truly just means eating a diversity of catch” Standridge tells Eater.

Mystic Fish Camp’s menu gets a little creative, too. There’s the Poor Man’s lobster roll, made with monkfish (known as poor man’s lobster, as it has a similar diet that results in a texture and flavor that’s comparable) and poached in green crab oil. Green crab is an invasive species that Standridge works with frequently. “We make the oil as a byproduct from the green crab stock, which we poach the monkfish in, and it makes it even more ‘loby,’” he says, which means more like a lobster flavor. The restaurant will serve the brioche sandwich either hot, warmed with green crab butter and herbs, or cold with lemon mayonnaise.

Fish Camp will also serve a stoner roll version of the sandwich, which was cooked up at Shipwright’s during the pandemic. It’s a cold mayo-style roll, topped with fried clam strips and served on a milk bun. Sandwiches clock in under $29. Diners will also find a classic fried local fish of the day sandwich, a tortilla-crusted version, and a bahn mi with barbecued swordfish ($21), smoked swordfish pate, shoyu-lime mayonnaise, and julienned pickled veggies. Finally, there’s a burger, made with either yellowfin tuna or grass-fed beef, served with fixings on a homemade bun ($20).

For starters or smaller bites, there’s a seafood salad made with local squid and seafood of the day tossed with lemon vinaigrette, shaved fennel, and celery; a tartare bowl with fresh local catch dressed in shoyu-lime mayonnaise; and sides like mermaid fries, onion rings, and chips.

The space is a throwback to the summer camp, with several wooden picnic tables designed for groups, and a standing bar that curves around the wall. The counter is studded with fishing lures frozen in epoxy, and a vending machine will sell branded T-shirts, knee-socks, and other summer-friendly merch. Big windows overlook the Mystic River: The restaurant expects the park abutting the river, and the boats pulling up to the dock, to work as an extension of their dining room all year round.