
Dish By Dish San Francisco Oakland
What to Eat (and Drink) at Sirene, Oakland’s New Seafood and Fried Chicken Spot
At long last, the team behind San Francisco’s critically acclaimed neighborhood bistro The Morris has opened the doors to their highly anticipated follow-up, Sirene. The new restaurant by chef Gavin Schmidt and sommelier Paul Einbund celebrates everything under the sea — Sirene is the French word for “mermaid,” appropriately.
But this time around, the pair has opened up across the Bay Bridge in Oakland.
“I’ve lived in Oakland for the last 13 years and for some time now I’ve been wanting to create something in my own neighborhood,” says Schmidt. “I know the things that I am craving and want to see in a great neighborhood spot, so I approach it just as much as a consumer as an operator.”
Below are just some of the delicious dishes that Schmidt has created. Bonus: we’ve also included wine pairings from wine director Alec Cummings.


Captain’s Platter
A seafood tower of beautiful bivalves and pristine shellfish is a nice way to start any meal, especially at a place like Sirene where there’s an emphasis on product and sourcing.
Each Captain’s Platter serves two to four people, and changes with what’s in season. Current selections include two types of whole uni along with a quarter of a poached spiny lobster, both of which come from diver-forager Stephanie Mutz in Santa Barbara. There’s also a quarter of local steamed Dungeness crab (Dungeness season is the best season), six Marin miyagi oysters, and a few slices of bigeye tuna sashimi.
The platter comes with lemon wedges (all you need for seafood this fresh), as well as mignonette, a spicy kimchi dressing, and grapefruit ponzu to change things up a bit.
Alec’s Pairings: MV Hammering ‘Tilted Mile’ California sparkling wine. “What’s better than shellfish and bubbles? We’re excited to be pouring our neighbor Josh’s sparkling wine from just up the road in Berkeley. Crisp, clean, mineral driven with just the right balance of sun-kissed fruit and salinity makes this an easy shellfish pairing.”
Seafood Charcuterie
Fans of The Morris know that starting out with some of Schmidt’s charcuterie is a non-negotiable; his pork pâtés, terrines, and salami are all made in-house. Good news: he’s brought over his A+ charcuterie program to Sirene — but with a focus on seafood.
Consider the shrimp chorizo, a spicy and smoky plump sausage that uses the typical spices found in a dry chorizo substituting shrimp for the usual pork.
The duck and lobster mortadella is also unique and delicious: It’s seasoned with five spice and a touch of Curaçao orange liqueur to add a layer of complexity against the softer and delicate flavors of the two proteins. Other options include shellfish and leeks terrines, alpine gravlax cured in house, and more.
Alec’s Pairings: “The Sirene Cup, a cocktail on tap. It’s a blend of local brandy from Marian Farms, Madeira, lemon, ginger and a float of creme de cassis. It’s crisp and clean with the fruity mid-palate coming from the creme de cassis that will make the charcuterie sing.”


Whole Roasted Petrale Sole
Sirene took over the old Sister restaurant space and inherited its pizza oven. What that means is Schmidt gets to try his hand at live-fire cooking.”I wanted to do a whole roasted fish in the hearth. Petrale sole is a great fish for that style of cooking,” he says. “And it is an abundant local catch.”
The fish gets brined and dry-aged for a few days so the skin dries out. It’s roasted in the oven and served with roasted sunchokes and a garlicky and herby persillade sauce with loads of parsley, nutty brown butter, and squeeze of lemon juice to brighten.
Alec’s Pairing: “With the whole roasted petrale sole we are going with the 2011 Peay Sonoma Coast chardonnay. Andy Peay lives a few blocks away from the restaurant and has opened up his library to allow us to pour this delicious California chardonnay. Some of us get nervous when we hear those words, ‘California chardonnay,’ because for years that was synonymous with oaky and buttery. this wine is anything but. Crisp and bright and because of the age, it is rich and complex but with enough verve remaining to make this dish ring.”


Fried Chicken
Not everything comes from under the sea at Sirene. There’s a big focus on fried chicken that lets you choose your own adventure of sides and sauces.
“I love all the bright fresh flavors of seafood, the crudos, oysters. Dungeness crab is one of my lifelong favorite things to eat, but I’m also a big eater and after all those kind of fun apps I want to finish with something hearty and indulgent,” says Schmidt, who has spent years perfecting his fried chicken.
He uses a buttermilk wet batter base, which he says retains a crisp longer. For sides, you get a choice of scallion biscuits, mashed potatoes, and braised collard greens, with sauces like octopus kimchi, mushroom Madeira jus, and creamy andouille gravy. But really, the best decision is no decision: choose “all them fixins” and get them all.
Alec’s Pairings: “Okay, we have two choices here that would be bangin’ because I couldn’t choose a clear winner:
MV Reaut ‘Tradition’ Champagne: Champagne and fried chicken is already one of the greatest things in the world, and when you add all of Chef Gavin’s amazing sauces and biscuits into the mix, ooooh baby we have something special. Reaut’s Champagne is deeper and toastier in style which makes it perfect for chef’s deep savory gravy and lightly spicy octopus kimchi jus in particular. Dip a crispy thigh in there, take a swig of Champs, and that’s a winner of a night right there.
2023 Minus Tide Syrah ‘The Morris Cuvee’: We were lucky to have had the opportunity to collaborate with one of California’s great young producers, Minus Tide, from Mendocino to create a custom blend of our favorite barrels of their Syrah last year. For those who’d want to move into red wine with their entrees, this would be a great one. All the blackberry, violet, cured meats, and olives you want out of the world’s greatest Syrahs, but framed super elegantly with ample freshness and minerality in the finish.”


Chocolate Cake
There’s something real satisfying about a giant slice of chocolate cake. It’s rich, it’s decadent, it’s nostalgic and comforting, and the version made by pastry chef Elaine Lau (Nico Bistro, Sunday Bakeshop) is excellent. It’s layered with chocolate buttercream and coffee simple syrup, sweet, but not too sweet, and has a nice scoop of tangy buttermilk ice cream for a cool contrast.
Alec’s Pairings: Oliveras Dolce de Monastrell: “This is a very unique wine from Spain made with the Monastrell grape a.k.a. Mataro a.k.a. Mourvedre. Rich and deep black cherries make this one of the world’s best wines to pair with chocolate.”
Omar Mamoon is a San Francisco-based freelance writer and cookie dough professional. Follow him on Instagram.