Pioneer Way in Oak Harbor’s only brick and timber cabin illuminates the night with just a few neon signs. One is a classic among dive bars, “Miller Light,” and the other just one word and no brand — “Sushi.”
Past the front entrance through a dark corridor, the bar itself sits right, where pirate skeletons hang from the wall, as do taxidermized fish, models of old ships and, above the spirits, a mermaid. The dance floor is left, where a laser duck dances on the wall. From the scaffolding hangs a paper mâché shark, an old man and the sea, a pirate ship and another gang of dead pirates.
Keep going through the dim-lit tunnel to the pool hall, equipped with a beer pong table, and something may at first seem out of place, that is until meeting owner and chef Claude Johnston — the pirate décor turns to dragons, accenting a full-menu sushi bar.
From behind the glass poses the meaty arms of an octopus, sea bream from Japan, blue-fin tuna from the Mediterranean, king salmon from New Zealand and Johnston himself preparing it all.
It has a bit of a speakeasy element, a secret place within a place. At one point, Johnston said, it truly was.
During COVID-19 regulation, Off the Hook couldn’t have an alcohol bar, so all the patrons skipped right past and crowded in the back around the sushi bar.
Johnston opened Off the Hook in 2007, but he started serving sushi about four years ago. For him, the inspiration was simple.
“I like eating sushi,” he said.
Johnston grew up in the kitchen, and he was running a restaurant near Lake Tahoe where a Japanese chef came in and served sushi once a week. After a couple years, that chef started his own restaurant, Hiro Sushi, and Johnston worked for him for a while.
When it comes to what’s best on the menu, he keeps that simple too — “fresher the better.” He receives overnight fish deliveries from all over the world.
Johnston does it all: Hamachi Kama or grilled yellow fin collar, traditional Japanese Madai, scallops, calamari and much more, but some of his most popular menu items don’t come from the sea at all, he said. Fan-favorite sushi rolls are beef musubi and teriyaki chicken.
It’s a small operation with one sushi chef. Johnston takes his time and adds a personal touch to everything. The caterpillar roll is part broiled eel sushi, part sculpture, with cucumber-sliver antennae, an avocado exoskeleton, tobiko or fish egg eyes and unagi sauce legs.
He launched the sushi menu with $2 sushi night, but COVID-19 ended that. Now, he serves sushi Thursday through Sunday, with $5 rolls on Thursdays.
Johnston doesn’t advertise too much, he said. People love sushi, especially as a late-night option. Often, he hits peak capacity at the sushi bar close to midnight. Patrons find their way back to the hidden restaurant, spinning yarns and enjoying the fresh catch.
Sushi chef Claude Johnston cuts yellowfin tuna at Off the Hook. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
Photo by Sam Fletcher Sushi chef Claude Johnston serves yellowfin tuna at Off the Hook. Sushi chef Claude Johnston serves yellowfin tuna at Off the Hook. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
Off the Hook owner Claude Johnston prepares sushi on Friday. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
Sushi chef Claude Johnston serves bluefin tuna from the Mediterranean. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
Photo by Sam Fletcher Sushi chef Claude Johnston prepares the caterpillar roll in Off the Hook.
Joshua Michael, Off the Hook sous chef, works in the kitchen Friday. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
Photo by Sam Fletcher Sushi chef Claude Johnston prepares the caterpillar roll in Off the Hook.
Photo by Sam Fletcher Sushi chef Claude Johnston shows off the caterpillar roll in Off the Hook.
The caterpillar roll is part broiled eel sushi, part sculpture, with cucumber-sliver antennae, an avocado exoskeleton, tobiko or fish egg eyes and unagi sauce legs. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
The caterpillar roll is part broiled eel sushi, part sculpture, with cucumber-sliver antennae, an avocado exoskeleton, tobiko or fish egg eyes and unagi sauce legs. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
A gang of dead pirates sits below the scaffolding at Off the Hook in Oak Harbor. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
A gang of dead pirates sits below the scaffolding at Off the Hook in Oak Harbor. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
A gang of dead pirates sits below the scaffolding at Off the Hook in Oak Harbor. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
