Marcus Stiller was prepping for the Fish Caf\u00e9\u2019s reopening when the Independent chatted with him. <\/i>(photo by Lauren Kramer)<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/i>The Fish Caf\u00e9 \u2013 a beloved Kerrisdale institution for more than two decades \u2013 was set to open this week after an almost two-year hiatus.<\/p>\n
Last month, as preparations continued, I met owner Marcus Stiller at a Kerrisdale coffee shop to reflect on his career as a chef, a career the 65-year-old began when he enrolled in hotel school in South Africa in the early 1980s. As we chatted, other customers kept coming over to greet Stiller and find out when the Fish Caf\u00e9 would be open again. It was clear that the restaurant\u2019s closure \u2013 due to an electrical fire in September 2024 \u2013 had left a literal and figurative hole in the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to know there\u2019s still that longing for people to return to the Fish Caf\u00e9, and that they remember it as a comfortable, welcoming environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The fire destroyed the restaurant and Stiller wrestled with its future until December 2025, when he began preparing for its new iteration. Since the interior was a shell, it meant ordering a new version of everything \u2013 flooring, seating, tables, decor, equipment and all the nuts and bolts that come with operating a restaurant. The new space, which came at a price tag of about $375,000, is bright and polished, with seating for 32 and fish art on the walls. It features a revised menu, offering the grilled fish staples diners crave, along with seasonal salads, soups, starters and small plates.<\/p>\n
Stiller moved to Vancouver in 1996 and opened the Fish Caf\u00e9 in 2000. His inspiration was a South African restaurant chain called Ocean Basket and, originally, he intended to franchise. In the early 2000s, he was running three caf\u00e9s: on 41st Avenue, 4th Avenue and Yew Street. The logistics of managing so many locations became onerous. \u201cI\u2019m a micromanager,\u201d Stiller said. \u201cI know how I like things done, and three locations was just too much for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He closed two of them, keeping the flagship caf\u00e9 in Kerrisdale. As the years ticked by, the restaurant\u2019s popularity grew. In part, that\u2019s because Stiller knows how to prepare great food. But it\u2019s also his personality, and the way he makes people feel welcomed. He estimates at least 50% of his diners are Jewish.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do all the cooking myself and, by now, I know individual customers\u2019 preferences \u2013 for example, who doesn\u2019t like onions on their salad,\u201d he said. \u201cBack in hotel school, I knew I\u2019d be good at this because I\u2019m not shy about talking to people. But I never imagined what running a restaurant would be like. Today, I realize I\u2019m in the hospitality business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stiller recalls well the months after the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel. At that time, the Fish Caf\u00e9 felt more like a community centre, a place filled with solidarity and support.<\/p>\n
\u201cYids came out of the woodwork to eat at the restaurant, and I had an Israeli flag hanging in the window,\u201d he said. \u201cSure, there were people opening the door and screaming abuse, but there were many more coming in to support us \u2013 Jews, non-Jews.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In June, as he put the final touches on the interior and waited for his business licence and occupancy permit to be issued, Stiller was excited to get back into the kitchen and reestablish the Fish Caf\u00e9 as a favourite destination, open six days a week for lunch and dinner.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking back, I\u2019m proud of what we\u2019ve achieved here as a family, since we left South Africa,\u201d he said. \u201cWe managed to keep our kids in independent schools, educate them through university and own a home. The whole family unit has been there to support me and provide help when it\u2019s needed. Some immigrants get transferred to Canada by their companies, but that wasn\u2019t my story.\u201d<\/p>\n Almost ready to open the Fish Caf\u00e9\u2019s doors again, Stiller said, \u201cI\u2019m excited to welcome customers who have become good friends, and see them enjoy my food and the refreshed environment.\u201d<\/p>\n The Fish Caf\u00e9 is located at 2053 West 41st Ave. The phone number is 604-563-3474.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Lauren Kramer<\/b>, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Marcus Stiller was prepping for the Fish Caf\u00e9\u2019s reopening when the Independent chatted with him. (photo by Lauren Kramer) The Fish Caf\u00e9 \u2013 a beloved Kerrisdale institution for more than two decades \u2013 was set to open this week after an almost two-year hiatus. Last month, as preparations continued, I met owner Marcus Stiller at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[24948,24949,6068],"class_list":["post-49313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-fish-cafe","tag-marcus-stiller","tag-restaurants"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}