The Gang
A restaurant like ours doesn’t just happen. No sir. A lot of work goes into looking this comfortable, being this friendly, and serving food this good. We’re especially lucky to have a great staff who make sure every customer leaves happy. Come in for lunch or dinner and see for yourself. Until then, Fiona, Miriam, Jorge, Janet, Jayci, Miguel, and Tony Two send you their regards.
Nick Cavaretta, Head Chef
When it comes to expertise in the kitchen, Nick is the real deal. A graduate of the famed Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, Nick spent many years in the corporate dining world before we lured him away to a more casual setting. Since arriving, he's added some of his specialties to our menu, while making sure the old favorites keep coming out just the way you like them. Nick likes it here so much, he's made the restaurant a family affair and now his wife Marilyn is one of the expert mixologists behind the bar.
Veronica Van Cauwenbergh, General Manager
If you sense a current of energy flowing through the front room, it’s probably Veronica, our General Manager. Veronica treats everyone, from city workers to celebrities, like long-lost family, which is why she’s known as Big Mama (or, with the night crowd, V-Diddy).
She might be too modest to tell you herself, but she’s a legend in the restaurant business, having spent many years working with Michael Weinstein and Vincent Pascal at their company, Ark Restaurant Corp., one of the largest and most successful restaurant operators in the country. Starting out as an acting student who waitressed on the side, Veronica’s talent for the restaurant business outshown everything else and she was quickly bumped up the ranks to manager. She spent several years teaching front and back of the house management at the New York Restaurant School and then went on to work at the Museum Café, El Rio Grande, and The Big Kahuna.
Out of all of her many accomplishments, however, Veronica is most proud of the one who calls her “mom”, her daughter.
Doug Pollak
You might say that the restaurant business is in Doug's genes. He started in the business 30 years ago as a delivery boy for his family's coffee shop on Varick Street. In 1985 he opened One Fish Two Fish with his father, the late Ralph Pollak, and from 1988 - 2005 he owned and managed the popular seafood restaurant, Coldwaters.
If you see a seafood theme here, it's no coincidence. Doug is an avid fisherman who spends as much time as possible on his 23-foot fishing boat on the south shore of Long Island, fishing for fluke, striped bass, flounder, and blue fish. In fact, it's not unusual to find some of his catch on the menu. In addition to fish, Doug also supplies the restaurant with the seasonal, organic vegetables that he grows in his home garden.
Doug's knowledge of fish is encyclopedic and he keeps our suppliers on their toes making sure that One Fish Two Fish gets only the freshest, best-quality fish. When Doug says the Alaskan Snow Crab is great — you can count on it.