What is Off the Hook?
Off The Hook is the neighbourhood restaurant that we dream about (and we live right down the road). We wanted to create a place that welcomes you in, where you can meet a friend for some sushi and a craft cocktail, bring the kids for a smashburger and some ping pong, or celebrate a special occasion. We dreamed of a place with incredible food & cocktails, creative pop-up dinners and warm salt spring hospitality.
When a beloved neighborhood restaurant that had shuttered during the pandemic came up for sale down the street from our home, we decide to take the leap and open the restaurant we had dreamed of for years. Off The Hook is the food that we get excited to eat, the meals that we love to cook for our family and friends. Seafood boils, beautiful sushi, crudos and ceviches – the good stuff that you eat on vacation and then dream about for months after.
And all of that is true but – at its heart – Off The Hook is a biographical restaurant. It’s the celebration of Santina and Justin’s 20+ years together, exploring the world and eating everything in sight. From delicious street food to some of the world’s greatest restaurants, we have a passion for incredible, memorable food experiences.
Over the past two years, Off The Hook has evolved as we have grown and adapted. In the off season, we run a series of popular pop-up dinners highlighting global cuisines: Indian, Thai, Dim Sum, Japanese, African, French, Mexican and Caribbean Among others. On an island with a limited amount of food options, we love to challenge ourselves and bring a variety of creative dining options to those of us who live here in the “cozy season.” We have offered sushi classes, bocce tournaments, pizza parties and pig roasts. We love to push the boundaries of creativity and flavour and never stop pushing each other to improve.
We’ve been honoured to host your birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, and celebrations of life. We love being a part of this community and deeply appreciate all of your support!
Off The Hook is an ode to our favourite coastal seafood restaurants, the iconic places off the beaten path where you can gather with those you love for a great meal, a fun night, and a memorable experience that highlights the best of Salt Spring’s incredible food and hospitality. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Welcome to Off The Hook.
Santina oppmann
Originally from Saddle River, New Jersey, Santina first fell in love with cooking as a young girl in the kitchen with her Italian grandmother (and namesake). She graduated from Babson College with a degree in entrepreneurship and is an honours graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York City. Santina did her stages for Daniel Bouloud at DB Bistro and at Eleven Madison Park before running several kitchens for Bloomingdales at their flagship location in New York. Santina then transitioned to the corporate world as an executive recruiter and spent 18 years building teams for entertainment and biotech companies like Disney, Riot Games and Illumina. She moved to Salt Spring in 2021 with her husband and daughter and fell in love with the friendly people, the natural beauty of the island and the incredible abundance of British Columbia. Santina is passionate about great food, warm hospitality and making people happy. Her family runs the award-winning Cenzino Ristorante in Oakland, New Jersey. Santina was honoured to win the best pie award as well as the Seward Trophy for best overall pastry at the 2022 Salt Spring Island Fall Fair.
Justin oppmann
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Justin has never been one to sit still. After graduating from Georgetown University in Washington, DC with a degree in government, Justin helped build one of the first political coverage websites for CNN/TIME and then an early around-the-world site called The Digital Traveller, travelling to over 30 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America in a year. He worked on a presidential campaign, ghostwrote a bestselling book and reported on the War on Terror from Sudan, Pakistan and Afghanistan as part of a team for CBS 60 Minutes II. He co-founded and served as the managing director of a documentary film school in Sámara, Costa Rica for four years and directed a film on the Iranian Hostage Crisis, narrated by Walter Cronkite. Prior to the pandemic, Justin was a food writer in Los Angeles, exploring subjects like how to make the best tacos al pastor, apprenticing with a master pastrami maker and foraging for ingredients to make a unique seaweed-based gin. He also spent time as a firefighter in los angeles county. He is a lifelong fisherman, loves roasting whole hogs and smoking large cuts of meat, homebrewing hoppy beers and has extensively studied pizza and sushi making. He’s been known to visit seven or eight taco trucks before breakfast and co-founded a wild pizza contest called Pizzapalooza (dress code: way too much pepperoni print). But he’s probably happiest shucking a bag of oysters, eating some steamed Dungeness crab he caught that morning and drinking an IPA with family and friends. Justin is proud to volunteer with the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Station 25, based in Vesuvius.
SUPPORT FOR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
Since we opened, we have been proud to support the Salt Spring Island non-profits and civic organizations listed below. Whether you are a resident or visitor to Salt Spring, we would encourage you to learn more about the great work that these groups do to help others, build community and make this island such a special place.
Gulf Islands Marine Rescue Society
Lady Minto Hospital
Salt Spring Cooperative Preschool
Salt Spring Centre School
Fernwood Elementary School Volleyball
Fulford Elementary School
The Penelakut Tribe
Tsunami Circus
The Salt Spring Sneakers Running Club
Salt Spring Photography Club
Salt Spring Cruisers
The Cats of Salt Spring Rescue
Koastal Dog Rescue
Gulf Islands Open Tennis Tournament
Maracaibo Golf Tournament
Shakespeare on Salt Spring Island