Restaurant review: Catch

Where we ate:

Catch, Queens Road, Buckhurst Hill

Catch is the place my friend Kim and I always go to for a catch-up. It’s always really chilled out in there, despite being busy – but it’s a perfect place to eat, drink and chat. We went on a Thursday night and considering it wasn’t a Friday or the weekend, it was pretty packed and we sat in our usual place in the far side of the restaurant. The booth area was also occupied by a group celebrating a birthday which made the atmosphere a bit better – there always seems to be a birthday at Catch, but where else would you want to go? I hadn’t been for a few months so was really looking forward to the meal all week!

What we drank:

Kim – cokes

Me – a couple of glasses of Pinot Grigio

What we ate:

Kim – garlic and chilli prawns, followed by chocolate mousse

Me – tempura prawns, followed by vanilla cheesecake

We both shared a couple of sides: skinny fries and a house salad

I seem to be working my way through the menu at Catch and every time I’ve been, I’ve tried something new. I was really tempted to have the squid, like I had last time, but decided on the tempura prawns after seeing this picture on Instagram that Nicky uploaded. They are on the starter menu but I asked for a main size portion (something you can do with all the starters, if you ask!), but there were way too many for one person. I reckon there must have been 18 prawns on my plate, needless to say I did eat them all – some with sweet chilli dipping sauce and the others with mayo! They were really light considering the batter and the nicest tempura I’ve ever eaten.

We always share sides and often choose the salad because it’s lovely and goes so well with the fish/seafood. It contains green beans which is quite unusual for a salad but it also complements the garnish with the prawns well (I’m still wondering what is in it, but whatever it is, it’s amazing).

Kim always has the garlic and chilli prawns, which are always on the specials’ board – you can also have them in spaghetti.

Talking of specials, I went for the cheesecake for dessert and despite the size and richness, it was the yummiest vanilla cheesecake! It was almost a meal in itself and as soon as it arrived to the table, I could feel the pounds being added to my waist. Served with frozen berries and fruit compote, it was delicious and something I would thoroughly recommend.

Another excellent meal and evening at Catch – great food, service and company! I’m so desperate to go on a Wednesday, where ‘Paella Wednesday’ takes place – I do love a paella and I’d be interested to see how it matches up to a traditional Spanish one, cooked on a fire. Once again, if you’ve not been to Catch before – go! You won’t be disappointed!