The Only Way is Essex

CATCH Restaurant

147 Queen's Rd,
Buckhurst Hill
IG9 5AZ

With a girly catch up dinner well overdue, we made reservations at a new spot in Essex we had heard a great deal about - CATCH. 

Ahead of our arrival we expressed our excitement via Social Media, as we hadn’t visited a Seafood restaurant since Simply Fish. Offering some fighting talk via Twitter we hoped, for their sake, that CATCH would live up to our expectations.

Situated in an area infamous for its ITV "reality" show, The Only Way Is Essex, we looked forward to the glitz and glamour the show consistently portrays. The restaurant did not disappoint!

Rossini

The glam of Essex is brought to life in the restaurant by a lively atmosphere and club style music. The chandeliers, black, white and silver themed decor and endless mirrors were great for checking up on yourself however, it did make it difficult to gauge exactly how big/small the restaurant is.

Drinks

Let’s start the night off right, and what’s a girls night without cocktails? Candace chose a Rossini, a champagne cocktail with strawberry liquor and Jamelia went for something more chilled - pineapple juice. Candace’s cocktail was very elegant and light; mind you she drove tonight so the turn up stopped there.

Starters

Starters

Once presented with the menu, we were truly spoilt for choice. Unable to choose, we decided to order several starters and share them between us: Catch Tempura Prawns, Fish Cakes, Crispy Fried Calamari, Scallops, Organic Smoked Salmon and Pan Fried Squid.

Of our choice of starters, in all honesty the Tempura Prawns were by far a crowd favourite, with the calamari and scallops taking joint second place. The fish cakes we found a little bland with too much potato for our liking and not enough seasoning. The Smoked Salmon was pretty standard and the squid was seasoned well.

Mains

For mains, the majority vote was Lobster in some capacity. 

Lobster and Prawn Thermidor

Jamelia opted for Lobster and Prawn Thermidor served with thin chips, while Candace went for the whole lobster (might we mention only cost £25!). Another quick history lesson, Thermidor is creamy sauce, which originated from France and it was a fantastique choice! Fans of Carbonara and Alfredo dishes would enjoy this one, however it was refreshing how mild the sauce was; we can’t stand cheese or cream overload! The thin chips were amazing, didn’t need additional salt, and were very light.

Whole Lobster

Candace partnered her lobster with fat chips (why not!), which she could lavishly dip into the herby, buttery sauce the lobster meat lay in. The meat was tender, flavoursome and because it was a whole lobster, very filling. The fat chips were few but more than enough.

Here’s another one for the books, we skipped dessert this time around, and asked for the very friendly waitress to bring over the bill. 

In the meantime the surprises didn't stop there, what looked like the owner, came over and said “We’ve had some complaints from other diners expressing that you are too loud”, well you can only imagine how we responded!  He then went on to say, “Only joking, you’re my favourite table of the night”. We love a bit of the old "banter" so this did have us laughing for a while.

All in all, Catch facilitates excellent food quality, quantity and variety. The venue lends itself to big groups as well as intimate dinners (although maybe not on a Saturday). With charismatic staff and an approachable manager, for great seafood, The Only Way Is Essex!

WOM Spits and Chews

Spits:

• ·      The fish cakes
• ·      Limited parking

Chews:

• ·      The other starters, specifically the tempura prawns
• ·      Price
• ·      Venue ambience
• ·      Waiting staff

Tastecard: Denied

Price: £35pp including cocktails

Overall WOM Rating: 4 kisses out of 5

Verdict: CHEWS :)