Catch22 Lobster Bar — Restaurant in Moncton

My fiance (Jessica) and I had a craving for lobster today. We decided to give Catch 22 a go. I thought I had remembered this place being upscale, with table clothes and dim lighting. It was far from that on this vist. It had more of a seasonal take-out feel. The first thing we noticed when we entered, was a strong musty smell. There was a waitress sitting at a booth in the dinning room, cleaning it and another waitress at the front cash who appeared to be trying to figure something out with another customer's bill. Neither waitress greeted us and we stood there for a few minutes without anyone so much as looking at us to smile or say "we will be right with you". Both Jessica and I discussed our confusion about if we should seat ourselves or wait to be seated, there was no sign saying "please wait to be seated" and as previously mentioned, it seemed more like a dive take-out. Finally when the waitress looked up, she took us to our seat. It was a booth with ripped seats that had been taped to repair them and I noticed several seats in the dinning room were the same way. We also noticed that both waitresses were dressed all in black. It looked good, but our waitress' (Jaqueline according to our recept) shirt and apron, were filthy dirty. Our flatware was on the table and wrapped in cloth napkins. The flatware was very clean and shiny. It was around 7:30 on a Saturday evening and there were only 2 other tables seated. The menus were already on the table and not in folders like you would expect from a higher end establishment, but rather laminated. Our waitress brought us a bottle of water and left the bottle on the table. I love when they do this. I don't have to wait for a water refill. I wish more places did this. Jessica opted for the steamed lobster that did not have a price listed on the menu. That's fair as lobster prices are usually based on market and fluctuates. This dish was to include a steamed lobster, vegetables and a side. She chose risotto as her side. I choose the Fishers Platter for $52. It was to come with a half lobester, vegetables and a side. I chose mashed potato as my side. Side options were limited to mash potato, risotto or fries. No baked or twice baked potato, no salad of any kind, no sweet potato fries. Both of our lobsters were served barely warm. I actually enjoyed this temperature very much. It was easy to handle and eat. Jessica's risotto wasn't creamy but was sticky. The flavor was "ok". If give it a 6/10. The veg was steamed broccoli and carrot and I'd give those about an 8/10 for both of ours. My mash potato was dry and flavorless, I'd give that a 2/10. Both of our lobsters were a 7/10. Not the best either of us have ever had but not the worst either. My meal came with two scallops and two shrimp. Both the scallops and shrimp were cooked perfectly. Jessica also ordered an Amaretto Sour that she enjoyed very much. When the bill came out, Jessica's meal was $86. I was ok with paying whatever, because I hadn't discussed the price at the beginning with the waitress, I do feel this is a bit steep and here is why. I noticed on the menu that they offer a side of 3 scallops for $22 or 3 shrimp for $20. Based on that price, my $52 meal would break down like so... $14.67 for two scallops, $13.33 for two shrimp and $24.05 for a half lobster and vegetables and side. So how is a full lobster and side going to be $86? 🤔 I could see maybe the same price as my meal but I got scallops and shrimp instead of the other half of the lobster. Or even $60 or $65 if you what to be crazy, but $86?? Definitely not worth it. If give this overall meal, atmosphere, staff friendliness and cleanliness, price, etc, a 4.5/10. We...

Delicious well prepared food. I would have given 4.5 stars if I could.

I had the Lobster Thermidor which was spectacular! Just the right amount of cheese and creamy mushroom lobster sauce. After cracking open the generous sized lobster claws I enjoyed dipping them into the thermidor sauce. The vegetables that accompanied my meal were a perfectly cooked buttery mix of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and onion. The baked potato was delicious. The server promptly brought me sour cream when asked. There was no butter served with the baked potato, but the sour cream sufficed.

My husband had the Seafood Jambalaya which consisted of a generous portion of shrimp cooked to perfection. His meal was delicious though somewhat oily. Despite the copious amount of oil he enjoyed his dinner immensely.

For dessert, I had the Crème Brûlée. It arrived perfectly presented and the top cracked nicely when tapped with a spoon. Though perfectly cooked and hot on the outside, the center was cold.

My husband had a tasty double serving of their delicious sorbet. As no one came by to check on our desserts, I went ahead and ate the cold area of the crème brûlée and it was still very tasty.

I ordered a coffee that never arrived. As the server became busy with a large table in front we chose not to try to flag someone down for coffee. We waited patiently for the bill after finishing our desserts.

For drinks with our meal I had a superbly spiced Bloody Caesar and my husband had a refreshing Iced Tea.

We weren’t asked if we wanted more drinks and ran out of water mid meal. Our server was busy and we weren’t able to get more water until our dessert order. Other staff walked back and forth without offering to refill our water glasses or asking if we’d like more drinks.

Overall, this restaurant is a tremendously enjoyable experience and I highly recommend it.

There were a few minor things that bothered me.

When I arrived promptly for our reservation, it was quite busy. The hostess looked at me without smiling then when back to what she was doing. I stood in the doorway largely ignored for ten minutes. A smile and nod acknowledging my presence would have been welcoming while the hostess continued with her phone conversation. A friendly server sat me at 8:10.

It took a while for our server to approach us. She was friendly when she came to our table and we liked her very much.

Things that bothered me were staff walking back and forth empty handed past our table while we sat there with empty plates for fifteen minutes. No one took the initiative to remove our dirty dishes for our server. We were served dessert with dirty side plates and utensils on the table as well as empty drink glasses. I realize it’s de rigeur these days to leave empty drink glasses on the table so people can see how much they’ve drank in some establishments but that combined with the plates and utensils while eating our dessert was off putting. The servers seemed to work in a ‘hands off’ each other’s tables way rather than cooperatively clearing and checking on one another’s tables. Including ourselves, I could see other people waiting unnecessarily too.

All in all, it was an extremely busy Sunday evening which is a testament to the popularity and excellence of Catch 22.

Overall an enjoyable dinner experience with a couple of minor hiccups. The food was excellent, the server was very friendly and we look forward...

So this post may not get any likes because I'm not like the other posts raving about everything at Catch 22. This review was edited after speaking to my guests.

Food here is ok. Definitely overpriced and overhyped. It's like there isnt many choices in NB, so they have to rave about this place.

Lobster wasn't season well, but that's just preference. Nothing was overcooked though, so that's a plus, cept my meal....

So here is my I depth review.

We reserved a table here the night before for 7pm. We arrived promptly and seated at 7:06pm. The place is super busy, even on a weekday, so we expect everyone to be busy and a bit stressed out. The atmosphere is joyful and loud with chatter.

We were provided menus and we immediately asked just for water as we were excited to get into the menu. We waited, and waited and after 15mins the server finally arrived for our order. There was 5 of us:

Fisherman's Platter Lobster gratin (app size) Lobster casserole Fish and chips Mussels and Cajun Shrimp (app)

We patiently waited and saw other tables being served, some with 4 people and others with couples. They came in and out and we still waited. When we got our bread, we noticed that one of the butters was open and half used, meaning that the bread basket was used prior and hopefully not the bread. Our server did tell us that it was fresh bread. Okok, she was busy, she didnt check it. Next!

We waited 1 hour and 14 mins before the first meal was dropped to us. And to top it off, they forgot my fish and chips. They forgot an item that literally takes 10 to 15mins to create and made. Very annoyed by now, but she our server blamed it on a mistake by other servers. I work the service industry, I understand we get tired as servers and ultra overwhelmed.

So I can see she's wanting to correct it. I got my meal about 10mins after which was fine. My guests are busy eating as I took a look at what I got. It came to me a bit burnt looking and realiatcially, almost felt like it was from frozen, what am I expecting here, something battered very well and cooked well too. Oh well.

Not sure if this was just a bad day, but I never really bash workers. They all work hard to meet expectations for guests. I guess I would suggest a better system to divide sections for servers. And possibly more cooks, can never blame the cooks, they work to make the engine run. Our server was definitely tired and over worked in her total 6 hour shift (place opens at 4pm to 10pm.

My experience was definitely not amazing, but food was ok. Still a solid 2/5. Its now 8:54pm and Im about to eat after making time to write this review. And it's now 9:15pm and all I can say is we wont be telling anyone to come here.

Oh we got the bill and server told us she will do something, and here is the bill. Everything we ordered. Lol.... place is a joke...