Catch 22 Beachside Grille and Bar — Restaurant in Table View

We have been to Catch 22 3 or 4 times since moving in to the area and each time, sat at the bar and been served (and entertained) by a really great barman. We had 'starters' as snacks each time and the food was good ad the service great. However, we took some friends there to eat last week and it was a disaster. Firstly I have to say that we are all in the hospitality industry and one of our friends has been all over the world, owning restaurants so we do actually know what we are talking about and not just complaining. I booked a table and we got to sit on the terrace which is very nice with a lovely view. Ordered drinks, 3 beers and I was told to go and look at the wine lists around the wall to choose a wine, which I did and at the same time said hi to our friendly barman. I asked him what a specific wine was and he very kindly asked if I would like to try it, which I did. While i was sipping, and chatting, a lady (whom I assume was one of the managers) stood next to the barman and asked if I wanted to buy a bottle of wine, and when I said yes she said that I should go and sit at my table and order and not from the barman as I would 'confuse' our waitress. Irritated, I went to sit down only to discover that the beers had not yet arrived (15 minutes after we gave our order.) The wine arrived (even though the waitress had not come to take the order for it). Food - Fish and chips - cant go wrong. Sushi - salmon roses were ok but the fish was a bit greasy. Mussels - very nice. Steaks : Husband ordered a rump - medium rare. He got a fillet (for which he was charged R275) and it was very rare. Our friend ordered a fillet with a sizzle which meant it was flamed at the table. He received his plate with some chips on it and waited for the steak which never appeared. I caught the eye of the same 'manager' and asked where his steak was. She was extremely abrupt and said that they had a problem with the brandy because it was not flaming and they had to find another brandy. When it arrived (on fire before it got to the table) we were told (by the manager not the waitress) to pass his plate over because it was hot. By this time we had nearly finished our meals. He asked for medium rare - once again almost raw. We told the waitress (and left some of the steak on the plates) and asked her to tell the chef. She brought the bill without us asking for it and when I asked her what the chef had said she said he was sorry. At NO TIME did anyone apologize or the shocking service ( I got up on two occasions to call a waitress) OR the problem with the food. Although this place has a nice atmosphere, I would not...

We wanted to enjoy a nice dinner but unfortunately the attitude of waitress and management made us feel like they actually wanted us to leave the second we came in. We still sat down and ordered drinks. It took us a little longer to decide on the food but we also didn't know that we'd annoy the waitress so much by telling her that need a little bit more time. Her comment was (in a very arrogant manor): "so you still not ready yet?!" When we then asked about the sushi special and if we can take the leftovers home she started laughing at us as if we made a joke and then said "no, because of T&Cs" we then asked for the T&Cs as they were not in the menu we had in front of us but she couldn't give them to us. The board which has the Special written on it also didn't say anything about the T&Cs. The waitress just left to call the manager (without us asking to speak to management) who was speaking to us in a very loud, unfriendly way, telling us the same thing we already heard. As we said that everything was fine and we just wanted to know, she went on and on & telling us that we are not 'entitled' to take leftover sushi home.

Yes, we get the T&Cs story by now but still don’t understand the logic behind it. Why woud a guest not be 'entitled' to take leftover food home that is paid for?

In a world where food waste is a big issue, Catch 22 rather wants to dump leftover food that was already on a guests plate in the bin instead of giving it to the paying guests.

As we were done with dinner and wanted to pay, the now even more annoyed waitress took the payment and left the table without looking at us once, nor did she say "thank you" or "bye". Clearly basic people skills are missing in this place.

Long story short:

1. if there are T&Cs in place for special deals, point it out clearly on your boards and menus in the restaurant so guest can actually read them when they are there

2. be nice to your guests as they are paying for a service and at the end pay your bills too.

3. we always enjoyed coming there but will go...

We visited Catch 22 for the first time recently, we did it on a bad day because there were taxi strikes so they were short staffed and they had very limited options available from the menu. Our waiter explained this to us and we had no issue waiting or ordering from what was available. Since the beginning when we asked for recommendations of wine, he would only suggest high priced wines so we made sure to give him the price range that we were looking before ordering. After this we ordered our mains, I wanted to order fish and chips and the waiter said “no, why fish and chips? You should order the catch of the day or the kingklip” to what I responded why? I am actually craving fish and chips and he then proceeded to convince me to order something else. I ended up ordering the Kingklip with mushroom sauce. After 20 mins he comes back to tell me that there’s no kingklip available, so I just tell him “please bring me fish and chips” to what he replied “no we will change it for a baby kinglip” so I asked him what was the difference and he said nothing just the size. When that bill came we realized that there was a R150 difference on the price of what I had ordered initially, this really upset us because he never mentioned the price difference and we knew he was trying his luck since the beginning. The Kingklip was ok, nothing spectacular and I would’ve definitely not payed R350 for it! When we got home we checked the menu because I never saw a R350 dish on the menu, to our surprise there was no baby kingklip listed on the menu, let alone a R350 one. This waiter should’ve known better and advise its customers about any changes on the price of their dish, specially if they are suggesting it. We felt ripped off, we def...