Catch — Restaurant in Miami Beach

20% Service Charge Included…. How to cheat the client giving a terrible service (part 1)

It was a nice evening, my friends have reserved a table in this supposedly nice restaurant in SOFI (Miami Beach) to celebrate our friend’s birthday. We were all happy and excited until we arrived at Catch and we were welcomed and seated to our 1 week in advance reserved table.

Awful! The table was just in front of the smelly open kitchen where the smell of fried oil was everywhere around us. We kindly ask to be moved to another, just to not smell as deep fried calamari after the dinner. Luckily one table was becoming free and they kindly moved us to the new one. Surprised but happy to have found a standard smell-free table, we asked for drinks before eating and ordered starters and entres..

This was the point when everything turned incredibly disappointing; not even meeting the level of Burger King where the waiter and manager are more nice and professional.

We waited 1 hour for 5 drinks (simple one I swear, from margaritas to gin tonic, the most difficult ones). In the meantime we kindly asked to the “Ghost Waiter” (he was never there around, this where the nickname came from) the status of the drinks while 1 appetizer arrived from another waiter we had never seen before. I got the chance to ask him why only one plate arrived and the answer was that he didn’t know and I should have asked it to my waiter (to the one that was never around, the “Ghost Waiter” indeed).

We kindly ask the drinks status again while we had to share one tiny appetizer trying to support our thirsty and starving friends.

Drinks still not arrived while a couple of dishes arrived after 20/25 min from the first one, from the same unknown waiter (our waiter was still missing in action).

Finally all the drinks arrived (good taste I could not say no) but the ice in 1 drink was melted (how long were they staying somewhere waiting to be delivered?)

Unfortunately at this point we have started to seriously politely complain, saying that if the dishes were not ready soon we would have canceled orders and would be asked for the check. I believe that 2 hours waiting without getting anything was the only option.

Surprisingly Alejandra arrived, called maybe by the “Ghost Waiter”, she help us by taking the lead, but maybe a little too much I believe: now in 4-5 minutes all the meals were served at the same time, both the remaining starters and the main dishes. Unbelievable!!!!

So after 2 hours we got our drinks and food together! We couldn’t order any wine to accompany the dishes, so I had my salmon with a margarita… I leave to you the conclusion of the new taste combination. Of course the salmon was cold, not raw thankfully just cold. So we have politely eaten and then after hundreds of excuses from Alejandra and after the cold food and the bad service, we got served a dish of spaghetti for free…

Imagine that me, as an Italian native, receiving a spaghetti for free in a fish restaurant after a Salmon-Margarita meal. How can you offer a complimentary dish like spaghetti at the end of a dinner?!? It can only be that someone else has ordered it and didn’t want it anymore.

At this point we were of course, undoubtedly personally offended.

In the meanwhile, during the drink waiting, I had discretely left the table to look for the “Ghost Waiter” trying to organize a birthday candle (a common practice). Of course he wasn’t around and I had to go to the entrance and asked the lady if she could have helped me. She of course said that everything would have been settled for the surprise and …. can you imagine????? The cake never arrived!!!

I can swear that all of this was unbelievable. Dishes of 50+ USD on average ex taxes ex mandatory service charge, to get all of this. Honestly I have never experienced such a terrible dinner for awhile and trust me I have a little experience of nice restaurants and...

I recently dined at Catch with my husband and friends, and unfortunately, the experience left much to be desired. We had been in for cocktails last month and were blown away by the stunning renovation. After a lovely conversation with the Maître d’, we decided to make a reservation for dinner. However, when I approached the hostess to book, she directed me to Open Table, which felt unnecessary given that I was standing right there. I shrugged it off, and booked as she suggested.

On the night of our reservation, we arrived a few minutes early, knowing how busy Miami restaurants get on the weekends. Upon arrival, the Maître d' mentioned a dress code, something that had never been communicated to us in any prior interaction or through a confirmation call. After giving us a once-over, he let us in but made an offhand comment to my husband, "make sure you hook me up," which was incredibly unprofessional and set a sour tone for the evening.

Once inside, the restaurant was practically empty at 6:45pm on a Friday, which was surprising. Our waiter came by to take our drink order and immediately started pushing appetizers and extras, even after we politely declined the first time. When we ordered entrees only, he seemed uninterested in us for the rest of the evening, barely returning to check in. The service felt dismissive, and the entire attitude of the staff was one of entitlement rather than hospitality.

As someone who works in the service industry, I rarely leave bad reviews, but this experience was a letdown, especially for a restaurant that has been open less than four months. The potential is there, but the staff’s behavior and lack of attention to detail are serious red flags. I hope the management takes this feedback to heart and makes the necessary improvements to match the beautiful setting with the level of service expected from such an establishment.

Before leaving this review, I briefly looked at other reviews to see if anyone else had experienced similar issues, wondering if maybe I was making a big deal out of nothing. I was surprised to find that much of the negative feedback aligned with my experience, though it seems I may be in the minority when it comes to being vocal about it. The problems encountered go beyond the typical "getting out the kinks" phase of a new restaurant. The price point and the expectations set from the moment you walk in signal that this should be a top-tier dining experience, and it simply was not.

I will say, the food was outstanding, but we all know how quickly quality is the first to go when seats are empty.

Editing my review - Since leaving my review, I received a phone call from the GM, Carl. Carl, thank you for reaching out and hearing our concerns. As we mentioned, the food was outstanding AND we tipped 20% so we did not want any confusion as to our character even though we were dissatisfied.

Carl, thank you for giving us your personal cell. If we decide to dine at Catch again, we will reach out to...

Absolute worst experience ever!! I lived in NYC for 9 years and went to Catch regularly and service and food was always on point! However, Miami Beach location just doesn’t live up to that reputation. 10 of us went there last night for a Bday. We started at the bar where the bar man ignored me for 10mins and then said would serve me soon. 20mins later he served me and the bar wasn’t even that busy. Then he disappeared half way through making my drink which he forgot about and apologised. Then I asked to close out and he started the process and then forgot I was waiting for my credit card. Entire process took 30mins. He looked like he was high or drunk just all over the place. My friends said he had been like to them also before I arrived. It was as if it was Catch opening night and the staff were on day 1 of the job. Then we were led to our table where they gave us a table for 9 when we booked for 10, so we squeezed the 10th person onto our table. They apologised for the inconvenience. Btw our reservation was for 8:30pm and we didn’t get seated until 9:30pm. Then whilst we were having appetisers the waiter dropped an espresso martini all my friends dress and then dropped a second drink on me all over my jeans and shirt. Worst part is the waiter just ignored it and continued to take food orders without addressing all the glass that was on the table, chairs and floor. The impact of the drop even cracked my cocktail glass on the table. It took them 15mins to even get my friend and I a chair to sit. Almost 30mins later the manager arrived to apologise who was very nice and gave us a round of drinks and a few appetisers to make up for the bad experience. The appetisers were great, main courses were average except the steak was exceptionally good. The miso sea bass was so sweet it was like a desert which I didn’t finish. Then the floor manager came to our table at 12pm whilst we were waiting for our checks to be given and told us their is a curfew at 12 and we need to leave the rooftop as we are the last table. We told him we have been ready for last 15mins to leave but your have not given us our credit cards back yet. He looked puzzled and then said ‘ok as soon as you sign please could you make your way to downstairs bar’. So awkward!!! I really have no compelling reason to go back as it’s seems the staff are not well trained and when you compare it to Catch New York then these guys look like amateurs....