The Catch — Restaurant in Moore

The most important thing to know about "The Catch" is probably it's least-obvious aspect: it isn't just a seafood restaurant, it's a Cajun seafood restaurant. It's an important distinction.

We visited "The Catch" in Moore at the old Smashburger location tonight (Friday), and our impressions were decidedly mixed. While fried and Cajun-style "boil" options are prevalent, I tried the Grilled Whitefish ($12.95); while the portions were generous, the seasoning was underwhelming and the bed of rice on which it was served had almost no seasoning at all. The side of "cheesy grits" had a smokey undercurrent, which I found was due to the use of Monterrey Jack cheese along with some peculiar spices that made it a bit unusual. The coleslaw side was creamy and good.

My wife had the half-pound crab boil (market price, appx $12), which was presented without a small crab fork normally offered at such restaurants to aid in the removal of crab meat from the often small nooks and crannies of the beast. The garlic butter sauce was flavorful, but overwhelmingly greasy. The potatoes had an undercurrent of flavor similar to that of the grits, possibly suggesting a common cooking broth, but had a spicier kick than the grits. The corn on the cob was really small and, quite frankly, looked like it had been sitting for a time, waiting to be served. It wasn't very good. My wife said the crab itself was "okay."

Overall, I'd say we came away a bit disappointed in " The Catch." It wasn't bad, but it it didn't knock us off our feet, either. We might need to offer it a second chance to give it a fairer shake, but our first visit left us disappointed overall. We were optimistic about a new choice for seafood, but less than impressed with...

This is the second time we came here. The first time was about a month ago, and everything was great, except for the prices(they are unbelievably high). This time, knowing that the prices were high, we still went. I walked up to the counter and asked about the crawfish, since I didn't see it on the menu. The girl told me that they are out of season for them right now. Ok, understandable. So I asked her when the season is and she told me she didn't know nor did she go and ask someone who might. I went ahead and ordered anyways. I ordered The Catch Boil, and gator. The gator (9.99) came out first. Although it was good, there was barely enough in the basket. They definitely need to lower the price for the amount they give you. Not even 2 minutes later (not even exaggerating) our food came. The Catch Boil is supposed to come with a 1/2 pound of crab, 1/2 pound of shrimp, 1/2 pound of sausage, corn and potatoes (23.99). Well the crab was the smallest cluster of crab I've ever seen. Looks like I got a baby 😔. The shrimp was good. The sausage, I never had before, so took a small bite of it. It tasted ok as well. The corn and potatoes, I wish I could tell you how they looked and or tasted, but it wasn't on the plate. Now mind you that this is a $23.99 plate. The guy who brought us our food seemed aggravated by something and was not friendly. Like it was an inconvenience for me to ask for melted butter. The lemons that were on my plate were the tail end of the lemon itself, all rine. I would of been better off going to Red Lobster (which their food is mediocre) but at least I would of had a salad and biscuits to also eat. I nor my family will be returning here...

Before I begin I think it's only fair that I do mention that I moved here from the coast of North Carolina. So I'm used to having fresh, delicious, very well prepared seafood. This is a counter service restaurant you walk to the front, make your order, pay and then they bring it out to you when it's ready, it is not sit down service. The menu is fairly extensive especially for being in the middle of the country. You could not ask for more friendly service. The person we spoke with answered questions, gave us information that we didn't even know we needed yet, but we did. I asked if the key lime pie was made in house and a very honestly told me no but they do make their banana pudding. I settled on an oyster po'boy. The bread wasn't what I was expecting. The oysters were very dry and incredibly fishy. I literally ate one bite of that sandwich. I got the side of veggies which was absolutely delicious and I finished those. My son got onion rings and fried gator. The onion rings were not what he was expecting, they were very thinly sliced and fried and had the appearance of like french fried onions or shoe string potato, just shredded and fried. The said the gator was chewy. My husband got fried fish and said it was really dry. Additionally, the condiment bottles at our table were very sticky which was off-putting. Otherwise the restaurant was clean and neat. I don't know if I will try this...