Catch — Restaurant in New York

I feel even 3 stars is generous for this place. We came to Catch after the recommendation of friends who lives in the area. First off, the vibe of this place is basically a sardine can full of the finance bros of NYC. It’s so crowded that you can’t even walk around properly, and it’s so freaking dark that we saw people and even ourselves had to use flashlights so we could read the menu. We had reservations at 8 and were told to hangout by the bar, after ordering some drinks and waiting 30 minutes we were told our table was finally ready. Now, being from Boston we know that sometimes reservations run over but this was sheer overbooking. Our table was upstairs in the corner right below the AC vent and next to the speakers blaring music. Not the best place for a group of 4 or really anyone to be seated. When our waiter came we asked if it was possible to turn the AC off and the music down a little so we can hear our party. We were told no, they can’t turn the AC off because it gets hot upstairs. Fair enough but then don’t put a table right underneath it. He told us he’d get a manager who came over about fifteen minutes later. We were told unfortunately there were no other tables available but they would be willing to turn the AC off while we dined and the music down a touch. Perfect problem solved- wrong the AC was turned off and back on in less than 5 minutes and never addressed again even after we repeated the request to our server. Food was okay- I would say honestly that was the only good part. For apps we ordered the catch roll, fries, oysters, and lobster Mac and cheese. Catch roll by far the best thing on the menu. Minus the fact they gave us soy sauce but no sauce dish to put it in but the flavor was so good you didn’t really need it. Oysters were fresh and average priced nothing special. Truffle fries were also good- served hot but got cold quickly due to AC. Came with ketchup and aioli and were well seasoned. DO NOT order the lobster Mac and cheese. Absolutely revolting smell, so over seasoned. The lobster meat is so finely minced I don’t even think they put more than one claw of lobster meat in the dish. We left 99% of it on the plate. For mains we had mushroom pasta, chicken bao buns, branzino and the crispy chicken. Mains were good, not great. I would say if you’re hungry probably don’t order the branzino. My husband was a bit disappointed with the portion size but taste was good. Crispy chicken was great juicy and well seasoned but veggies were a bit undercooked as carrots still had an audible crunch to them. Bao buns were fire the sauce on the side made the dish. Mushroom pasta was also good if you enjoy and decadent pasta however I found the cream sauce to be a bit over salted and decadent. Overall I would say if you’re coming to Catch, just order takeout and...

For a $400+ dinner, this should not have been our experience upon entrance.

Still fresh in our marriage wanted to do something nice and celebrate with a nice dinner in the city. We decided on Catch NYC in the famous Meat Packing district. We had a 730pm reservation for outside. Upon arrival my wife and I spoke with Amanda at the reception desk who informed us that they had just completed their outdoor seating and that we would need to wait atleast 1 hour 45 minutes for the next availability. We were given the option to be seated inside right away. Apparently our reservation didn't count for anything. Amanda then told us that outdoor seating was first come first serve again despite the fact that we had reservations for outside already. We asked if we could wait the 1hour and 45 minutes at the bar on their rooftop and were given permission to do so.

Once we arrived at the rooftop we noticed right away a plethora of empty tables available outside. We also noticed couples who arrived after we did were being seated outside - hmm despite being told that outside seating was no longer available. After a few minutes we saw Amanda again and asked if we could be seated at one of the many empty seats outside. We there informed that the seats were in-fact reserved and they were waiting on the guests to arrive so they could be seated. Hmmm sounds a bit shady to be honests.

Shortly after we saw another hostess who seemed more than willing to help us. Moments later the manager approached us and confirmed who we were and and then offered to seat us outside on one of the many tables outside that was available. Our issue wasn't the long wait that we were more than willing to do. The issue for us was the lack of consistency in what we were being told and the apparent disrespect we were being given probably because we didn't look like the majority of the people that were in attendance.

I couldn't let this go and so I approached Ron the manager and explained the situation. Ron was super helpful as well as our waiter. Ron explained that telling us we had to wait so long to be seated even though we had reservations was incorrect and unacceptable and apparently wasn't the first time this sort discrimination has happened before. I would've given this place atleast 4 stars but this experience has salted my view on Catch. If you decide to go here i hope your experience is much better than ours and i feel that may be the case especially if you resemble the majority of the people that hang out in the meat packing area of NYc.

The food was good, the cocktails were solid and the ambiance outside was very fetching. If it wasn't for Amanda i would've given this a higher...

We had a reservation for four people at 7 p.m. When we arrived, our table was ready, and we were able to be seated without delay.

The waiter explained the menu to us. Since we had a companion with us who is not a native English speaker, we asked the waiter to speak a bit more slowly. He made no effort to do so, which meant we had to explain everything to our friend ourselves.

We ordered four cocktails: two lychee (very small) and two gin & juice (ridiculously full of ice with little actual drink, costing $20 each).

The food was very tasty. We especially recommend the pretzel bread and the yellowfin tuna.

Unfortunately, the silverware provided for my main course was not clean; it was sticky. I informed the waiter, but he didn’t apologize—just gave me an annoyed look.

The two desserts were delicious, and the “Carnival” was fun and creatively presented. The dessert was the highlight of our evening.

Unfortunately, things went downhill from there.

We received a bill for $522. We handed the waiter our credit card. The waiter returned with the receipt, and it turned out that $594 had been charged. We complained. No apology from the waiter—just mumbled something about not knowing what went wrong and suggested that the higher amount must be correct.

Then the manager came over. We explained the issue to him, and lo and behold, the lower amount was indeed correct. I requested a receipt to confirm the refund of the incorrect charge, but he was unable to provide one. However, he did give us his contact details in case the refund wasn’t processed correctly afterward. Still, no real apology from the manager.

In Europe, we’re used to restaurants going out of their way to make things right after such a significant error. A restaurant manager would be thoroughly embarrassed by such a mistake. Typically, in Europe, they might offer a complimentary dessert or drink to make up for it. Not here.

Make sure to double-check your bill at this restaurant!

Due to this incident and the overall poor service, we are giving only two stars and left zero dollars in tip for...