The Catfish Joint

It’s gone. Too bad, I liked the joint.
I wonder what Big Mike is up to these days?

Sadly this place moved down the strip center to share space with the Holy Smokes BBQ place (apparently same owners), which has been a disservice to its now former charm. The old spot was easy, bright, and felt familiar and the new space is somewhat hidden, dark, and not comfortable. The fusion of BBQ and a good fish spot just doesn’t work, especially since the BBQ restaurants «signature» is blowing smoke throughout the restaurant.
Quality and ambiance seem to have suffered and it’s just not the same.
Most likely won’t be back unless it moves into its own space again… sorry, I really used to like you Catfish Joint.
p. s. we sampled the BBQ and it was not that great.

Good catfish basket! Good shrimp basket! The lobster bisque and clam chowder were unique in flavor. Not my cup of tea, but others enjoy it.
The service was warm and hospitable!
****** Update******** 05/​28/​12*********
I decided to host my grandmothers birthday lunch here, we grew to a party of 16! Which if you’ve ever been could very well fill the entire place! (Sorry to the Wednesday lunch regulars.) I must say that they did great! They got the food orders out fast and correct! Service was wonderful!

Wow, this place was delicious! I had fried catfish, fried oysters, coleslaw, fried okra and hushpuppies.
It was the best catfish I’ve had in a long time!
The waitress was very nice!
I wanted to try their sweet potato fries but they were fresh out. I’m sure they are scrumptious! compared to all their other items.

This place is exactly what small, inexpensive neighborhood joints should be. It is a small storefront in a strip mall, next to the run down Winn Dixie. And it is delicious. Their fried basa is excellent, especially in the tacos. The tacos are two large portions, on flour tortillas, with cabbage, fresh tomatoes and cilantro, and a little sour cream. Last time we were there the owner suggested ordering them with blackened mahi, which I will try next time. I have also enjoyed their fried okra, and their onion-​y hush puppies on occasion. The food is always consistent, and the service is always friendly and fast. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood.

I have been driving by this place for years, but the Living Social deal couldn’t be turned down. I have been back twice more. Yes, plain little joint just like the name indicates, but have not met a stranger behind the counter, everybody is friendly (had one young lady who didn’t have an answer to one of our questions and she was up front about it.) «I’m sorry, I’ve only been here for two days, I’ll find out.»
I grew up in Texas eating home fried Catfish cooked by a former professional cook mother and I’ll take Catfish Joint over hers. Onion rings and hush puppies are also to die for. I also have had the fried okra and it is crunchy outside and tasty fresh in the center. I like the feeling that it’s not greasy; I know it is, but they apparently change their grease very regularly. I have been there now at lunch, midday and night and have yet to taste anything of burnt or old grease.
I guess my only gripe, and this is on me, is the prices are high in my estimation. Having said that, the other gripe is there is too much food! So, with my portion control style of eating I can eat two meals out of one order! I would like smaller portions for a smaller price.
I can only guess that the people who don’t like this place are some kind of food snobs; this is good old fashioned fish, damn near done to perfection.

Used my Living Social deal here last night. ($ 8.00 = $ 16.00)
Out of the four — I was the one who got burned. Everyone else was just peachy happy with their baskets of fried fineness.
I ordered their fried Maui Maui basket — yes their most expensive offering on the menu. ($ 9.50) One might think their most expensive selection would be close to the best they have to offer — sorry, but wrong. Go with the catfish.
My filet was ½″ x 3″ x 4″ — maybe. It truly looked like a McDonalds filet of fish sandwich portion but was not nearly as enticing– in texture, flavor, or appearance. Actually the fish flavor was minimal. I knew I was eating fish. The filet was slightly over cooked and well just a freakin’ dud — okay? (one day soon I will start remembering to take the damn camera!) If this experience wasn’t on a meal deal, I’d been pretty upset.
Three orders of onion rings on the table were served up over cooked– but I loved the extra crispiness. They use panko so the breading is the ultimate in crispy fried. The breading was right on the verge of changing to burnt-​brown. After we were ¾ into our meals a fresh basket of piled high rings were brought to the table with the apology admitting the over cooked batches. Nicely done CJ.
Tried some of the fried okra and for me, this was good– if you like okra!
Oh, I should mention. The eating area is VERY small and this is a popular place. Plan to eat in the car if there are more that 5 of you. We were feeling lucky at our table for four availability.
So CJ:
We’re coming back all the same, so your Living Social outreach «netted» you a new customer.
Even though the let-​down of my filet kinda pisses me off, I’m sure you are the place for catfish, clam strips and shrimp! Gotta try your –from scratch– clam chowder too.

Love me some Catfish Joint! If you want the freshest fish, lightly battered and fried to perfection then HELLO! Welcome to paradise! It’s tucked away on the corner of a strip, simple no frills quick eats spot. The Pollack was to die for, the catfish also amazing. Wendy was super nice and extremely helpful and friendly. There is really nothing bad to say, its extremely reasonably priced, around $ 6-​$ 9 and i was stuffed to the brim. FRESH! FRESH! FRESH! That is all.

UPDATE:
I came in on a Friday night craving southern fried fish n chips and found out I was the last customer that night.
Ordered #2 Basa Basket. Paid about $ 9 and some change with an extra side of their DELICIOUS HUSH PUPPIES.
The lady that cashed me in was pretty new. It was her 2^nd day. So I trusted my order to be «right» once I walked outta there.
Got home — I received 2 Basa filets and my side of hush puppies! THAT WAS IT! NO fries at all! I was soooo pissed I tried calling the number to inform them about the situation.
No Answer.
Next day — My mission was to prove to them they cant sell me 2 fish filets and my side of hush puppies for $ 9+!!!
So I came in the next day an hour after they opened and I was looking for the lady and the manager/​owner…
It was a diff staff from last night… so I told the lady up front I am here to talk to the manager about my order last night and being the last customer etc. I showed her my reciept and picture on my phone etc.
I told her if she can just give me the fries that would be great and fair.
She told the cook to drop some fries for me… a few mins later she asked me what did I order last night. I stated the Basa Basket.
She then turned around and told the cook to just make the basket of fries a BASA Basket!
I was amazed at how she handled the whole situation and was happy that she reimbursed my wIhole meal for FREE!
THAT IS HOW YOU TREAT CUSTOMERS AND STAYING IN BUSINESS!
FYI — THE OWNER INCREASED THE PRICES ON THE MENU. I RECALL GETTING A BASKET FOR ABOUT $ 5 OR SO AND $ 8 FOR THE DINNER PORTION. AND NOW THE BASKET IS ABOUT $ 7.29…ABOUT $ 2.29 INCREASE! WOW!

I can’t believe that this place has gotten such good reviews. It is the worst place I have ever eaten at in my life. The fish is over cooked and bland. T think these reviews have to be written by people who just don’t know good food because the food at the catfish joint is not good. Don’t waste your money at this place. There are plenty of good seafood places in Orlando and this is not one of them.

Nothing crazy here. This is straight up awesome southern fried catfish. The hushpuppies were perfectly cooked, crunchy on the outside and just fluffy enough on the inside that I would eat 1000 if I could. I would hug all of them. But that’s crazy. There is no way I could hug all of the hushpuppies at The Catfish Joint.
EDIT 10÷4÷2011: I decided to drop this review to 4 stars after thinking about this restaurant some more. It would be perfect if they added in a TV or two. I went there by myself and only had my phone and the country music (not preferable AT ALL) to entertain myself.

My husband got take– out from Catfish Joint the other night. He brought home delicious, crunchy catfish and flounder. The calamari he ordered was crisp and tender– not at all rubbery. I really want to get my hands on some of those hush puppies. I have not tried their sides, but when i do I’ll update this review.

A couple of weeks ago I had a craving to eat a fish sandwich. As I was looking across the internet to find a place I stumbled upon The Catfish Joint. I am so happy I tried this place. I loved everything about this place. The atmosphere, prices, and best of all THE FOOD!
I ordered a whiting fish sandwich, mac & cheese, and fries. I got a lot of food for just about $ 10. The food was very flavorful and delicious. The lady at the register was very nice and helpful and inside was very clean. I would definitely recommend The Catfish Joint to anyone who loves good fish.

I stopped in here for lunch one day this week, FINALLY. It’s a very straightforward place, fish is on the menu and the menu is good!
I ordered the mahi fish tacos to go. It’s one big soft taco with a fried fillet, with slaw, pico and sour cream. I opted out of the sour cream but after eating it I wished I had gotten it. I also sampled a hush puppie and some collard greens. The greens were over cooked for my liking, and loaded with ham. The hush puppies were really tasty though, particularly with some malt vinegar. MmmmmmmmmYummy!
The fish was just ok. It didn’t seem like it was freshly battered and fried, and maybe that’s because I got the mahi. I’ll definitely be swinging by again soon though, to try out some other fish and some of that homemade mac-​n-​cheese!

Unilocal reviews sent me in search of The Catfish Joint. But since the Mrs. only eats raw fish (as in sushi), I had to wait for a vacation day to try it out for lunch. So over Christmas…
And, yea, I went before the order counter, Ordering I doth do. And verily, fish they did serve. And upon it, I did eat. And it was good.
I you like true fried fish, this is your local place for lunch.
It is not fancy at all. It is a store front in a Winn Dixie center that does good food without fuss. To steal an album title from Alex Bevan (bonus points for anyone who knows Alex Bevan), this is «Simple Things, Done Well.»
You order at the counter and there are about six tables in front of it. You can have the fried fish, or perhaps the fried fish. I would try the fried fish. Call it intuition. Mutton is not recommended.
I had the fried catfish basket. Its trip from the fryer to my table was maybe 45 seconds. I got two nice pieces of catfish with a slew of fries and some hush puppies. Still sizzling. The breading on the fish bears no resemblance to Long John Silver (thank God). It is a light batter with corn meal and seasoning, the way you get it when you come in off the lake and the fish camp cook is still sober. Very tasty. You can eat it with the cocktail sauce or the malt vinegar on the table.
Fries were good. Crispy outside. Creamy inside. With Vinegar.
Hush puppies were seasoned just right and not greasy. In fact, nothing was greasy.
I would have to say the portions are not big. But they are enough. And the price was like $ 5.99, so something smaller than the whale that swallowed Jonah is not unexpected. If you are THAT hungry, get two baskets and pig out for the price of a Long John’s L-​1 with an ‘add a plank.’

I’m new to the area and had a craving for fish. I found this place online and went right over. The place was empty. I ordered the catfish basket that included two pieces of fish, hush puppies and fries. The fish was very strong and the seasoning was mediocre. The fries and hush puppies were fresh and were also averagel

I was surpised at how good it was. My husband and I have been passing by there for over a year now. I got a fried catfish sandwich and fried okra and it was delicious! We’ll definitely be back.