Catch

I ordered the on-​menu short ribs (not Restaurant Week menu), and it was, in retrospect, below average for $ 25. It’s a large rectangular piece of meat lightly braised in what was supposed to be ginger cabernet jus on a bed of what was supposed to be sweet potato purée surrounded by what was supposed to be carrots and parsnips (and bacon per their website menu btw). Instead, I got a sauce that you couldn’t taste ginger in, had the acidity of tomato-​based sauce (reminiscent of French ox tail dishes), on a bed of regular mashed potatoes. See my photo for proof. When I was here with my friends, I didn’t think too much of how my food wasn’t what I ordered. We had a good time. In terms of service, I was actually glad that the waitress asked how our meal was going and refilled our bread multiple times. I liked that a server offered to take my umbrella so that it wouldn’t make a mess on the floor and supposedly keep it in a safe place for me. Unfortunately, they lost my umbrella, which I discovered when it was no longer in the communal bin of umbrellas he had dumped it in, and I had to walk home in the rain. So you can come here and have a great time with friends and enjoy okay food, but the attentiveness to a customer’s experience is nowhere near par and is something this restaurant needs to work on.

Excellent service!!! Extremely fast! The lobster fettuccine was amazing I recommend! We will for sure come back!!!

Been here twice and its been great both times. Grilled octopus was amazing! Great ambience, nice mix of old and new interior design and décor. Love it!

Yay another Groupon success! Bought a Groupon today on a seafood craving whim and went to an «early-​bird» dinner with my boyfriend because we were starving around 5:30. Walked in and we’re greeted immediately, told the host our reservation and he sat us down at a nice seat in their enclosed «patio» right next to a cool fireplace. We started off with Tangerine Ginger margaritas which were the perfect balance of sharp, flavorful, strong, and sweet (not yucky syrupy sweet at all). Boyfriend really wanted to try the crab beignet appetizer and they were freaking yummy. Basically 3 round rich crispy crabby balls haha! Definitely worth the calories, and is perfectly split between 2. He got the prawn scallop risotto special and I actually got the mussel appetizer as my meal, which was a very fair plate size. Scallops are one of the few foods I dislike, but I always try them to be open-​minded. These were good, so that impressed me! My mussels were so yummy. the tangy sweet coconut broth with the rich chewy chorizo and the tasty mussels were very satisfying. Add to the delicious food another round of drinks, and the server and bussers who were all friendly and attentive… and we left very satisfied and happy.
We will be back :)

Had the striped sea bass and I have to say it was amazing! The atmosphere is really great and inviting. Warm and contemporary. The prices are the same that you would find at a high quality 5-​star restaurant. My friends and I enjoyed it and I know that I’ll be finishing my way back here again. 2 thumbs up and a satisfied customer.

My husband and I ate at Catch on December 29. He had oysters, seabass, and I had French onion soup and the lobster fettuccine.
Five hours later, my husband started to vomit uncontrollably — he was food poisoned from the oysters.
I was not sick from my lobster fettuccine, but it was a terrible dish. The lobster was rubbery, the fettuccine was overcooked, and there were equal amounts of cream and pasta in the dish. Definitely a disappointment for a $ 24 entrée. Strangely, the only dish which was passable in a seafood restaurant was the French onion soup.

We both usually come here almost every Sunday for brunch ! My favorite dish is Cioppino (seafood stew) it good every time & it comes with their tasteful warm & crunchy French bread yummy ! Their service always awesome !!!

we had over 16 people for my birthday brunch and for years they have been flawless with food, drink and making sure everyone was taken care of personally. The food is outstanding and always made to perfection. The staff is over the top with assuring everything is just right, so there is not one single bad thing I can say about Catch and the entire space.
Thank U all

Really can’t say enough good things about this place. But I can also say some bad things. But see the 5 stars? The bad is merely nitpicking.
Atmosphere:
Casual but nice. The front room has a central fireplace and if you get a table next to it, your perpetually freezing SO will rejoice. It’s bit quieter and relaxed. The back room with the bar will also have a tv on with whatever game playing and your evening will be sporadically interrupted by the cheers of the few older men at the bar living vicariously through professional athletes by celebrating a touchdown, basket, or some other athletic feet they were never capable of doing themselves.
The service is good. Professional, personable, attentive, but not pushy or overly intrusive. Which is all you can really ask for.
Food:
A word about fries. I have never gotten them here. I probably never will. I’m not about paying 11 bucks for fries. That being said, when I see them, they look so damned awesome, they’re almost worth that price.
For starters, it’s all about the mussels. Why wouldn’t it be? They’re fantastic here. Excellent flavorful broth with just a bit of kick to it.
The cioppino is fantastic, although the gf and I prefer the broth in the mussels appetizer. Both are so good that it’s not detriment, just a preference for the presence of the chorizo and spiciness. But you’ll routinely find this place listed on websites for best cioppino in SF for good reason.
Their catch of the day is always on point. Most recently it was a Hawaiian Butterfish. TBH, I have no idea if it was escolar or some type of cod prepared in a certain manner. I forgot to ask. But there was no gastro-​intestinal distress so who cares. The preparation was excellent. The fish tender and firm, broke apart easily. It wasn’t dry, and was very hearty. It was pared well with the kale and mushroom sauté over the carrot-​corn purée.
Cocktails :
Like most places, they serve very simple cocktails but add one extra liquor and or one ‘weird’ ingredient then charge 12 bucks. Modern scourge of the restaurant world. But they’ll charge the same for a Low Shelf Manhattan too, so it’s either get the good stuff or stick with water.
That being said, the gf, who is not a drinker, loved their Chamomile Conundrum. Ingredients: gin, st germain, agave nectar, chamomile syrup, lime juice, white cranberry juice. See? Real basic drink, but added one fancy liquor (St. Germain) and one weird (chamomile syrup) and it takes a gin and juice and makes it a 12 dollar concoction.
Given the accessibility via Muni and to the Castro, it’s an excellent date spot or place to go before clubbing or hitting the Brewcade.
if seafood is what you’re craving, go to Catch.

Wacky bad service and expensive drinks makes an evening here a lot less enjoyable than it used to be. The place is bustling and has a fun and classy feel. But, the menu feels stuck, and let’s talk about the service…
Overall the wait staff was friendly, but proficient in avoiding eye contact. Not hostile, but maybe overworked?
The examples of service FAIL:
* Chicken dumplings were brought with on a platter which also held a small EMPTY bowl for dipping sauce. The food runner dumped it on our table and disappeared. After a couple minutes without staff in our area of the restaurant (in a central area by the inside window on the patio) I got up and went to the bar tender to ask for dipping sauce. He was agreeable, assured me he’d get us sauce (and did), but seemed unsurprised and unapologetic.
* I had seafood risotto with a generous amount of shellfish. There was no bowl for the shells so I piled them on my bread plate. About ½ through the meal, our waitress came by and took the heaping plate of empty shells away. That’s it. She didn’t bring another plate or bowl for the remaining shells. (I used my husband’s bread plate for the remaining shells.)
* The very fast and efficient table clearers went for our bread bowl as the main course was about to be delivered. My husband stopped the clearer and asked for more bread. The clearer said sure. That’s it. Five minutes later we stopped the waitress and asked for more bread (and got it).
And, ordering drinks was like visiting a foreign country and having disconnects on the culture. Or, maybe our waitress doesn’t drink. In any event:
* She didn’t know what the house brands of gin or whisky were. We thought she was a long-​time waitress we’ve had there before, but this ignorance really made me wonder. In any event, she did go and ask. But, we were surprised that she had to, and (not her fault!) the well liquor is not reasonable quality for a good restaurant. Seagram’s gin and some low-​quality bourbon. IMHO they would have been more suitable in a dive bar… but, maybe I am being too picky.
* The waitress asked what garnish people wanted in their Gibsons.
* I ordered a perfect Manhattan. The waitress came back and asked if I wanted sweet Vermouth in it.
The staff was not impolite, but a series of jarring incidents and questions brought us out of the relaxed dining mode to deal with surprises. I think the restaurant management needs to look at staffing levels and training! And, with the prices at the high end, especially for liquor, customers should expect better.

We came back for second time because our friend really wanted too.
I would lie if I say their food are the best because it’s not.
It’s decent, good presentation, great location, good service.
I would not mind coming back again at all but would not be my regular place because for me, the food quality comes first and Catch still could not quite catch my taste.

Catch is in a prime Market Street location, with a large indoors dining room, as well as an equally large semi-​enclosed patio that opens up when the weather allows, while featuring a large heater in the middle if it’s colder out.
The offerings sound inventive on paper and look quite impressive when delivered to your table, but the overall taste of the dishes I tried was fairly average. For example, the fettucine with lobster and uni cream looked quite appetizing at first glance, but was ultimately drowned just a bit too much in a white sauce that was slightly excessively creamy and garlicky for my tastes.
Depending on the server, service can vary from perfunctory to warmly engaging. Also, props to the fact that they do seem to be well-​integrated into the community. When I visited, they had sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on display. Many patrons here also appear to be neighborhood regulars who are on a first-​name basis with the staff. Overall, a reasonably solid choice that merits 3 Unilocal stars.

Luckily Catch was one of the few restaurants in the Castro/​Upper Market where we could walk-​in and get a dinner table for 5 on a Saturday night. SF is tough! The high ceilings and open dining area felt like a spacious, boisterous bistro.
Obviously a seafood place, Catch did not disappoint. The Butternut Squash Soup of the day was creamy smooth with a singular pan-​seared scallop. The Seafood Chowder tasted delicious and came with clams and mussels in the shell. Yum!
My Pan Fried Striped Bass had quinotto, butternut squash, spinach and sage brown butter. The fish was moist and cooked just like I asked.
Service was very good and our waiter friendly. It’s not an intimate spot, but a cool place to have a nice dinner with friends.

I keep trying. About once every two years I go in, it’s a bit more expensive than I planned, and walking out the door, the same experience.
«It was okay»
Just nothing about the place «pops» — Servers are always nice enough but never memorable. Food is good but not great. Setting is nice enough but not special. The location is spectacular, but a lot of what makes a restaurant a favorite is just nowhere to be found. No dishes stand out, the service is industry-​standard, and it’s not inexpensive.
There are simply better options within a few blocks.

Three of us went to Catch for brunch in mid-​May and had a great time.
We chose to sit in the area with the circular fireplace and were seated along the interior windows.
The service was very good and the food was outstanding! I chose a simple classic pizza with mozzarella, basil and a marinara sauce. It was very good although the crust should have been crisper. I took half of it home, My partner had the salmon BLT which he enjoyed, eating the whole sandwich. My partner also had the asparagus-​potato soup which he thought was excellent.
Our guest started with the grilled salmon over risotto which he said was excellent He also had the hamachi tartare They also split an order of fried calamari which was perfectly cooked.
Catch has continued to maintain its high standards and we willl return again.

Met some friends here for brunch and it was pretty enjoyable. We were the only table for about 20mins, since we arrived just as they were opening. The restaurant was clean, and service was spot-​on.
The oysters were fresh, and my eggs benedict was pretty good. Everyone seemed happy with their food, so that’s always a win.

Perfectly enjoyable meal. Nothing to really write home about however. Interior is a little dated. Service was good. Food was good. Cocktails were ok.
Had a drink with rye. Was a tad watered down and a little one note. Also had a tangerine ginger margarita. This was much better, but would have preferred if they put salt around the rim.
We split the hamachi tartar. Was actually pretty tasty. The accoutrements kind of overshadowed the fish itself a bit, but it tasted very good overall.
For my main, I had the arctic char over risotto. The risotto had tarragon and saffron. The risotto itself was ok. Well balanced though. The char was nicely cooked and had a nice crispy skin on it. Overall the dish was good, but nothing too memorable.
Prices were a bit higher than I would have liked to spend, but it wasn’t super expensive. I wouldn’t describe this place as destination worthy, but it is a good place to stop in if you are in the area.

Came here for a dinner myself and sat at the bar. I’ve always seen the place as being really packed sometimes during the week, popular place. But sunday night — not that many people.
I ended up starting with the Tangerine Ginger Margarita. Love a good margarita since I love my tequila, but it was a bit too ginger-​y for me. I did finish it and enjoy it — just wished for more citrus.
I ordered the fettuccine and the risotto. The fettuccine was topped with lobster and uni cream which made it nice and luscious. The cream was delicious, but I couldn’t really taste the uni. Regardless, the pieces of lobster made up for it. The risotto which is a side dish was creamy as well. The little pieces of the asparagus and corn made it an exciting dish to eat. Both dishes I would get again.
No dessert this time around, but maybe next time!
Protip: lobster fettuccine and risotto.

Food and table service was good, I will say that upfront.
But to be honest, I think they are trying too hard to seem like an elite place. I know times can be rough, but I think they take themselves too seriously. The food is delicious, but I think its definitely on the more expensive side. I decided to try this place using a Groupon, and felt like I had to jump through a bunch of hoops. Specific days and weeks were completely blocked out on the Groupon, I had to reserve my table ahead of time, I had to tell them I was going to come and use the Groupon, AND they explicitly called out that fact that I must tip on the total amount (not the «after Groupon «amount). P. S. I always tip on the pre-​coupon amount, but calling that out seems insulting.
First of all, the food was delicious, and the table service was great, but the Groupon’s wording made me feel unwelcome. When spending $ 100 for 2 people, I certainly hope my Groupon wasn’t too much of a burden on them.

Butter Fish w/​Risotto was too good to describe. You just HAVE to get it! The fish would just melt in your mouth and the risotto was perfect!
The restaurant was beautiful. Great ambience. Great waiters. Oh! Barry Tyler Moore was totally amaymay with the best recommendations. He made our dinner experience 10 x’s better!

I went here for lunch, good spot. affordable meals. They have like an indoor outdoor kinda patio. It’s like outdoors, but covered. They also have this mini little fireplace thing.
I’ve never been here for dinner but I’d give it a shot

Leckeres Essen und freundliche Bedienung.
Ambiente sehr interessant, man kann halb offen im offenen Schaufenster sitzen, hat aber einen Kamin in der Mitte.
Sehr stylish, also wenn man in der Nähe ist zu empfehlen.