The London List Abroad Review: Catch Restaurant, Santa MonicaThe London List

By Sam Bathe on 8 Jun 2014

Located in the majestic Casa Del Mar hotel, just off the Santa Monica beach, Catch is a restaurant that makes the most of its magnificent surroundings. Walking into the dining hall, you are greeted by swathes of light and remarkable views of the beach and sea. With floor to ceiling windows for the outward facing walls, sitting overlooking the sand feels like you are dining right out on the beach.

CasaDelMar

With the sun beating down outside we opted for cocktails rather than wine, and Catch’s signature cocktail with tequila comes highly recommended, as does the Perfect Pear with vodka.

As you might have guessed from the location and the restaurant’s name, Catch specialise in seafood, so after the moorish cheese sticks it was only fitting that we go for the Catch of the Day. Today that was salmon, served with a green salad, tomatoes, sofrito and thick cut fries.

The perfectly cooked salmon was beautiful, light and flaky and so fresh it could have been caught barely a few minutes before. Fresh and flavourful ingredients was a theme throughout the dish and the ingredients didn’t need too much beyond seasoning. The tomatoes were fresh and plump like only California knows how and the thick cut fries were the best I’ve had in years. The sofrito, however, was the real revelation. A kind of fresh, chunky salsa, the dish came with a small pot but I could have eaten an entire bowl. Perfectly marrying all of the elements of the dish, the sofrito was so aromatic and flavourful, it stole the show even ahead of the delicious fish.

For desert we chose the indulgent Chocolate & Espresso Tart With Warm Salted Caramel Sauce. A well balanced tart, effortlessly blending the hard chocolate and espresso flavours, the warm salted caramel sauce was a great accompaniment, bringing a sweetness to the dish.

The atmosphere at Catch is relaxed, fitting the beach-side location perfectly. The staff are helpful and attentive but won’t crowd you during your meal. There is an amazing sense of grandeur when you walk into the hotel and it is matched every step of the way but the food. The ingredients used in the dishes are so fresh and flavourful, it would be easy to over-work and over-complicated the food, but everything is measured perfectly.

Catch comes highly recommended and is a unique experience being so close to the beach. Be sure to request a table by the window when making reservations as the best spots can go fast. We’ll be going back.

For reservations and more, please visit: www.bytheblueseasantamonica.com/restaurants-catch.html
Catch at the Casa Del Mar Hotel, 1910 Ocean Way Santa Monica, CA 90405

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