Before the Restaurant Week ended, we went to another seafood restaurant for Sunday Brunch. It was on 9th Avenue, but we didn’t really see any sign for Catch, but as we checked more closely, we found a sign that said to use the entrance on the 13th street. Then we finally saw their sign on the second floor of the red brick building. We walked around the corner and found the entrance to Catch.

It was a bit dark short hallway to the elevators, where they had really nice decorations in between the two doors with more signs for Catch. They had an old typewriter, some plants, and candles to set the mood in front of black tiled wall. Kind of cozy with somewhat industrial look to it. The sign which floor the restaurant is located, and also where their roof space is located as well.

This area was completed with fancy light fixture with small disco balls, fun and fancy. Inside the elevator, just in case you missed the signage outside, it clearly tells you which floor to select. Since we were going to the restaurant and not to the rooftop, we selected the second floor, and off we went.

The inside was completely empty, well there was another couple who went in before us, as we got there just as they opened up for the day. I heard one of the kitchen staff yelling “why are they sending up people already??? We are not ready!!!” But who cares? We (and another couple) were already in, and hostess was more than happy to show us to our table. We love getting to a restaurant when they open, since the servers and other staff (should) have the most energy. This usually means that we get really good service, which always improve the overall dining experience. Anyways, the inside was nice and bright with lots of windows, very spacious, and loved the brick wall that brought out that industrial look.

They had a huge bar, which was a sushi counter. And yes, they do offer sushi there, some creative rolls, traditional (American style) rolls or hand rolls, and also sushi pieces. The counter was pretty fancy, maybe marble? Traditional or old-fashion sushi counter would be made of wood, so this was very different… The light fixtures were interesting too, some that are industrial looking, and couple of large ones that looked like old bells at Japanese temples. So, they seemed to like mixing some modern, industrial, and antique look altogether. Hey, as long as they can pull it off, then go for it!

Since we were there for the Restaurant Week, we sat at a table, and not at the sushi counter. Each table had a metal serving stand, which was interesting. BUT, they were wobbly and unstable. I checked on other tables, and they were wobbly too. It also was kind of hard to eat around it, but then when the table next to us ordered a sushi roll that requires torch to be used at the table, that made sense…kind of…

So, let’s get to our Restaurant Week food ($29/brunch). For the first appetizer, we went with Salmon Belly Carpaccio, which comes with watercress, sweet & sour onion, and yuzu. This plate was placed on top of the wobbly metal stand, which was kind of scary… The salmon itself was really nice, fresh, and good portion for appetizer. I loved the subtle yuzu flavor with it, and watercress added extra refreshing flavor and texture.

For the second appetizer, we chose MRC Roll, which is made with seared tuna, shrimp, and ponzu butter. It actually had avocado and shrimp in the inside, and seared tuna on top, finished off with some crunchy flakes and sesame seeds. It was good, fresh, and tasty, but nothing too special.

For the main course, we were a bit disappointed for the choices. Well, it was a brunch, and therefore they were offering brunch items like pancakes, croque madame, and chicken salad… But we were there for seafood! So we chose the only seafood item available: fish and veggie with sauce. Actually ,they offered two different types of fish to choose from, and five different sauces to choose from. So that kind of worked out. We got one of each fish, naturally, and two different kind of sauces. The first ones was Simply Grilled Salmon A La Plancha with Kale Pesto sauce (recommended by our waitress). The plate was big but portion was small… The salmon was nice and plump, and veggies were tasty. I am not sure if I liked the kale pesto. I love regular pesto, but kale pesto didn’t have the distinctive, nutty, cheesy, garlic-y flavor that I love.

The second one was Grilled Mahi Mahi with Kabayaki Butter. Kabayaki is a style of cooking a fish, usually eel. So, kabayaki sauce is usually sweet and tangy, mainly sweet soy sauce-based sauce. It is the kind that you get when you order eel sushi or roll. Again, the plate was large, but the portion of each items were kind of small. And having two large plates on a small table with metal stand sticking out in the middle made it a bit hard to eat comfortably…  The fish was good, the kabayaki sauce made it really flavorful. The sauce actually went great with salmon as well. We were dipping the veggies in the sauce too. Everything tasted better with kabayaki sauce… LOL

The dessert choice was also a bit limited. They had S’Mores Pizza, Fresh Baked Cookies, and Sorbet. Since we didn’t feel like sorbet that day, we went with the first two choices. Fresh Baked Cookies were nice, four different kinds of cookies. The sugar cookie was our favorite. It was soft, moist, and super tasty. The rest was really good too.

The chocolate cookie had melting chocolate filling in the inside, which was a great surprise. They were really nice, all of them, but let’s face it. They are cookies after all…

Then the S’Mores Pizza, it took the center stage as soon as it arrived. It was presented on a wooden board, and we both thought we should have both ordered S’Mores Pizza!!! It came with burned marshmallow ice cream, milk & dark chocolate. Yes, I wanted it all to myself, but I did share half of it with my sweet husband. The pizza portion was made with toasty flat bread, and huge marshmallow.

The flat bread was nice and warm, not hot though, just enough to have the chocolate to be melting off slightly. The huge marshmallow was so fluffy and airy, really great! The ice cream was in a paper cut, and had graham cracker on it completing the “S’Mores” flavor. The toasted marshmallow was nice too, and the ice cream was great. Creamy and tasty, rich and velvety. Great fun dessert, the highlight of this brunch!

We also got cappuccino ($5), which came in a really nice cup. Deep red-brown, earthy tone. The cappuccino was good, balancing the sweetness of the S’Mores Pizza.

The bathroom is behind the huge wine rack or more like a wall of wine rack. Gentlemen all the way to the back, ladies to the front, near the bar. The wallpaper inside the bathroom was really cool, navy blue prints of strong ladies in nautical theme. There was a restroom staff there, handing out paper towels. I never understood the reason why they need to have a staff in the restroom, just to hand out the paper towels??? I didn’t even realize she was a staff when I walked in, since she was just there putting her lipstick on. I usually don’t go to the restroom with cash money, so it always makes me feel awkward when there is a restroom attendant.

The restaurant was nearly full about the time we were leaving. Vibrant and energetic. The service was good, everyone was polite. At the end, I was not a fan of their small table with the wobbly metal stand. I think that works for a bigger or regular size table, and if the metal stand was attached on the table with more stability.

This restaurant was not our favorite out of the Restaurant Week, but it certainly was great to get samples of their food at such affordable price. And this is the best way to use Restaurant Week to your benefit, discovering new restaurants and their dishes, and hopefully finding a new favorite spot or a dish to brighten up your culinary side of life.