catch - modern seafood cuisine

i love catchrestaurant:). catchrestaurantis the best seafoodrestaurantin wilmington, nc. the food is delicious, and on top of that, fresh!!! it is worth the wait. oh, and if they turned you away at 5:25 because they opened at 5:30, so what? just wait 5 mins!!! its not that horibble! keith rhodes is def. not a jerk. hes the nicest guy ive ever met!!!

best in wilmington. my husband and i just ate at catch. started with the crab claw scampi as an appetizer. that dish never let's us down. it is absolutely one of best dishes i have ever eaten! the sauce is so good that we save our bread to dip in it. next i had crab stuffed mahi. it was wonderful! the sauce he puts over it is to die for. my husband had pan seared grouper with goat cheese mashed potatoes and he could not stop telling me how good it was. i have never had a meal at thisrestaurantthat i didn't go home telling my friends about how wonderful it was. the staff is always right on point also! great food and wonderful service. thanks catch!

horrible experience. attempted to try catch tonight for the first time. excited to try the special menu forrestaurantweek. service was bad. the bartender was trying to be a waiter. had to repeat our order multiple times. took over 45 minutes to get a salad and chicken satay that was not impressive. watched multiple tables seated after us get their meals and desserts. still no dinner or even acknowledgement feom the staff. finally was able to get the attention of a waitress to hear the excuse that thet were really busy with two menus. she went to the kitchen to check then never came back to us. after another 15 minute wait we asked for our check. that took forever. so 26 bucks for a glass of wine, crappy salad and satay. no apologies. horrible communication. will never be back and will not recommend to anyone.

we had an excellent evening at catch. not only is the food outstanding, it's creative. each and every dish was so flavorful. it's a casual atmosphere, which suits our vibe. we now truly believe it's the bestrestaurantin wilmington.

loved the food, the service, and the decor. absolutely our favoriterestaurantin town. can't wait to go back.

exquisite food, excellent service. i went to catch tonight for my father's birthday dinner. the food was amazing. mom and i had the crab cakes and dad had the scallops. we cleaned our plates! i can't wait to go back. there are so many things on the menu i want to try. catch is my new go torestaurantfor special occasions.

ps: the service was flawless.

always searching for new unique quality eeateries. my wife and i love unique, local eateries. we found this one through a recommendation from our neighbor. we were not disappointed. menu was immense. every dish flavorful.restaurantwas bustling. wait staff attentive. thoroughly enjoyable evening.... go back? in a heartbeat! thrilled we found a hidden gem.

please go....it's a food experience. some people eat to live and others live to eat. i'm probably the later, i love seeing what people can create w/ food, show me something new and exciting. i'll try anything, if i don't like it well then it's probably b/c it has beets in it hahaha...grody!

thisrestaurantshowed me that chefs are still out there creating food experiences for people who are willing to try it. i'm so in love w/ everything on this menu....you get what you pay for folks, and this is worth laying down some cash for, trust me. you won't be disappointed.

i don't even remember what i had, some creation of the chef's, but it blew my socks off. just enough flavor to make you say omg but nothing overwhelming that was covered in thick sugary sauces or condiments....just good clean full flavor food at it's best. i will certainly be back.


-----05 jun, 2012-----

no clue what the lower rating is for.... i went to the location off market, by the harley dealer....i'd like to describe this better but i just moved here. my gps took me around my head to scratch my %#@ but i was determined to find it, i'm glad i did!

i just moved here from another coastal town, my favorite place there was also arestaurantcalled catch so of course i wanted to try this one. i was not disappointed. everything from service, specials, menu, originality, promptness, and more pleased me.

i'll definitely be going back. the chef even came out and asked how everythig was.

dessert special was bacon caramel ice cream, holy cow.....party in my mouth!! excitement! i heart bacon, in any way shape or form, so i was very appreciative someone figured out how i could incorporate it into all my daily meals hahaha.

more to it - bias. rhodes not only talented chef

i've followed the progress of keith rhodes on "top chef" and in your paper's constant reporting on him as the first chef booted off this year's show. friday's article is the fourth or fifth you've carried on him since his appearance.

friday's excuse offered by mr. rhodes is "when you're under pressure, sometimes little things unfold."

suggesting the use of precooked, frozen shrimp was shocking. that is not a "little thing." i can't imagine that wilmington's best chefs would ever consider using a precooked product - not under pressure, not for expediency, not because it's cheaper. rhodes has now offered all those as excuses.

it's sad that mr. rhodes is the only wilmington chef we've seen on "top chef." the executive chefs at manna, marc's on market, port land grille, deluxe, ruth's chris, bento box, jerry's and a host of others would have far better represented wilmington's culinary talent.

i hope they get the chance to do so.

hazel white jones, hampstead
(from letters to the editor, star news december 12, 2011)

nicely said, but there's more to it. rhodes does take advantage of his relationships and arrangements with local reviewers and press which have not been unbiased in the wilmingtonrestaurantscene. you can't blame him for that ...he is a business man. some in the press write often to promote restaurants that they have made arrangements with(of course all good) and then tend to negatively write about others where arrangements have not been made. maybe some restaurants are on certain tours or promotions...of course nothing negative will be written of them. it's sad but true, there is a lot of bias in wilmingtonrestaurantreporting... but this practice tends to happen in cities across america.

best seafood in nc?. the good: probably the best seafoodrestaurantin wilmington... possibly in north carolina. black owned (very unusual for a fine dining restaurant). relatively easy to get a table. easily accessible with plenty of parking. smooth atmosphere. true, gourmet, write home to mom cooking. extremely attentive chef (last time we were there -- he trashed all of the day's fresh fish delivery because he didn't like it, and sourced the day's seafood himself). big appetizers, unique salads, melt in your mouth seafood. special desserts. good service. this is really the whole package. this is where you go to impress a date.

the bad: as with most "fine dining" restaurants, eating here is a 2.5 hour affair. it takes time to prepare food that well. expensive... our family of four enjoyed a three course meal and the bill with tip came to $145. it's located in a (nice) strip mall.

verdict: the best. really. even if you can only get here once a year, it's worth it!

the best in wilmington....!!!!. i was at catch a week ago and it was the best dining experience i've had in a long time. my server, teri, was very attentive and nice. while i was eating, other servers also came by to check on my friends and i, which was great!!! you do have to ask for bread if you want it, which is understandable.

the plates were adorned with bright colored flowers...overall the presentation was awesome. for apps we got the calamari and the firecracker shrimp, and they were very good. i ordered a sweet potato salad and omg it was so good!!! i loved it. my three friends ordered crabcakes, grouper, salmon, and i got the tuna for my entree. everything was perfect, and i couldnt have asked for more. the specialty drinks from the bar were great too. overall my experience at catch was well worth it. i was kind of sketchy looking at some of the past reviews, but i'm glad i tried it despite the negative comments. my friends and i will be back...and we'll keep coming back! i'm excited to see what catch has to offer in the future....go in and experience this wonderfulrestaurantyourself! best in wilmington!

* ask for bread!!! it is upon request!
* try at least one of their appetizers!!!

dirty tables, dirty looks, and tiny portions. my family and i arrived at catch early to avoid the dinner rush. we discovered that the entirerestaurantwas booked for the entire night by a private party for one of the staff's family or friend's daughter's graduation or something. therestauranthas almost no seating available to begin with and we can't "sit at the bar" with our 7-year-old daughter. my wife asks if we might sit outside and the staff immediately begin with the attitude. the manager has to approve this request for some reason and then when seated we discover the tables (two chairs each to a table all chained together with a bicycle lock) are covered with a black soot. i have to clean it off with paper napkins i go and get from our car and a hostess comes out after i'm done and curtly inquires if we, looking at my daughter, have spilled something. google map 6623 market street, wilmington, nc 28401 and tell me that the ambiance of this place can be ignored. sitting outside, next to the highway, we had to deal with 5 different servers. the one who delivered our food actually said, in the surliest tone i have ever encountered at a table, "who got this?" the food did, while good, did not compensate the rest of the experience. the salads were nothing special although other reviewers seem to disagree. i enjoyed the seared tuna and my wife had a grouper preparation that we all agreed was the beat on the table. my daughter was accommodated with sauceless pasta and the entire serving was delivered in a side item souffle dish. the portions are fantastically small and while i am not a big eater, i was still very hungry after my dinner. i would estimate my total entree equalled fewer than 8 oz of food. other reviewers mentioned waiting a long time for bread. we were never offered any at any point in our meal and didn't even know of a bread option until reading other reviews today. maybe it was just an off day for therestaurantbut we won't be back to spend over $100 on only decent food served in tiny portions by an army of incredibly rude hostesses and servers.

i'll be back!. good food tonight, my husband and i enjoyed therestaurantweek menu. it was our first visit, salads were good and omg, i loved my grouper, it was awesome. we will definitely be back.

i am hooked on catch!. oh my my my i went to catchrestaurantlast friday night and it was the best seafood experience i have had in wilmington in a long long time. i am a frequent diner of catch on market and catch on princess st. i am also a loyal follower of chef rhodes, i have been dining on his food since he was executive chef at deluxe restaurant.

his food to myself, my family and friends is so thought out, delicious, healthy, pleasing to the eye and stomach. i can sincerely and honestly say that i have not had one meal there that i have disliked. my favorite is the nc sweet potato salad, miso salmon, and the fire cracker shrimp. my son's favorites are the fried seafood and my friends adore the shrimp & grits. the one person with us who did not eat seafood ordered the lexington bbq ribs, so whoever said he sells nothing but seafood must have not throughly read the menu. i make a point to always order what is on special and that is variable depending upon season and market.

i really respect that chef rhodes outsources much of his seafood, poultry, meat and vegetables from local purveyors. he cares about the quality of his food and consistently seeds back into the local community. with that said, i am sure that every diner has not had my experience but more often than not most diners have had my experience. every night is not going to be perfect just like in every business but you go into with the right intention and effort and hope for the best. i saw where someone was annoyed that she went at 525 and he opens at 530 and would not let her in...i find that quite trivial that she would give him a bad review because she could/would not wait 5 minutes when you have upwards of a 15 min wait and above when you go to most anyrestaurantin the evenings to eat. the time it took for her to get back in her car and pull off therestaurantwould have been open...silliness to me but i digress.

i strongly recommend all who travel and reside in wilmington to seriously give catch/chef rhodes a chance, you will not be disappointed.

so over rated.... kieth rhodes had a wonderfulrestaurantdowntown wilmington, the new market street location is a total disappointment. not the same quality food.