Restaurants, Californian Restaurants, Sushi Restaurants, Seafood Restaurants
$$$$, Bar Scene, Breakfast, Brunch, Business Dining, Hotel Restaurants, Lunch Spot, Online Reservations, People Watching, Quiet, Romantic Dining, View Dining, Waterfront Dining, Open 7 Days
Overlooking the sandy beaches of Santa Monica, Catch at Hotel Casa del Mar is a seaside restaurant with inspired cuisine. Using the freshest of ingredients and an abundance of ingenuity, Executive Chef Michael Reardon has created an amazing menu of Land and Sea offerings. Michael's signature sushi and crudo dishes are a divine exploration into raw cuisine, and the farmers' market salads and vegetables are a delight to the palate. You'll come for the fresh food, but you'll end up staying for the sublime atmosphere. Thoughtfully designed to capture the energy of Southern California living, Catch has a lively, open feeling. Floor to ceiling windows surround the restaurant, flooding it with light and providing views of endless beaches and dazzling sunsets. Our Executive Chef, Michael Reardon, is always reinventing the fresh ingredients that coastal living has in abundance. He has created an amazing menu of Land and Sea. Catch is an oceanfront restaurant at the Casa del Mar Hotel in Santa Monica. A contemporary beachy look permeates: white leather woven chairs, dark woods, sky blue and silvery accents. Gorgeous beach in picture-perfect Santa Monica. The mostly seafood menu has a Mediterranean influence---kampachi or fluke crudo appetizers, roasted monkfish with barolo risotto or branzino for entrees. Desserts, sake, sophisticated wine list all on board.
Location couldn't be better, even the parking wasn't hard to find. I went on a Saturday night and it wasn't very busy. Yet, somehow, the service was very very slow. We waited at least 15 minutes to get our drink order in. The mojitos are great- not too sweet, perfect amount of alcohol.
Posted 03/20/08 | Report Abuse
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The bar is a lovely place to sit comfortably and watch the sunset. Nice wine and liquor selection and snacks can be ordered from a brief menu. The cafe serves good food in a nice atmosphere. When I ate there on my own, the staff brought me magazines and treated me royally. I was impressed, since usually I'm treated like a pariah if I dine alone (they assume they'll get a lower tip).
Posted 03/05/08 | Report Abuse
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I am not usually a fan of hotel restaurants especially in the city I live in but this is an exception. The wine list is expansive and the food was wonderful. Subtle but distinct flavors and the seven layer carrot cake is to die for.
Posted 01/21/06 | Report Abuse
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The moment you walk into this place, you know you're in for a treat, even if it is a bit pricey. Every employee is there to help and they take a great deal of pride in it. The lobby is gorgeous along with the expansive bar which is a popular nightspot, even for non-guests. The rooms are incredible and include gorgeous ocean or pier views. Each room comes complete with a whirpool tub, dvd player and sound system, and an AMAZINGLY comfortable bed!!! There spa facilities are also very nice and the beach is literally right outside the door. If you're really looking for a place to relax, you've found it here.
Posted 06/28/05 | Report Abuse
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Luxurious rooms with glorious ocean views, could you ask for anything more?! How about when you add 24 hour room service, some of the best spa services in the country and a comfy yet hip bar where it's not unlikely that you may spot a familiar face from your favorite magazine, movie or television show? Plus, you even get a cute rubber ducky for your jacuzzi tub - see you really couldn't ask for anything more!
Posted 06/21/05 | Report Abuse
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Food was good but....
by reviewcomment
We checked out Catch (a restaurant nearby) at Casa Del Mar during dineLA Restaurant Week 2009 and had the 3 course menu. We were greeted nicely and got a seat with a nice view of the beach. The Chefs were doing their job and turned out a decent appetizer particularly the bacon wrapped figs which had a nice reduction and flavor to it , and really well prepared tender short ribs and crispy chicken over polenta. The desert was also equally pleasing.
What wasn't pleasing was the server. He smelled like cigarette smoke, had a brusque, cold demeanor, like one of those waiters that makes you feel bad if you don't order bottled water. He wasn't attentive to say the least. He maybe said 4 sentences to us. He didn't kill the dinner, he certainly didn't add to the experience. To be fair, the waiter at another table seemed cordial.
What was however stunning was the bill and the charge for the iced tea I had ordered. Six fifty for Iced Tea! That cost more than the Beers we got. What"s their profit margin on that? It can't cost more than 20cents to make that. It just felt like they were trying to squeeze you and trying to pad the bill. Do they charge all soft drinks, coffees etc, like that? if you have a soft drink and a coffee later are you going to get surprised with a 13 dollar charge for that plus tax and tip? That seems ridiculous especially in this current economy.
I actually mentioned it to the manager which I don't normally do. He unapologetically said, that's just what they charge.
Nice dinner, unfortunately made unpleasant as a result.
Pros: Food well prepared.
Cons: Waiter, price of extras
Posted 10/05/09
Good times
by CSMobileUser3
Really good times
Posted 03/04/09
This restaurant should be ashamed of themselves!!!
by Bostongirl1982
My fiance & I ate here for Valentine's Day and both left there sick as hell. After being told by the waiter we were getting a pound and a half of lobster we decided to order that as part of our prix fixe menu items. The 1st time it came out there were only 5 little peices of lobster and it was raw but the waiter told us that's how they make it there. So the next time it came out it was actually cooked so we ate it but it still didn't taste great. $240 later we got home and both began to feel nausious and then both got violently ill, I'm sure it wasn't spoiled but it was rather caused by the horible combination of items on the prix fixe which incuded a beet carpacio, a nasty cauliflower soup followed by the lobster. There are MUCH better options in LA for seafood, next time we'll stick to I Cugini
Pros: Great views
Cons: to many to list. They should truley be ashamed.
Posted 02/13/09
best service in la
by bananasareformonkeys
i was invited to this restaurant for my birthday and at the beginning it really didn't look like things were working out that night for me, because the restaurant was sold out of several fish dishes.... But, our waiter made our evening by providing us with the most attentive service i have ever had. we were more than compensated for the sold out menu. you should try the watermelon salad, it's a very interesting mix between the cheese, the hearts of palm and the melons...their desserts are fabulous too, probably the best in town. try the meyer lemon tart, it's better than at boule! look out for the tall skinny waiter with black-greyish hair, he is a professional that i have not seen in any high end restaurant in la yet!
Pros: great view
Posted 09/05/07
underwhelming
by luciasm
I went to Catch for my first anniversary dinner. It had gotten a great review in the LA Times so I figured it would be wonderful. Well, from the get go it was completely dissapointing. I had asked for a window table and was told no when we arrived and there was clearly one available. Our waiter was BEYOND SLOW, it took 20 minutes to get a drink, alebit a very good drink but I was thirsty! My wild striped bass was average, fresh but not very flavorful however the branzino was very good. Overall, the ambiance was nice however the lack of attentive service was a total downer...given the prices one would hope they would care about their customers a little more, a little too cool for school was the attitude I took away.
Pros: ambience
Cons: service
Posted 09/04/07
