The secret to a good restaurant is hardly rocket science … it’s all about serving good food in pleasant surroundings with great service.
And usually a decent location helps too.
If any of these components aren’t there or lacking then any restaurant could face challenges and, ultimately, a downward slide.
Drawing up to Catch seafood restaurant on Woodhead Road between Holmfirth and Holmbridge you know instantly there’s something really quite right about the place.
It was a Tuesday evening and we’d phoned to book an hour before we arrived and were warned we may have to eat in the bar.
It was that busy, on a Tuesday, on a wet and miserable November night?
But any misery was left at the door for step inside and it’s immediately cosy and heartwarming.
Parts of it mirror it’s larger sister restaurant in West Vale which is also called Catch. The white tiles smack of a fish market with nautical bits and pieces adorning the walls and the Catch name up there in lights.
With walls painted a soft moss green and candles – Mrs Hirst is a big fan of candles – the restaurant has an immediately welcoming ambience. You won’t be hearing anyone asking to ‘turn the big light on’ here.
Oh no, soft, subtle and relaxing all the way.
The menu offers plenty of choice but isn’t overwhelming yet you’ll struggle to decide what NOT to have.
Starters include prawn cocktail (£7.50), Royal Greenland prawns, crevette, baby gem lettuce, marie rose and brown bread; seared tuna (£8.50) with chick peas, mint pickled cucumber and garlic crostini; Catch fish soup (£7.50) with market fresh fish, lobster bisque, parmesan crouton and aioli; and for our veggie chums beetroot carpaccio with sticky walnuts, whipped goats cheese, horseradish and apple (£7.50).
In the end we shared a Severn and Wye smoked salmon (£8.50) with lime jelly, celeriac and apple remoulade and brown bread.
Oh yes, what a dish. The tang of the jelly offsets the smoothness of the salmon and all served on board the bread. To put it in nautical terms, it was a Royal Yacht of a starter.
On to the mains and you can mix and match. Choose your fish, pick a garnish and then select a sauce.
Fish include cod, sea trout, sea bass, swordfish and tuna. All are priced £16.
Garnishes include fried potato gnocchi, peas, clams and chorizo; crushed new potatoes, cauliflower and king prawns; shellfish risotto, parmesan and capers; steamed new potatoes and vegetables; house salad and chippy chips. Chippy chips? So good they name them twice?
I went for seabass with the potato gnocchi. The fish was stunning, served with its crispy skin still intact while the gnocchi added some bulk to the plate offset by tiny cubes of chorizo.
Ruth had the swordfish with the king prawns and they were kings among kings. In fact, they were so big they even grabbed the limelight from the swordfish, a meaty steak of a fish although more tender than tuna.
We tried two sauces. For him a white wine cream and for her a thermidor sauce. Both came in small gravy jugs and plenty for each dish. Again top drawer with the thermidor offering something of a kick while the white wine was smooth and sleek.
You’ll probably also need a side dish or two. We made do with one – chippy chips (£2.50) and if they are from a chippy it’s an ultra posh one.
Desserts – all priced £6 – range from triple glazed chocolate brownie to peanut butter cheesecake, vanilla and tonka bean panna cotta and warm apple and toffee crumble. We shared a crumble with the natural sharpness of the apples offset with the rich sweetness of the toffee and the cooling vanilla pod ice-cream.
We asked for a jug of cream and it was provided instantly and cheerfully just like a couple of glasses of iced water we’d requested.
In fact the service was also spot on – natural, responsive and efficient.
For those not into fish they’ll do you a beefburger (£12.75) with mustard barbecue sauce, bacon, cheese, onion rings and deep fried pickle served with chips.
Other mains include roast butternut tortellini (£13.75), roast chicken and pancetta carbonara with smoked garlic and cream (£13.25), best end of cod with poached hen’s egg, buttered spinach, crispy potatoes, saffron reduction and Shetland mussels (£16.50).
And for those whose love of fish goes right off the scale (see what I did there) there is the Catch seafood grill featuring market fresh fish and shellfish, chippy chips and a house salad and they’ll throw half a grilled lobster on for another £12.50.
So it’s not cheap but certainly not overpriced for the quality served. And we could see why it’s so busy on a miserable Tuesday.
After all, Catch is hitting all the right components and that’s why it’s reeling the diners in.
38 Woodhead Road, Holmfirth, HD9 2PR
Phone: 01484 689635
Website: www.catchseafood.co.uk
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday noon to 9pm (last restaurant sitting), Fri and Sat noon-9.15pm. Bar open until 11pm and midnight on Friday and Saturday
Children: Very welcome with kids menus and high chairs
Disabled access: Both access and a disabled toilet
The bill: £57.20
Would you go back? Absolutely
