Catch 22 Restaurant & Bar

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £17 (lunch)
   £24 (evening meal)
• House wine: £14.50 per bottle

• High point: Deft touch in the kitchen
• Low point: Slightly over-salted tartlet
• Food served: Mon–Fri noon–2.30pm, 5–10pm; Sat 5–10pm; Sun noon–10pm.
• Open since: 2006
• Also offers: Children's portions, Pre-theatre menu

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008
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Stefan King's various holdings are not best known for their cuisine, but from its launch in 2006 the G1 Group's Catch 22 Restaurant & Bar has put food to the fore. Chef David Thompson's predominantly but not exclusively fish and seafood oriented menu roams from steamed Scottish rope mussels with sweet cider or deep-fried whitebait and baby squid to grilled sea bass with chunky chips or seared tuna loin served with a Niçoise salad. The confit of belly pork starter is both unctuous and crispy, while a light, attractively presented tian of baby prawns might have a layer of guacamole as well as a wafer-thin Parmesan crisp topping. The 'catch of the day' can be a black sea bream fillet, char-grilled and served on thick slices of roast potatoes. One quibble is the accompanying green summer calabrese – particularly when the superior purple-sprouting broccoli is in season. To judge from a double chocolate terrine with pistachio ice-cream, puddings are rich and most probably crowd-pleasing. With plenty of booths, muted earthy hues and dimmed lighting, the dining room has a rather romantic air about it. Kudos.