Kayla Enright Photography It may not break the mold, but it’s actually putting effort into catering to DFW diners From the first announcement in January 2023 that fine dining chain Catch would soon open a Dallas outpost, I’ve been monitoring its progress. In its heyday about a decade ago, I went to Catch NYC several times, for friend’s birthdays, for nights out drinking and dancing — generally just for a good time. I have a lot of fond memories of the place, and I was curious about what Catch could be 10 years later. And even more so, what it would be like in Dallas. I’ve also been watching as some in the Dallas food media deride it as just another fine dining chain, a big-box prospector looking to strike gold in a fancy neighborhood and tap into the big money floating around our city. They aren’t wrong, and that’s not necessarily all bad. Speaking to co-owner Eugene Remm ahead of the opening didn’t provide much clarity. Right off the bat, I asked him about the elephant in the room: being yet another New York spot chaining its way into Dallas. To be frank, his answers weren’t great. Remm referenced Catch Steak Aspen several times as the style the restaurant would emulate in Dallas, noting that a number of customers in Aspen are folks from Dallas with second homes. Another prodding question, “Why open in Dallas?” led to an explanation that Remm was here several times during COVID and, as compared to other major cities, folks were out vibrantly eating. Obviously, this sets all the red flags waving about the exploitation of our state government’s reaction to the pandemic, but he’s not wrong about flouting COVID protocols as the vibe for too many folks in Dallas at the time. “For me personally, when you can look in a market and see restaurants full in the early days of the week and not just Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with affluent individuals, people who [work in] business, sports, and fashion — all different types of industries — that’s exciting to me,” Remm says. Which is Dallas-y, but also New York-y, and Miami-y, and L.A.-y, and everywhere Catch is-y. I went into the restaurant to dine on a Sunday night the week after opening as a known entity. To get a 7 p.m. reservation, I turned to its PR team, and since the staff knew me and greeted me, I took the opportunity to freely ask them questions. I finally got the Aspen dual homeownership line while a manager walked me through a tour of the place, including the incredible wine vault, which has some remarkable and unusual bottles as well as sheer volume. Aspen is where Catch first opened up a deep wine selection, and it modeled its Dallas offerings on that. Or, as the manager who had opened Catch in NYC, Miami, Aspen, and now Dallas told me, this wine-forward and more adult, chill version of Catch that I was experiencing is what they think of as Catch 3.0. It reflects how the owners and leadership have matured since opening in 2011. While Catch NYC retains its nightlife vibe as a party spot, Catch Steak in Aspen and L.A. are more sophisticated, and the iteration in Uptown Dallas combines all those elements to make it family-friendly (there was a table with a toddler celebrating a birthday) and a cool hotspot (a professional athlete I can’t identify was dining with a posse). The menu is exactly what you think it is: steaks, seafood, and pasta. It’s solid food with very few surprises — akin to comfort food for fine dining. The dish that impressed me the most was a last-minute addition, I am told: a chopped wedge salad that abandons the steakhouse usual. It was so fragrant when it landed on the table, thanks to a combination of sesame seed oil in the dressing, still-crackling bacon, and freshly cooked crispy shallots that I couldn’t wait to eat it. Courtney E. Smith Chopped wedge salad Courtney E. Smith Grilled Spanish octopus I ordered a makrut gin cooler, prompting me to ask the waiter about why the restaurant uses that term and not the better-known kaffir, which is an ethnic slur in South Africa where the limes are grown. He responded that Catch did not want to offend anyone by using the word, rightly so. The attention to detail in such a naming convention felt like a welcome demonstration of care that was immediately undercut by a notably less attentive addition to the cocktail list: a pornstar martini, developed in the early 2000s, despite the industry’s well-documented history of sexism and abuse. When I pressed, he was not able to expand. We all draw the line in different places, I suppose. Still, the most accurate distillation of Catch Dallas’s individuality lies on its drink menu. I was completely enchanted by the wine list, which has loads and loads of nerdy options for diners who are willing to go there. I was told the wine vault has between 600 and 700 bottles, many of which are expansive in their approachability but singular in their expression. The head sommelier who put it together is Ben Reynolds, who has worked at Pappas Brothers, with its legendary and award-winning collection of bottles, and Nick & Sam’s. There is also an entire page of Napa Valley Cabernets because people in Dallas love them — and that is the strongest differentiation this restaurant has from any other market it is in. Courtney E. Smith Strawberry kakigori The food menu truly stands out in its desserts. Tables around me ordered the “Hit Me” Chocolate Cake, named for the house-made Klondike bar that one taps until it splits open atop three layers of chocolate cake. Another table ordered the Carnival, a ferris wheel of ricotta-stuffed beignets with an array of dipping sauces. I opted for Kakigori, which that day was made with frozen and shaved strawberries, mascarpone, and drops of graham cracker in an effort to emulate a strawberry shortcake and served atop crushed ice. It was truly innovative and acted as a spectacular moment on the table. Does Dallas need Catch as much as Catch needs Dallas? Probably not, but it does offer high-touch service and a reliable menu. It’s good value for the money, with some opportunities to be adventurous and splurge — if you want to take them.