Catch 122 Cafe Bistro was my sixth and final restaurant for this season’s Dine Out Vancouver Festival. Yes…I went a little nuts this year but all because AngryRussian hasn’t done any before and he wanted to do 4, so that was that.
Catch 122 was a $30 menu restaurant and I took my parents there. We went on a Saturday and just so happened to hit their Happy Hour AND Sangria Saturdays! Looking at their Happy Hour offerings I would love to come back as they have both food and drinks. All of their cocktail creations and classic cocktails go for $7 during this time. Food-wise there’s an assortment or vegetarian picks such as hummus and smoked olives, and meats such as fried oysters, fried chicken and mussels!!
Momsie and I both got a red wine sangria and it was delightly lit up with a drunken sugar cube. It’s the little details like this that brings happiness all around I think, and made this snowy Saturday much more likeable.
The fruity sangria had sliced peaches and oranges, frozen raspberries, and I think maybe even strawberries. At first we thought the sangria wasn’t sweet enough, and then when we finally clued in to stir it up, it tasted fantastic. Don’t really think it’s our fault though as I’ve never had to stir my single order sangrias before and the next order actually came with a spoon, so I think our server forgot to provide us with ones for the first round. Nonetheless it turned out well.
For Dadsters I ordered him a 300 SPARTANS (sailor jerry rum, kraken rum, cloudy apple juice, fresh lemon juice, egg white, cherry bitters, house-made cinnamon syrup). It was deliciously cinnamony, and as it was still snowing outside at the time it made for quite the festive mood…what with our lit sangrias and all.
As it was still Happy Hour time I couldn’t resist ordering the Fried Chicken ($8 happy hour). The juicy morsels were drizzled in a maple glaze and served with smoked aioli, bread, and butter pickles.
For the dine out menu appetizer, all three of us ended up picking the cold smoked Tuna. There were two huge, thick pieces per plate. Dad commented on the crispy mushrooms which I think means he enjoyed them, as he doesn’t usually comment on the food. I thought the mushrooms were extremely cute and the mushroomy aroma was very concentrated.
I’m usually not a fan of beans but the white beans in the very light, cool, mushroom broth was actually very enjoyable for me. They had a delicate, delightful olive oil flavor to them.
The parents both picked the BRAISED BEEF (barley, parsley root puree, glazed vegetables, red wine sauce) for their entree. When the dish arrived the beef looked like it could be dry but it was actually very tender and moist and easy to break apart. I liken it to beef shank in Taiwanese beef noodles. It was delicious. Barley once again played a part in this dish…I’ve noticed that a lot of restaurants were using it in their plates…I wonder if barley is the new “It” ingredient?
For myself I had the SALMON (carrot purée, braised cabbage, dill butter sauce). The salmon was cooked perfectly in that it wasn’t well done. I do not enjoy well-cooked salmon at all.
The skin was nicely crisp and I loved the flavor of the dill butter sauce. Dill is always an excellent choice to use with salmon.
For dessert, my POT DE CRÈME (maple, poached pear, shortbread, walnuts) was presented in a dish instead of a bowl like how I thought it would be. The creme was light and perfectly sweetened but lacked the maple flavor I so wanted. However the walnuts and poached pear, along with the crumbled shortbread added lots of different texture. I enjoyed this dessert a lot.
Momsie’s LEMON CURD (lavender meringues, graham cracker crumble, whipped cream, lemon balm) dessert looked gorgeous and was what made me pick Catch 122 to go to after seeing pictures of it on Instagram.
The light whipped cream mixed with tart lemon curd was wonderful, and the lavender meringues added a crispy crunch although they lacked any lavender aroma or flavor. It was very lovely to look at though. And the lemon balm added a soft perfumey lemon scent to each bite.
I loved my visit to Catch 122 Cafe Bistro. I would definitely love to come back for their Happy Hour and maybe brunch too!
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