PROMO Dining / December
Photos by Dmitrijs Suļžics (F64)
THE CATCH –
the exquisite flavours of Japanese cuisine
The newly-opened Japanese
restaurant The Catch lets diners find
themselves in two places at once: the
charming Quiet Centre of Riga, which
the restaurant calls home, but also
Japan, the birthplace of sushi.
Sushi master Sergey Kim
140
/ airBaltic.com
Antonijas iela 12, Riga
Entrance from Dzirnavu iela
Open: Mon–Thu: 12.00–23.00
Fri–Sat: 12.00–01.00
Sun: 12.00–23.00
Reservations: +371 2777 0091
[email protected]
thecatch.lv
The Catch is a family-run business envisioned by
husband-and-wife team Alexander Slobine and
Aleksandra Slobine. With his extensive local and
international experience in the restaurant business,
especially in Asian and Japanese cuisines, Alexander
is the heart and soul of The Catch. It was he who
opened the first Japanese restaurant in Riga almost
twenty years ago, attracting gourmets from the Baltic
region for years after. Now he’s put his knowledge and
experience into this cosy, new restaurant, which he
calls his life’s work.
The Catch combines three basic values that, in
Alexander’s mind, are critical to creating an excellent
brand: experience in the restaurant business, the
highest-quality, best-origin products, and a top-class
team. These three elements also came into play when
creating the menu at The Catch. Though the dining
hall isn’t spacious, the menu represents the best
traditions from Japanese cuisine. Here diners can taste
the pride of Japanese food, sashimi, which is made
from only the best raw fish. It is available in two styles:
classic (served on ice with a side order of soy sauce) or
in the new style, currently trending in Europe (with a
special sauce accompanying each fish). The restaurant
also offers sushi rolls and various appetisers as well
as meats, fish, and vegetarian items grilled in the
robatayaki style.
The Catch’s team takes pride in its top-quality fish
and shrimp. Here patrons can enjoy bluefin tuna,
yellowtail, sea perch, eel, Scottish salmon, and even
such a delicacy as tuna belly. Alexander points out
that even the tiniest details are important in Japanese
cuisine, which is why at The Catch, for instance,
they use only fresh wasabi root rather than powder.
‘We want to offer our diners only the best, so we
carefully choose our product sources and ingredient
suppliers. To that end, The Catch serves up the best
crab meat from Kamchatka, organically farmed
salmon from Scotland, and our shrimp comes from
Mozambique, Argentina, and other countries,”
he says.
Among the guests’ favourite dishes are the
bluefin tuna and tuna belly, which is not just the
softest and priciest part of the tuna, but it is said
that no other restaurant in the Baltics even offers
this on its menu. Diners at The Catch also speak
highly of the only soup on the menu, the chicken
ramen, which features organically-raised, robata-
grilled meat over Japanese noodles prepared by
a specially-trained cook. The team has kept the
vegans and vegetarians in mind, too, offering plenty
of dining options besides meat and fish. One of the
favourite vegan menu items is the wafu spinach
salad, which includes avocado, peanuts, and sesame
seeds. The Catch entrusts the preparation of the
traditional Japanese dessert known as mochi to
another specially-trained cook.
The waitstaff at The Catch is most knowledgeable
about Japanese cuisine and can help guests select
the best combinations of foods. Likewise, the service
team can offer equally expert advice on appropriate
cocktail and beverage choices to accompany your
meal. Naturally, one doesn’t want to miss the
opportunity while dining at a Japanese restaurant to
try one of the many versions of the traditional drink
sake, of which The Catch offers a relatively large
selection. But those who prefer stronger drinks will
definitely appreciate the care the bartenders have
taken in assembling an array of cocktails tailored to
pair well with the flavours found in Japanese cuisine.
One favourite cocktail here is the YuzuZuzu, which
consists of sake, Midori, gin, lime juice, and egg
white. By the way, on Friday and Saturday nights
The Catch indeed becomes a small cocktail bar
for residents and visitors to Riga’s so-called Quiet
Centre looking to unwind after the workweek.
The Catch has a homey atmosphere that’s
perfect for conversations and spending time with
friends. It can host up to 35 diners, and guests
admit that the reasonable prices allow one to try
out at least a few different dishes and broaden one’s
experience of Japanese cuisine. ‘The great challenge
and responsibility for any Japanese restaurant is
to provide high quality in all facets of the dining
experience, and we do our best to succeed at this
challenge,’ says the restaurant’s team, backing its
claim that Riga has long deserved an outstanding
Japanese restaurant.
Baltic Outlook
/ 2018 / 141