Restaurant Review: GOOD CATCH URBAN THAI BISTRO, New Orleans

​Growing up in the UK, vast swathes of the American culinary experience were new to me when I arrived here. There’s no tradition of Mexican food in rainy northern England. Nobody in Lancashire makes shrimp and grits. For most of my life, I was – for better and worse – unaware of Waffle Houses.

When I first started spending time in New Orleans in 2001, I missed the Indian cuisine that was everywhere in the UK. Thanks to a number of work trips, I was also pretty familiar with Thai food, which you also had limited options for – there were maybe two or three Asian places in the city serving decent curry.

Both county’s traditions are somewhat better represented these days, one of the newer (it opened in 202) Thai spots that I’m aware of being Good Catch Thai Urban Bistro in the CBD. It’s the second restaurant opened by local team Aom Srisuk and Frankie Weinberg, the first being the smaller Uptown joint, Pomelo. Good Catch is more spacious and has a stated seafood focus; the larger and better-equipped kitchen means that Chef Aom can fire up her creative talents with less restriction.

There’s something quietly confident about the place, and there’s a buzz in the room even though it’s early on a Tuesday night. Don’t expect neon Buddhas or performative authenticity, it’s not that kind of place. It’s casual and lively, we’re just not getting bogged down in old stereotypes, and that’s a good thing.

Chef Aom threads a deft line between the familiar and the adventurous. I like to test the basics at new (to me) restaurants. The spring rolls – so often a freezer-to-microwave-special – are crispy and tasted notably fresh. The pork and shrimp wantons come out plump and savory, as do the pot stickers. We pop edamame and drink cold Asahi beer. The dining room chats and laughs its way into the evening.

Curries arrive fragrant and deeply layered, the kind that reward slow eating. My red curry had perfectly-spiced chicken with eggplant and sweet peppers, bamboo shoots, green beans, and basil. It so strongly triggered sense memories of oceanside cafes and beach huts in balmy southern Thailand that I almost checked my shoes for sand. Chef is undeniably working some culinary magic back there.  My friends also reported that their meals – a solid Pad Thai and some piquant Pad Kii Mao (Drunken Noodles) – hit the spot. I saw a steamed sea bass dish and some scallop and salmon ceviche that I’m already planning to come back for.

The room is relaxed without being careless, the service attentive without hovering. The whole experience carries an unpretentious, neighbourhood-restaurant energy that tourists often stumble upon and that locals should treasure. Good Catch won’t upend your understanding of Thai cuisine, and it doesn’t need to. Instead of pandering affectations that don’t improve the dining experience, it’s something arguably more valuable: a well-considered, expertly-created Thai menu delivered with an easy warmth.

Good Catch Thai Urban Bistro website
More New Orleans restaurant reviews