Seafood pub Catch to open in former Semolina's space
by Emilie Bahr Staff Writer
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Restaurateur Hicham Khodr’s ever-expanding culinary roster will grow again next week with the opening of a new Magazine Street seafood venue.
Khodr owns the Gumbo Shop in the French Quarter, Byblos restaurants in Metairie and on Magazine Street and Camellia Grill locations in New Orleans and Destin, Fla. He is also a partner in NOLA.
His latest venture, Catch, will open Tuesday at 3226 Magazine St., just down the street from his Uptown Byblos location, taking over the space formerly occupied by Semolina’s Bistro Italia.
Catch will be a “seafood pub,” offering a casual atmosphere and affordable pricing, Khodr said. The new restaurant will be overseen by executive chef Ryan Gall, formerly executive sous chef at Emeril’s Gulf Coast Fish House in Gulfport, Miss., said chef Michael Rouss, corporate chef for Khodr’s restaurant group.
Rouss described Catch’s menu as “a Louisiana twist on an English/Irish pub.”
“We’re gonna have fish and chips and charbroiled oysters ... shepherd’s pie, red fish on the half shell,” he said. In place of the bread traditionally served by restaurants with meals, Catch will feature homemade hush puppies.
“The whole menu is designed to be user-friendly and fun,” Rouss said. “There’s nothing over $23 on the menu.”
Meantime, Catch is not the only new restaurant on Khodr’s plate. He said he plans to open a new French Quarter Camellia Grill location at 536 Chartres St., “hopefully before Mardi Gras.”•
