Call it a comeback.
Over the weekend, Taylor Swift and Gigi Hadid dined at The Corner Store in SoHo, further enhancing the reputation of Catch Hospitality's new restaurant.
The restaurant owners of Catch and Catch Steak are suddenly in the spotlight after having been written off for years by New Yorkers as being an expensive and unappealing tourist destination.
“It has a ‘Polo Bar without Karens’ feel,” Meg Radice said of The Corner Store. She often eats out and runs The VIP List food review account, which has 460,000 followers on TikTok.
“It's the most famous restaurant in New York right now,” he said. “I thought of it before Taylor Swift even walked through the door.”
Ella Kahan, 27-year-old food influencer Who runs the ChewYorkCity accountOn a recent Monday night, he said, “When I went to the bar before sunset, it was crowded … everybody was drinking martinis.”
The new hotspot specializes in classic cocktails, with an entire menu section dedicated to it and even a $40 “martini service” for two.
The food menu features nostalgic but pricey comfort dishes, such as an $18.50 pepperoni “pizza roll” appetizer; a $24.99 artichoke dip and $68 lobster frites.
The Corner Store is Catch Hospitality's first restaurant in five years and is the first location not to have “Catch” in its name.
The group opened the first Catch in the Meatpacking District in September 2011. Along with club-restaurants like Tao Downtown and Buddakan, it was one of the buzzing club-restaurants at the time, serving viral menu items in spacious spaces with loud music.
Catch expanded to Los Angeles in 2016, attracting stars like Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, Cindy Crawford and Sylvester Stallone, who touted menu items like chicken lettuce cups, tuna over crispy rice cakes and the #hitmi chocolate cake.
But over the past few years, the hotspot has lost much of its appeal to Gothamites, and it's become filled with outsiders, aspiring models and teenagers using their parents' American Express cards.
It got so old that its low status spawned an entire storyline on last season’s “Real Housewives of New York.”
Stars Brian Whitfield and Sai De Silva declined fellow star Erin Lichty's invitation, saying they were “too tired”, but later found the energy to go to Casa Cipriani, where they said the catch was for “D-list models”.
Bravo initially hid the name of the offending restaurant in the episode — making matters more confusing — but Lachey later confirmed it. The restaurant in question was a real catch.
“The fishing opportunity was available,” he explained on Sirius XM's “Jeff Lewis Live”” He said it was an easy last-minute reservation for a large group.
It's pretty hard to get a table at the Corner Store right now. Resy is currently showing no availability for the next 14 days — as far as restaurant bookings go. Co-founder and partner Eugene Rem told the Post that the restaurant already has a waitlist.
Radice said he had to contact a “friend of a friend” to get a reservation.
Joseph Bonvouloir, founder and CEO of financial firm ALTI, said all his friends are clamoring for a table.
“Everyone is trying to get in, but it's also very challenging for my friends who are VIPs everywhere,” Bonvouloir, 28, said.
Those who have managed to get there include Brazilian journalist/model Pedro Andrade, “It” girl Christina “Tinks” Najjar, author/influencer Ally Rallo and former “Housewife” Bethenny Frankel.
He later raved about the restaurant's $22 Caesar salad with crispy cream cheese bits and bagel croutons.
“Holy shit,” she said in a TikTok video. “We’re here, and we’re hip.”
Despite such a clientele — and a menu filled with dishes with viral potential — Rem said they weren’t intentionally looking to attract an influencer crowd, though they “appreciate anyone who wants to share their experience with their friends and followers.”
“We are thrilled with the enthusiasm our guests have shown for the new restaurant,” he said.
