Being named one of the country’s best restaurants has its benefits. Just look at Catch, the St. Clair West seafood haven, which was named in Maclean’s inaugural restaurant guide as one of the top 50 eateries in Canada.
The tiny 30-seat restaurant is capitalizing on the accolades by expanding into the space next door, a former health food store. “We just got lucky that [they] decided to move, so we’ll be able to put in a small doorway to connect the the two rooms and add around 50 extra seats,” says general manager John Bill. The new room will have much of the restaurant’s atmosphere, with exposed brick, wood floors and ceilings, as well as the addition of a 9-foot chandelier meant to resemble a school of fish. Another benefit of the expansion: come spring, the restaurant will be able to set up a small patio in the newly-acquired backyard space.
Bill says if all goes according to plan, the renovations should be complete in about five weeks.
Catch, 744 St. Clair Ave. W., 416-658-0568.
—Jacob Rutka
