Today’s Catch

After a Partial Closure in Late 2023 for an Up-Grade Refurbishment, Sophisticated Beach Club CATCH, on Bang Tao Beach, has Fully Reopened, Bigger and Better than Ever !

They say the first ‘Beach Club’ in the world opened, before my time, in 1828 on the south coast of England in Brighton. It was called the Southsea Swimming and Bathing Club  and it was where British royalty and HiSo ‘took to the waters’. A lot has changed 200 years on, and of the modern crop of ultra-chic beach clubs, Ku De Ta  in Bali is considered the founding father (or mother) of the new breed in South East Asia, throwing its very first party back in 2000.

The phenomenon quickly spread, with CATCH  being the first to open on Phuket, as an outlet of the trendy 5-star Twinpalms Phuket Resort, on Surin Beach in 2005. For ten years CATCH  set the standard for beachside food, fun and frivolity, as new arrivals were popping up all around them. In 2015, the unthinkable happened, it was decided that Surin Beach was to be returned to nature, so the thriving beachside businesses all had to go, including CATCH . It only took a year for CATCH  to find a new home, to the north of Surin, on Bang Tao Beach. They managed to secure the site of an existing beach club operation, BLISS, allowing  CATCH to more or less hit the ground running, with a few upgrades. In Surin  CATCH was walking distance for  Twinpalms guests, now a 3 kilometre gap lies between so the resort lays on a convenient hourly minibus shuttle up to Bang Tao.

Since the move,  CATCH has been continually investing to ensure that their product is maintained to the highest of standards, catering to the rapidly expanding, and sophisticated community of Phuket residents, as well as the growing numbers of tourists holidaying on the island.

The 2023/24 refurbishment however has seen the biggest improvements to this twenty year-old Phuket icon. The seating capacity for diners has increased to nearly 200 covers, with several new seating areas available. My pick of these is the  Sala Table, which is on the beach and therefore closest to the sea and its breeze; The Sala Table can be hired by private groups of 8 to 10 guests.

A new pizza oven and counter has been introduced, and the main kitchen opened up so guests can see the chefs hard at work over the grills and stoves. THE hardest job in the world being a chef at CATCH ! Having an ‘open kitchen’ works both ways, diners can see the chefs, but so too can the chefs see the diners; having fun, happily grazing with friends and family, with the azure Andaman Ocean behind them! Not sure I could concentrate on precision grilling a tenderloin in this environment, but they manage to do it somehow.

The business model of a modern day beach club has as much to do with selling dining covers as it has to do with putting bums on beach loungers and cabanas. So, today’s CATCH can offer more sun lounging spaces than ever before. It has a dedicated sunbathing section to the south of the dining areas, which clusters around a brand new 8 metre swimming pool. A word of caution if you are thinking of coming to CATCH with your kids, they don’t allow children under 16 years-old to use this pool. Instead they can use the next-door supervised pool at the Lazy Coconut (also operated by Twinpalms) or the world’s largest warm swimming pool, the Indian Ocean!

Whilst the vast majority of seating and lounge options are within the club’s developed area they do offer a row of sun loungers, with umbrellas, directly on the beach. Here, staff can pamper their guests, serving cocktails and iced drinks; for food you can’t eat on the beach so moving a couple of metres inland to a table is the hardship you have to endure.

To hire one of the loungers, or a more substantial cabana, you’ll need to rent your space, which is calculated on a minimum spend basis. In the high season (December thru March) each person has to consume a minimum of 2,000++ THB of food and drinks, over the rest of the year it’s 1,000++ THB. If you want to take the private Sala Table , for up to 10 people, the high season charge is 35,000++ THB.

Just popping into CATCH  for a beachside drink is what a lot of people do, there is no entrance charge, and with plenty of bar stools to sit on you can watch the eye candy saunter by, grab an Instagram Indian Ocean moment, and enjoy a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

On arrival at the club reception desk it is immediately obvious that this facility is well staffed, and supervised. A bugbear of mine, in Asia generally, is that most eateries don’t have sufficient decision making supervisory staff, people who have initiative and decision making powers to address every customer query. At CATCH  this is not the case, I noticed a few authoritative looking staff talking with guests, and one of these came over to us, who I thought I recognised from the old Surin days. Surely not, people don’t stay in catering jobs for that long! My first instincts were correct, the gentleman was Khun Kittipong, now promoted to CATCH  Beach Club Manager. He proudly showed us around today’s CATCH , and onto our table, where he introduced us to Khun Da, our waitress; would you believe it, she has been with CATCH  since its very beginning, nearly 20 years ago.

My lunch time experience at CATCH  was dominated by seafood, as you might expect from its name and its location. I started with one of their signature Spritzers, opting for the Phuket Spritz , with its unusual hint of thyme & rosemary, to wash down a plate of spicy (and garlicky) Gambas Pil Pil . This was followed by the very popular Blue Crab Salad, which I had to share with my companion. For my main I ordered the Cod Fish Provençale , with a sauce featuring tomato, lemon, basil, olives and capers. I was a bit worried that a dish featuring olives and capers would be too salty for me, but the chef got the seasoning just right. My friend had the very hearty Organic half Chicken Rotisserie for her main.

Sparkling or still bottled water was offered, but we skipped straight to the wine list, choosing a bottle of nicely balanced white Paracombe Pinot Gris , from Adelaide Hills in Australia.

Other noteworthy food offerings available at CATCH  include a selection of plates for sharing, I noticed a huge platter on an adjacent table, which we were told was the Seafood Extravaganza , and for those preferring their food raw rather than cooked, the Crudos section of the menu has a variety dishes, including Hamachi Carpaccio  (spicy soya with shallots and orange peel), which I will definitely try on my next visit. I’ve mentioned the new pool and terrace lounging section, well there is a separate menu for guests occupying this area, featuring pizzas, antipasti and some all time Thai favourites, such as Phad Thai.

I do remember from the Surin days that CATCH  was a very popular Sunday brunch venue. I’m glad to report that this tradition is continuing, with the beach club packed out every Sunday, from 11am to 3pm; be warned, don’t turn up without a reservation. To keep the party going, your Sunday will drift from 4pm into the sunset with what they are calling the ‘Day Party’. Every table is occupied, as a DJ starts to crank up the vibe, with roaming dancers, percussionists and saxophonists getting up close and personal with the tables.

As night sets in CATCH takes on a new persona as a tropical party zone. We couldn’t stay to experience the night shift but typically CATCH is open seven nights per week until midnight, except on Friday and Saturday when it closes at 1am. They have invested in state-of-the-art Pequod acoustic technology, a system adopted by many of the finest venues around the world, delivering a superior sound quality which is pleasing to the ear. Such is the kudos of CATCH these days, they are able to attract an eclectic line-up of resident and international guest DJ’s throughout the year.

Well, you’ve been brought up to date, much has changed on the surface at CATCH, but the soul remains the same, as do many of the staff. Morning coffee, lunch, brunch, cocktails, dinner or party, take your pick.