Catfish - BALLARAT CENTRAL

We were in Ballarat for five days and our daughter had given us a heads up on this restaurant. We understand the chef had worked with David Thompson in London and if that was the case this place was odds on to be very good. It is a five star experience and we greatly enjoyed both the food and the service. Advice on food and wine proved to be spot on and the overall experience was well worth the relatively expensive prices. We don't eat at this level of restaurant frequently and go with high expectations but they were met here. I love set menus unless I have detailed information on offerings prior to the visit and that too worked well. This is a highly recommended experience.

We surprised a friend with a birthday weekend away. We chose Catfish to celebrate and reserved a table of four on a Saturday night.I read (mostly) positive reviews, including John Lethlean's April 2016 review in The Australian, prior to arrival and was optimistic of a positive dining experience. We arrived to a full restaurant, (a good sign?) and were escorted to our table in the upstairs dining section.The server greeted us and explained the banquet menu. I appreciated the creativity in the menu, impressed Betel leaf was an ingredient used in one of the starters. The rice patty and skewers were not overly exciting though. Considering the price per head, the portion sizes were on the smaller size. There was an excessive amount of chilli used in one of the entrée salads, and I normally like really spicy food. There was also a questionable delay between courses - I even noted both tables next to us eyeing off empty plates whilst they waited.When dessert was served, we were encouraged to eat the lychee/onion sorbet as a palette cleanser; it was so overpowering and a bizarre flavour combination. So perhaps they could have worded their explanation a little different?The chicken curry was delicious however - I would have gladly just ordered more of that. The cocktails were presented well and were well made.Our server was polite, but not overly engaging with us. I had to prompt for more drink orders and disappointed our sparking wine sat on the counter without ice. There was very little follow up to gauge how our experience went. But he was otherwise pleasant.I liked the simplicity of the décor and table arrangements - however the lights upstairs are too bright and the what little music that did play was too quiet. I get winter in Ballarat is extra cold, but it was quite uncomfortable - we had to ask for the heating to be turned up.I would be open to experiencing Catfish again, as I like the concept and especially when it is a refreshing alternative, but outline there is room for improvement and polish.

Despite our good intentions for the past year or more, to dine at Catfish, this was our first visit - it certainly won't be our last! Although a meal here is a fair old investment, we found everything about it to be deserving of five stars. The service was outstanding - knowledgeable, friendly, never intrusive but always there when needed; a special mention to Brad, who primarily looked after us and did a fantastic job! The ambience is classy in an understated but quite elegant way - the rich red and black colour scheme is particularly inviting on a cold Ballarat winter's evening. I'd been unable to find out anything about the menu through their website (which wasn't as friendly as their welcome ;-) ) and when we were seated, Brad advised that it was a banquet night (we dined on a Saturday). I'm not sure if this is the case every night but there appeared to be no alternative a la carte option on offer. In any event, our party of seven decided we'd go "the whole hog" and have the large banquet. At $77 a head, it's not cheap but the quantity and quality of the food made it good value for a superb feast. One of our group is vegetarian and he was served his own version of each of the dishes - we joked with him that he even got vegetarian rice!Chef pre-selected several street food "tasters" for entree; all were excellent and my personal favourite was the betel leaf with pomelo. As a group we decided on a soup, a salad, a curry and a stir-fry to share. The pork hock and peanut soup was rich and piquant, the duck laap (salad) was superb; an aromatic chicken and potato curry was delicately spiced but hearty, and the stir-fry was amazing: cabbage, shiitake, silken tofu and lap cheong made a sublime flavour combination. Steamed rice was served in generous quantities - plenty more than we needed. Dessert was a tasting plate for each diner, of four exquisitely executed sweets. The standout for me was the white chocolate mousse on a sliver of pineapple, topped with a splash of passionfruit and a chunk of honeycomb; a lychee dessert with crispy fried shallots sprinkled over was a surprising and delightful twist on combining sweet and savoury flavours.Fully licensed, drink prices aren't prohibitive and the wine list is interesting and carefully compiled. When the white wine we initially selected arrived at the table, we realised there had been some information missing on the wine list and it was actually much sweeter than we anticipated or wanted. Brad immediately suggested a much drier Austrian Grüner Veltliner, which was the perfect accompaniment to our meal. We were pleased to see commonsense prevail when the bill arrived too - we divided it up equally into "per person" and the restaurant was most obliging in accepting several credit cards to settle it up.Catfish is a brilliant spot for a special meal and we intend making many return visits.

Catfish was recommended by my airbnb host as an outstanding place to eat. Which made me want to go thereI wasn't disappointed the food was excellent. The staff very friendly and the atmosphere was good too.I would highly recommend the place if you are ever in Ballarat but be aware the price is a little steep at $57 each for the small banquet and I think $79 for the larger one, then with drinks on top of that it works out to be a little on the expensive side.Overall a lovely experience though. Would I go there again? Probably not but not because of the place itself it's more to do with the money for me.

We went to Catfish to celebrate my 30th birthday with 7 other & it was delicious. The food is amazing & staff catered happily for a variety of dietary requirements without compromising on flavour. Staff were friendly, knowledgable & ensured our night was fantastic.