By Lynn Jones (Urban Traveler) | Catluna restaurant has burst on the First Coast foodie scene with top of the line décor mirroring five-star venues in Europe, Dubai, Miami and New York. Cataluña has now taken up space in the districts neighborhood on Phillips Highway near Baymeadows Rd, a district known for their upscale and family friendly restaurant venues. “We offer a great ambiance, we are fairly new, we offer live entertainment, our concept idea is for you and your guest to enjoy delicious cuisine,” said manager Pejman Parker.
[foogallery id=”81842″]Perusing Cataluña’s social media page, the dark green decor and gold furnishings lures you into the restaurant. The Roman/Italian styled art and table interior vibes, renders you for an evening of exquisite libations and a tempting menu focusing on the Mediterranean coast. Dining options opened with Greek and summer salads, Racine mushrooms, the table favorite truffle fries and their heralded Lobster Robata with miso glaze and curly scallions headlined the tapas welcome menu. Entre menu orders presented the Branzino pan seared sea bass, topped with grilled vegetables and herb garlic butter. We’d have to say the sea bass skin was cooked and seasoned to perfection, while the sea bass taste hinged on a tad of dryness, although have to admit the grilled vegetables were the star of the serving show! A native of Italy, Executive Chef Alex Azzam remarked, “This is fine dining the Italian way. I’ve cooked in different restaurants and visited at least 50 different countries. I cook, learn and teach. We have Japanese, Sicily infusion dishes; we do things that respect the location of the food. We want to give the guest flavors and taste that is unique,” he said smiling. The prime rib was cooked to perfection, and covered with homemade gravy straight from your grandma’s kitchen!
The evening’s handcrafted cocktails outshined the selected meal. The ‘Sirocco’ cocktail narrative was appealing, ‘hailing from the corners of the Mediterranean to the shores of Florida and inspired by the North African winds, yes I was in!!! The Sirocco cocktail smoothness components included: tequila Milagros, ginger turmeric cordial, lemon juice, truffle salt and orange blossom honey stole the scene! My plus one sipped on Cataluña’s picturesque ‘Bloody Mary,’ pulled right out of a cocktail recipe catalogue. The lounge evenings schedule features live jazz/Spanish music, DJ’s and fire shows.
For reservations and more info visit www.catalunarestauratnt.com.
Urban Traveler Score: 1 – 5 (five the highest rating):
Ambiance 5.0 / Cocktails 5.0 / Service 4.2 / Food 3.4 / Management 5.0
