Seafood is good if it is fresh. And perhaps the freshest seafood in town is served at Fresh Catch in Bandra. In fact, it has been voted Best Seafood Restaurant at the recent Times Food and Nightlife Awards 2022.
Bandra is sure lucky to have Fresh Catch. The original Fresh Catch, located in a bylane in Mahim, is shut as the place has gone in for redevelopment. Fresh Catch in Bandra is located on the second floor above McDonald’s on Hill Road. As the location goes you can’t get better than this, but even if it was situated in a leafy lane of Bandra we are sure foodies would make sure they dined out there or phoned in for home delivery of fresh and fabulous food.
It was founded in 1998 by Francis Fernandes who was passionate about good food and ensured that the fare was always fresh. Over the years it has been frequented by quite a few celebrities including Sachin Tendulkar and you see frames of these hard copy photographs (before the mobile phone age) adorning a wall (including one of your truly in the company of Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre and, of course, the smiling Francis Fernandes). Francis, sadly, passed away a little over a year ago, but his food flavour and fervour continues with his children, daughter Ankita and son Adith, looking after the place and continuing his legacy. In fact, the place is now branded as Fresh Catch by Francis.
What you have here are the tropical treasures of the Konkan coast, inspired by the North Kanara coastline with the freshest ingredients sourced from places like Honavar, Karwar, Kumta, Ankola, Bhaktal and some other parts of the Konkan coast. The setting is splendid, nice and cosy with soft pink sofas, cute tables for two, cane lights hanging from the ceiling and french windows with a view of glorious greenery. The waiters are in colourful carnival shirts giving off that happy holiday vibe, just right to sit back, listen to good old classic English tracks and tuck into the food, slowly and steadily. There is no wine or beer, not yet, but they have applied for a licence to make your visit more refreshing, but you can perhaps start with the sol kadi or fresh lime soda to chill out before having a taste of the hot food.
You are in Mumbai, so that means there is always bombil and the bombil fry here is highly recommended. It is bombil fried in a tawa after taking out the middle bone, it is mildly spiced and crunchy. Also recommended is the prawns rechado with the tiger prawns grilled in Goan masala which is spicy but not too spicy to kill the taste of the prawns. The recommendation continues with the crab meat butter garlic that caresses your senses as you feel its freshness, relished with paper-thin neer dosa.
Without elaborating, on the menu are soups, appetizers, main course and desserts like lovely layered bebinca and the soft and smooth caramel custard. In case you are thinking that there is only seafood at Fresh Catch, think again! There is mutton and chicken dishes and even a treat for vegetarians.
Ankita Fernandes, who has worked in five-star hotels around town, informs that the food at Fresh Catch is forever fresh, with no marinades prepared earlier or food cooked and frozen. The catch arrives every morning, as early as 4 am. Fresh Catch is open every day from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm and 7 pm to 11:30 pm. The main restaurant has 65 covers and the private dining area can accommodate 12 persons.
Besides the comfortable seating in the main restaurant area (which has 65 covers), there is also a private dining area (which can accommodate 12 persons) that is ideal for a special occasion or celebration. And an excellent social media photo point is with the sculptured pelican at the entrance with a fish in its mouth. Yes, it’s time to head to Fresh Catch by Francis on Hill Road, Bandra. Bon Appétit!
Fresh Catch by Francis Fernandes
2nd Floor, Khan House, Hill Road, Bandra West, Mumbai 400050
Call: +91-9821121876 (Reservations recommended)
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