Prime Catch: As the Seasons Change, So Does its Menu

If there's one thing missing from the bustling dining scene on RVC's South Park Avenue, it's a good seafood restaurant, said Axell Urrutia, executive chef of the newly-opened Prime Catch.

The restaurant, which celebrated its grand opening on Dec. 1, offers a large selection of both raw and cooked seafood, with a menu that changes seasonally. "We've had a great response so far, especially for opening a seafood restaurant in the winter," said Urrutia. "Even Sunday nights have been busy."

Urrutia brings several years of experience in the restaurant industry to his kitchen at Prime Catch. He's worked with seafood in the past, but described his culinary experience as "a little bit of everything." Before coming to Prime Catch, Urrutia worked as a chef at s and in RVC, as well as Waterzooi in Garden City.

Jimmy McGee, a member of the wait staff at Prime Catch, attributed the restaurant's popularity to the creativity of the chef's dishes. "I see a lot of clean plates at the end of each meal and the portions here are definitely not small," he said. "The customers don't have any food left to wrap up."

According to the staff, some of the most popular dishes on the Prime Catch menu are the crab cakes with stilton salsa cruda, horseradish sauce and curry oil, as well as the crab stuffed salmon with sambuca-spirited dijonaise.

Prime Catch has a large, fully-stocked bar at the front of the restaurant, which the staff said helps attract new customers. "People see the bar through the large front windows while driving past and want to come in," explained Urrutia.

The restaurant is currently available for private events, and when the weather gets warm, Prime Catch will offer al fresco dining on the sidewalk surrounding the restaurant throughout the spring and summer. Urrutia noted, "This cuisine is definitely warm-weather friendly."