Cata Restaurant

Went here for a friend’s birthday. The food is great. They specialize in gin drinks, if that’s your scene (it’s not mine). The ambience is very cool, but the layout of the tables in the bar area is a bit awkward especially when you’re in a large group; I felt we were always bumping into other people or vice versa. The waitress had a major attitude suggesting that she forgot she was in fact there to serve us and not the other way around, which is the only reason I’m not giving 5 stars.

This was my one of my favorite places during my week stay. The staff are so friendly and the restaurant had a very cool vibe. I will have dreams about the fried goat cheese at Cata! I can’t wait to go back next time I’m in New York!

There’s nothing that I love more about going to Spain than visiting the diverse, casual tapas bars that seem to be on every street. Most nights, my wife and I hit about a half dozen or so bars. None offer the same menus.
Now, Manhattan seems to be giving Spain some competition. Tapas bars have proliferated in NYC in recent years, which is a good thing, because I prefer to eat lots of small dishes instead of a three course meal. If your a tapas fan, or are curious about what tapas bars in Spain are like,
Cata is a good place to start. The décor is a bit too Moorish for my taste – dark wood and metal hardware – but I come here for the food and drink, which has gotten better since it opened a few years ago.
When I first started coming here, the cocktails were all pretty much gin based. but their options have diversified in the past two years. The cocktails have become another reason I come here, as is their diverse list of Spanish wines.
There are two rooms. A regular dining room, and one room with high tops. Go for the high tops. It’s a more energetic space, better lit and it shares the space with the open grill and bar. Most tapas bars in Spain are setup that way.
The best place to eat and drink, in my opinion, is at the bar. You can watch the cook preparing just about everything on the menu – especially the grilled seafood and mushrooms. I’m fascinated watching him at work. You also get into conversations with your neighbors.
If you come here, I suggest starting with the mixed olives, pan con tomate with olive oil and sea salt, deviled eggs, piquillo peppers, patatas bravas and griilled razor clams.
I really cannot comment on the entrée size dishes since I fill up on the tapas. Anyway, you can check out their menu on line for the larger dishes, which include all kinds of meat and some fish.

My girlfriend and I stumbled into Cata last night after walking the Bowery in search of a great meal. Cata delivered on this front — and then some. Amazing Spanish tapas — separated on the menu by Snacks/Oysters/Vegetables/Sea/Bread&Pasta/Land. This menu is so varied that if you have trouble finding something you enjoy, please do us all a favor and just go home.
We were bestowed with the cocktail menu first, which boasts over a dozen Gin and Tonic options, as well as noteworthy specialty cocktails. As an ardent supporter of the Manhattan, I opted for their classic Manhattan as well as the Spanish Manhattan, both delicious in their own way.
Snacks — we ordered the Pan con Tomate (garlic-​rubbed crispy bread with olive oil and sea salt) and Fried Goat Cheese (always a staple). I would highly recommend both of these and will likely order them again. For next time, I’d also like to order the Quail Eggs Benedict.
Vegetables — The charred eggplant dip, although complex, was not a standout. The crostinis come with a small jar of piperade, labneh, and basil oil for spreading and while I didn’t dislike it entirely, it just wasn’t that flavorful. However, the white asparagus was AMAZING and I highly recommend ordering it.
Bread & Pasta — we split the Paella, which was my favorite item of the night. The saffron rice was some of the best rice I have ever tasted in my life and I found the flavor of the chorizo, florida sun shrimp, and chicken wings to be top notch. This is a great dish to split between two people as one of your mains, as most of the dishes are small plates.
Land — perhaps not feeling entirely full after the aforementioned items, we chose to order the lamb meatballs, which come with charred red pepper sauce, currants, and labneh. You get 5 per order and they were quite good.
Dessert — we were coaxed (in a good way) by our waiter into ordering the salted caramel sundae, which was the perfect way to cap a truly memorable dinner.
Our waiter was attentive without being intrusive and provided worthy recommendations throughout the meal. I look forward to coming back here for dinner (I wish they had brunch) in the near future and I can’t say enough great things about this place, located on the Bowery. Great spot for groups, too!

Came here with a friend who is gluten free. The restaurant had an extensive gf menu which made sharing tapas still an option.
The order:
Duck egg with chorizo — 4.5
Octopus — 5
Sea bass with ratatouille– 4.5
Paella — 5
Ambiance: trendy, very loud, quite dark, close quarter seating
Also, I think our waiter changes shifts and forgot about us since nobody came to clear our plates and we had to hunt someone different down for a check. This was during an 8pm Saturday night reservation.

The ambience and crowd are cool, the food is average. They are very chintzy about bread. How are we supposed to sop up the sauces from the tapas dishes???

Good tapas. By far the quail egg over chorizo was amazing! The oxtail empanadas were second fave! For dessert the olive oil ice cream. Non description outside beautiful inside

Came here this past Saturday night for a «cute, casual dinner» with a girlfriend and was completely blown away. We arrived around 9PM without a reservation, not quite knowing what to expect, and we given bar seats right away. We had the G+T with Hendricks, Cucumber, and Rose… gorgeous. And asked the bartender for food recos. He suggested the duck ravioli and a few other items that we didn’t listen to. We decided on the paella, duck ravioli, and cauliflower a la plancha. The cauliflower was meh, the paella was super bomb, but the duck ravioli… there are no words. It was EVERYTHING. Every bite was decadent. I never wanted it to end.
We finished off the meal with olive oil ice cream and chocolate mousse which was also INSANE.
My only thing was that we had a wait quite a while for the bartender to even give us a menu, let alone take our order, but understandable — it was a Sat evening and we didn’t have reservations. Also the crowd was a bit on the stuffier side and the seating was a bit uncomfortable, but the ravioli made up for all that and so much more.
I’ll def be back for the gin drinks and duck!

Cata has the tapas you’re looking for but not the dining experience… for those of you who are looking for the full package you’ll be missing the back of your chair and half of your beer.
Stools were not comfortable and the beer was served in a scotch glass…
The croquettes are a quick win and the vibe was decent,
On the fence about coming back…

Perfect for gin lovers and tapas lovers alike.
Last came here with a group of 6 for dinner. The ambiance is a bit brighter than that of its sister restaurant, Alta, although not quite as large, in my opinion. Nonetheless, the high wooden tables by the bar, and the actual seating area are more than sufficient, set to meld into the overall Catalan theme.
So, they’re all about the gin and tonics here, and they’ve got quite a few different varieties. I obviously wasn’t able to try them all, but I was a fan of pretty much everything I tried. That Fentiman’s tonic doe.
Onto the food. We went crazy and got just about everything we could on the menu that sounded good, with a few favorites:
— chicken croquetas
— grilled octopus
— suckling pig
— grilled cauliflower steak
— patatas bravas
Can’t really go wrong with those choices, and everything else we got was decent too, it was just those particular dishes that stood out.
Service in general was very helpful and attentive, and we got some very good recommendations. The pricing is easily on the more expensive side, so it’s not really like you should go crazy like we did with the ordering, but since there’s so many good things, it’s not the worst place to splurge.
They have large format whole suckling pig dinners for $ 65 per person, complete with sides, as advertised on their website. Given that the tapas version of their suckling pig was pretty great, I wouldn’t be opposed to having something like that in the future, so I’ll have to give that a try soon. In all, the tapas are delicious, the gin drinks are strong and well-​made, so you’ll likely have a great time. This is likely on the top of my list the next time I’m looking for some good tapas.

KenScale: 7.5÷10
I haven’t had Spanish meal since my trip to Spain last September, and figured now is probably a good time to re-​visit Cata where I had a surprisingly pleasant meal with classic Spanish dishes with modern touch. The beauty of Spanish dish always lies in its diversity, and I ordered mostly different items this time. I guess I should’ve stuck with what I had on my first time around as the meal was a bit more mixed on my second try.
One of the memorable dishes from my first visit was quail eggs benedict with chorizo so I definitely ordered it again. It was still a nice bite but I felt it was a little bit more salty than I remembered. The classic gambas al ajillo was a winner, with fresh Florida sun shrimp that worked together well with garlic, herbs and chili. On the other hand, Truffled ham and cheese with local raclette and jamon Serrano was also a nice bite that would start your meal on a nice note. There were some disappointments, however. As promising as it sounded, grilled cauliflower steak with broccoli jalapeño purée and aged cheddar didn’t quite delivered in flavor and texture; I’ve definitely had more crisply cooked cauliflower at other restaurants in the city. Duck paella was also underwhelming despite the combination of duck confit and shaved foie gras that could’ve worked harmoniously but instead the dish was a bit too heavy without offering much redeeming quality in flavor.
The restaurant is still going strong, with a nearly packed dining space of communal tables on Friday full of young, hip crowd looking to start their weekend night out. You could always get a glass of wine or a selection of gin and tonic to wash down your food. I will probably reserve my judgment for Cata until my next visit to see if my mixed experience this time was just a blip from selecting dishes that the restaurant wasn’t really strong for, or whether the kitchen is just not what it used to be.

Entrance is on a side street so it is easy to walk past this place. As you walk in, there is a large bar area on the left with many high-​tops. On the right there is a casual seating area. I will post a couple of pix. I don’t recall the background music.
I stopped in for a quick G&T. Nicely made drink for $ 14.00. Citadelle gin and Fentimans tonic. Bartender was OK but should learn to smile if he wants a bigger tip.

Great place for Tapas — super cute wooden décor with high top tables and close seating to your neighbors almost like family style. The portions are super small but the food was AMAZING.
We tried:
— Duck Ravioli — MUST GET one of the best things on the menu
— Octopus — was told it was the restaurants favorite dish, but ours seemed underseasoned, but I would give it another chance with all of the rave reviews.
— Grilled Skirt Steak — MUST GET so delicious and cooked perfectly
— Brussel sprouts — MUST GET I would come back just for these they were that good
— Bacon wrapped dates and olives — OMG so delicious
— Lamb meatballs — pretty good but would order any of the above items before these
The service was pretty good and I would definately come back to try more items on the menu!

Went here for dinner the other night and it was amazing!
Drinks: Cata has a wide selection of gin and tonics, something for everyone. I’m a huge ginger fan so I got the ginger gin and tonic and it was great. Perfect twist on a classic. They have other amazing cocktails, dark and stormy was highly recommended
Food: If you’re a fan of tapas, this is the place for you. There is something for vegetarians, carnivores, and seafood lovers alike. We had the octopus, Brussels sprouts, quail eggs benedict, ham, steak, pan con tomate. All delicious, but my favorite was definitely the quail eggs Benedict — perfection!
Atmosphere: It was packed on Friday night. I feel like that’s always a sign that it’s a great place. However, it was a little too loud, and I felt like I had to yell to be heard. Oh and I was basically touching elbows with the people that next to me. Nothing that would prevent me from going back, but just be aware if you’re planning on dining here on Friday night.

Such an amazing ambience and DELICIOUS food. My friend and I came here to have a catch up and it was just the perfect place. Highly recommended for a date night. The staff were so friendly and the food was just out of this world.
I cannot pick a favourite. I’m pretty certain that anything we ordered would have been absolutely magnificent. Excited to go back again to try more new dishes! Have a look at my photos to see what we ordered! The dessert was incredible as well. Let’s just say we rolled out of there with VERY full tummies!

4.5 stars. I am giving it 4 because while the food and drinks were unbelievable, there were some peripheral issues that can’t be ignored. Hate to round down given the quality of the ingestibles, though — just SO well done.
Made a reservation here through OpenTable for 8pm on a Friday night. First off: great location. Steps from the BDFM and the LES. I just exhausted half of the alphabet with that one. Even before walking in, you know this is going to be an immersive experience. Highlights of the exterior are weathered brick walls and large windows — while there’s not much else on Bowery in this particular area, the look of Cata immediately stands out.
The interior is equally beautiful. Long wooden tables, low-​hanging lamps, scattered verdure (we sat next to a very very large plant), gunmetal-​esque fixtures, exposed brick and some large paintings. I wouldn’t say I felt like I was in Spain, but the ambiance was downright wonderful.
First off: drinks. I chose this place based on the food menu alone, so it was an unbelievable surprise — as a big gin drinker — to find a G&T menu that is only rivaled by the Winslow (**only in my experience though**). They’ve got 12 different gin and tonic variations. 12! I was overwhelmed with joy (and apparently still am). Given my affinity for spicy gin drinks, I would’ve been remiss not to order the Thai Chili G&T, which was spectacular. While the menu only details the type of gin and tonics used in each drink, there are clearly other flavors added. I was initially confused by the menu presentation, but I trusted that the Thai Chili G&T would have more than just «Perry’s Tot Gin and Fentimans Tonic» (it did). The presentation is also beautiful: You’ve got your gin and garnishes in one glass and a tonic in another to add at your leisure. Couldn’t have asked for anything more.
Food:
–Gambas al Ajilo (Florida sun shrimp, garlic, spices, chili — $ 12) Grade: B
–Mushrooms a la plancha (pickled shallot, lemon, parsley — $ 9) Grade: B+
–Brussels sprouts (Granny smith apples, crème fraîche & pistachio) Grade: A
–Quail Eggs Benedict (chorizo, hash browns, hollandaise) Grade: A+
–Grilled Red Snapper (w/​spaghetti squash «alle vongole») Grade: A+
The menu here is diverse, creative and of course, so so tasty. I’ve been to a lot of tapas spots due to my sharing/​mooching addiction, and this was one of the more impressive spreads I’ve seen. The shrimp were pretty disappointing given the high praise from our server (read below: not sure how she’s at all an asset to this place) but the food was otherwise deliriously delicious. Delirious because after eating the last three dishes, we were pretty much in a food porn stupor. But more than just porn — porn would imply only having visual stimulation. This was the whole shebang. Despite only trying a fraction of the menu, I think it’s safe to say that you’ll find beautiful, complex flavors in almost every plate on the menu.
Quick note about the service: Our server was nice enough, but she was downright clueless. My friend simply asked which cocktails on the menu were the sweetest, and the response was a completely baffled facial expression. I tried to recommend one of the vodka cocktails to my friend because all it takes is LOOKING AT THE INGREDIENTS in the damn drink to know what’s sweet and what’s more savory… apparently the server was not privy to this information. My friend, disgruntled, finally just asked the waitress to confer with the bartender and bring her the sweetest drink on the menu. As I expected, it was the vodka one I had mentioned before (she liked it at least). And all of this continued — she was unfortunately pretty incompetent when it came to speaking about the menu. *This all said* our food was brought out promptly — timing couldn’t have been more perfect, actually. So service was a mixed bag.
Miscellaneous (cons):
–You will likely be seated very close to other parties here. One could argue that this is part of the shar (ing/​ed) experience but my friend and I kind of felt like we were on the adjacent couple’s date. We were all good sports about it, but it can get a bit awkward. Thankfully their date seemed to be going well (but kind of creepy that we had any idea about the prognosis of their night in the first place).
–I feel like this place is a *tad* overpriced. Our bill was around $ 95 (excluding tip), which was way more than we were anticipating spending. I know you’re pretty much asking for it if you go out to a nice tapas place, but I’m not really sure it was worth THAT much money. It was pretty close though — we were that wowed by our final few dishes.

Solid tapas with excellent gin and tonics to match. I like the variety of the G+Ts they offer and we got to sample quite a few of them since our table was into sharing. Both the kaffir lime and kaffir lime leaf were delicious, as were the lavender.
They also have a frozen sangria! It’s basically a classier version of dumping vodka into your 7 – 11 slurpee. Which for me, is a good thing.

The food and drinks were so amazing that I won’t even take off any points for the poor service we received.
Tapas: our favorites were the corn and pulpo. I personally loved the baked oysters as well, melt in your mouth, like sea buttterrr. The pulpo was so fresh, just wished there was more than 2 pieces. I honestly just wanted to order everything on the menu!
Drinks: Some watermelon cocktail, refreshing with just the right amount of lime juice. The bartender told us his secret ingredient, you’ll have to go and find out!
Service: Placed drink order with waitress 1, waitress 2 comes by asks us what we want to drink. Waitress 1 comes back to take our food order, still didn’t get our drinks when waitress 2 asks us what we would like to eat. 1^st round of tapas come, still no drinks. One of us kept getting her chair pushed by the waitress, the waiter dropped oil from one of the dishes on my shoulder, and I got accidentally smacked by one of the other patrons.
Yes I would still come back to try more food and more drinks!

4.5 stars if I could but rounded up because we just had such an incredible overall experience.
The whole tapas and small plates thing has pretty much been done to death at this point, but this place restored my faith. Since they’re related to Alta, which I’ve been to many times over the years and has done small plates better than many places for a while now, I figured I’d be in good hands at Cata also.
We had a large party of 15 people so we got to sample a little of just about everything. Almost everyone in the group has VERY high standards for food and drink and we were all raving about how even though we looked at the menu online before the dinner and it looked amazing, our experience went beyond our expectations.
The cocktails were excellent. The G&T’s they’re known for (not something you’d expect at a tapas restaurant but it works) especially ones using Botanist gin.
Among the food some favorites were: oysters baked with bone marrow (WOW), charcuterie platter, suckling pig, octopus skewers, duck pastrami, raw oysters… and the potted foie gras with grilled bread was just heavenly. I rarely eat bread and even the bread was incredible.
Service was really excellent considering there were so many of us and multiple rounds of ordering more and more food and drinks.
Would definitely love to return.

This one was a tough one to review because the server, Shelley C, really did kill our experience. We were lucky that the majority of the time the host was taking care of our table.
It’s not as if we are terrible customers. Actually, in terms of guests, we’re the ones that appreciate all levels from service to food to back of house. We tip well even when things aren’t perfect.
You know that feeling you get that a server has had a bad day, doesn’t like her job or just is good at her job but really not a people person? We could be wrong but actions sure speak louder than words. It was a combo of all that. It’s the first time I was afraid of a server coming back to our table.
Anyway, on to the food and space. The space they created is pretty cool. The bar area much more interesting and inviting than the actual dining space. It’s communal so be warned if that is not your thing. Dining area would be for you if this part ain’t your vibe.
Having lived in Spain, food, well it was incredible. Nothing compares to it for tapas. I do miss my measure of good tapas, the spanish omelette. Glaringly absent. Simple but so good.
With Cata, you get the import of the idea but incredibly overpriced. We tried the merguez spiced lamb, patatas bravas, chick pea fritters, pan con tomate, and the autumn salad.
As a late night snack, all that was filling. My favourites were the tomato jam and the lamb. Hands down, you have to order quite a few plates to feel full but again, if you are going for an evening drink and a bite you’ll do just fine.