Seafood restaurant Catch Oyster Bar opens in Patchogue
Clams with linguine is one of the pasta dishes on the menu at Catch Oyster Bar in Patchogue. Credit: Catch Oyster Bar
Michael Avino had enough of MTV.
Instead, the one-time live events coordinator for the cable music channel decided to return to his Long Island roots, where he has teamed up with his father, Jim, to pursue his first love: the restaurant business.
On Monday, the team opened Catch Oyster Bar in Patchogue, where they plan to cook together, a return to the days when Mike joined his dad in the restaurant business at Bellport Chowder House (now closed) and Avino’s Italian Table (also in Bellport, which Jim still runs).
For now you’ll find father and son cooking together in an open kitchen that is designed to be the centerpiece of this tiny restaurant.
Housed in the one-time home to a unisex hair salon, which had been there for decades, the Avinos gutted the 750-square-foot space and rebuilt it with an “open concept,” including mermaid sculptures hanging from the exposed beams, and a long 30-seat bar that looks into the open kitchen.
In keeping with the name the menu is heavy on seafood, including a raw bar that Mike says is “as local as we can get.” Current selections include Blue Point oysters from the Great South Bay and No. 9 oysters from Peconic Bay. From the kitchen come classics like lobster roll with lemon-zest mayonnaise and clams with linguine finished with Parmesan breadcrumbs.
The drinks menu looks to maintain the local vibe with a rotating tap list that includes eight Long Island beers and two local wines.
63 N. Ocean Ave., Patchogue, 631-627-6860, catchoysterbar.com
