Catch 22
When I was younger, I briefly lived next door to The Crown and Sceptre pub, and had a paper round at a store affectionately known as 'the Mardy shop' a few doors down. My mate Joe Rich lived even closer and we spent our days playing football in his garden and watching Hot Rod. Come 2017/18 the Mardy shop was transformed into the ‘Mardy chippy’, which has recently been taken over by Dave and Georgie Chamberlain with a rebrand to Catch 22.
Despite their new name being slightly cliche, coupled with the small painted sign above their door stating ‘traditional fish and chips’ (remnants of the previous owners). Don’t be fooled. There are plenty of other places in Abergavenny which can offer your typical chippy tea, all with their own loyalist fan bases who have their favourites etched into the very fibre of their being. I’m not interested in comparing them, but the Catch 22 menu is unlike anything else in town.
Dave is a captivating character with 30-years of culinary experience and a CV of established restaurants longer than a Dennis Rodman rap sheet. Claridges and The Savoy perhaps the most notable, and The Vine Tree Llangattock closer to home. He’s won AA rosettes at The Orangery at D’vere Tortworth Court and even made an appearance on S3 of MasterChef: The Professionals back in 2010. So we’re all in agreement this guy knows his stuff? Excellent.
How did Catch 22 come to pass? He assisted the previous owner of the chippy with writing menus and jokingly mentioned he should take over. Two years down the line he received a phone call with that very offer. After taking a two year break due to feeling burnt out from his career, Dave is back and enjoying himself again. He’s teamed up with partner, Georgie, as they always had a vision to run their own restaurant/coffee shop - but saw this as a more realistic route in the current climate. Their family are pitching in whether it be with social media content or as paying customers, with Kyle and Alex forming part of their tight knit team.
Dave’s ideas are reflected upon specials that change weekly: crispy sweet chilli beef salad, spiced lamb samosas, red Thai cod bites, crab arancini with saffron aioli, and Mexican style tiger prawns to name a few that have already made an appearance. Customers are beginning to - pardon the pun - catch on. Regular chip shop items were flying out when the doors first opened, and now the specials are becoming increasingly popular.
Crispy battered tandoori tiger prawns with a cooling raita and a mango yoghurt.
Thai style crab cakes contain Cornish white hand picked crab meat, Cornish brown crab meat, red and green chilli, harissa, shallots, and Thai seasoning. Served with a thick sweet chilli, soy, and lime sauce.
Crispy chilli beef has been such a big hit that it has already been scribbled onto the specials board 3 times in the last 4 weeks.
As for the staple menu, meat in their burgers is sourced from Golden Valley: Jamaican jerk pulled beef brisket comes with a fennel, apple, and lime slaw. There’s another option in the form of Jack Daniels BBQ pulled pork with burnt apple chutney and guacamole.
Dave wants to “create a dilemma of choice” and I can absolutely assure you that you will spend several minutes gawping at the menu trying to figure out your order.
The chips are what most would call “proper”. Hand crafted. Batter is light and delicate, clinging onto the fish like a Leeds United fan to scraps of hope in a play off campaign. My mother in law was able to finish a small piece of fish despite usually having a tendency to dislike batter - a great compliment - but I was unable to set up my usual pre-meal photoshoot before she had assaulted it.
Some may look at this and suggest this isn’t what they want from a chippy. Part of me understands that, but I’d quite frankly call it narrow minded. I find Catch 22 both unique and exciting, with Dave and Georgie proclaiming it’s “not your usual chippy”. My advice is to be receptive to new things. I’m looking forward to seeing Dave’s creativity come further into fruition as he gets back up to speed. Abergavenny is much better off with places like this available, and you may get sick of hearing me say it, but: go support a great new independent business if you are able to do so!