In November 2021, on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, chef Aom Srisuk and her husband and business partner Frankie Weinberg ambitiously opened their Thai restaurant, Pomelo, at 4113 Magazine Street. The cozy 18-seat eatery quickly became a hit with the Uptown crowd. Now, the couple is expanding their venture with Good Catch, an upscale Thai urban bistro that offers more seating, more ambitious dishes, and serves Thai-inspired cocktails.

Glass Noodle Pad Thai. Photo courtesy of Good Catch

Before opening Pomelo, Srisuk honed her culinary skills in the restaurant business for 15 years in Thailand. She started in her family’s restaurant as a teenager, and while still a senior in college, she opened a Japanese restaurant in the central business district of Bangkok. She also ran restaurants in her hometown of Ayutthaya. She and Weinberg, an associate professor at Loyola University, met in Thailand in 2000 and briefly dated before parting ways. They reconnected during one of Weinberg’s business trips to the country and married in 2018. Two-and-a-half years since Pomelo opened, Srisuk and Weinberg decided to open another restaurant in the Central Business District to cater to business folks and tourists.

Good Catch is a homecoming of sorts for Srisuk. The building is the former home of Singha Thai Café, where Srisuk waited tables when she first moved to the U.S. in 2017. Chef and owner of Singha Thai, Chalin Rungruang, closed the restaurant’s New Orleans location in the fall and relocated the business to Slidell. Srisuk and Weinberg thought it was only fitting to take over the space for Good Catch.

“I like that location because I grew up in Bangkok, which is right in the middle of everything,” Srisuk says. “I’m familiar with how busy the city can be, especially surrounded by hotels and offices, so the restaurant feels like it’s in the middle of everything. I know there are people in that area who want to eat Thai food.”

Good Catch will allow Srisuk to expand her culinary skills. At Pomelo, Srisuk and Weinberg introduced Thai street noodle dishes that aren’t typically found on Thai restaurant menus in the United States. At Good Catch, Srisuk has a bigger kitchen, allowing her to create a menu that differs from Pomelo’s fare. Srisuk is incredibly proud of the seafood selection. With a name like Good Catch, that doesn’t come as a surprise.

Red Curry with scallops. Photo courtesy of Good Catch

She explains, “We use fresh seafood, and we use Gulf shrimp for our shrimp dishes. I love seafood myself and in Thailand we really enjoy our seafood; I wanted to bring that experience to Good Catch. There’s so much more I’m going to add in the future as we expand the menu. I want to present an authentic menu with the quality of Gulf seafood.”

Some of the restaurant’s specialties include Glass Noodle Pad Thai with Gulf Shrimp and Scallops made with egg, bean sprouts, peanuts; Deep Fried Whole Seabass with Bird Chili Sauce made with onion, sweet peppers, and pineapple; Jumbo Lump Crab Karee Stir Fry with yellow onion, Chinese celery, and sweet pepper; and Gulf Shrimp Black Pepper with garlic and house black pepper sauce.

In her Glass Noodle Pad Thai with Gulf Shrimp and Scallops, Srisuk adds her own twist by making the dish with glass noodles rather than traditional rice noodles. Although Good Catch also has the more conventional version of Pad Thai on its menu, Srisuk likes how the glass noodles hold the dish’s flavor and don’t stick to themselves as rice noodles do.

Regarding cocktails, Srisuk and Weinberg wanted to present a selection of drinks that highlight the flavors of Thailand while offering familiar classics.

Weinberg says, “Our general manager, Ken Antarit, was originally brought on as a drinks consultant and he really knows Thai food and drinks. We wanted to create drinks that are complimentary to Aom’s food. We’re bringing some fun tropical drinks to the bar.”

Deep Fried Whole Fish. Photo courtesy of Good Catch

Cocktails include Thai Mule made with lemongrass-infused vodka, chili agave, lime and ginger beer; Thai Basil Gin Fizz made with Hendrick’s Gin, Thai basil leaves, lime, syrup, and soda; and a Lavender Daiquiri made with butterfly pea-infused rum, lavender syrup, and lime. The menu also includes a selection of drinks perfect for the summer such as a Frozen Mojito, Strawberry Daiquiri, and Mai Tai, as well as a selection of specialty margaritas. Drinks are rounded out with beer, wine, THC Seltzers, and mocktail options.

Good Catch offers lunch specials Monday through Friday and discounted cocktails and snacks during its daily happy hour from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., seven days a week. In the future, Srisuk hopes to offer an Asian brunch with fusion flavors on Saturday and Sunday and tasting events to allow diners to meet the chef and try various dishes. In addition, Srisuk hopes to offer Good Catch’s large eighty-seat space for private events.

Good Catch / Thai Urban Bistro, 828 Gravier Street (504) 581-2205. Open daily, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.

Chef Aom Srisuk of Good Catch, authentic Thai cuisine.