The Catch by Rudi seafood restaurant being introduced aboard Princess ships is about delivering a new way to enjoy seafood and a fresh perspective on something they (passengers) thought they knew, according to Chef Rudi Sodamin.

“Everything we are doing with the Catch is about ‘catching’ that precious moment we call ‘now’ and doing it in such a memorable and unexpected way that makes you say ‘wow,” he said.

Introducing the new restaurant aboard the Enchanted Princess as she emerged from drydock in April, Princess Cruises described it as a joint partnership with Sodamin, head of culinary arts for the cruise line. The restaurant was also introduced on the Majestic Princess and the Sky Princess in May, and will be on the Discovery Princess this fall.

The Catch by Rudi is the first Princess restaurant devoted to seafood and promises the freshest, sustainably sourced seafood from local ports of call.

The unique twist will be the chef’s contemporary interpretations of classic dishes, international fusion influences, highly-creative presentations and engaging dinner experiences, according to Princess.

The venue offers new takes on such go-to seafood dishes as Asian fried calamari and modern variations on classics like lobster with garlic butter crust, and other signature seafood inventions including whole Dover sole.

There is also a seafood trolly, a refrigerated cooling unit, designed to showcase the daily offering of fresh fish, lobsters, shrimp, oysters, mussels and more.

“The Catch by Rudi is my way of combining my love of food, seafood and people with my culinary journey at sea and my lifelong story of cooking seafood across the globe to the delight of Princess guests,” Sodamin said.

Main courses feature shitake-crusted halibut, grilled king prawns, Dover sole meunière-style filleted tableside by waitstaff, Scottish salmon, lobster tail or a whole split lobster, surf and turf – lobster and filet mignon, oysters on the half shell, the fresh catch of the day, or as alternatives to seafood: steak frites or a double-baked goat cheese soufflé with a mixed garden salad.

Replacing the Bistro Sur la Mer, the approximately 80-seat Catch by Rudi is priced at $39 per person.

Excerpt from the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Summer 2023