Call it a comeback.
Over the weekend, Taylor Swift and Gigi Hadid dined at The Corner Store in SoHo, adding more than a bit of cachet to the new restaurant from Catch Hospitality.
The restaurateurs behind Catch and Catch Steak are suddenly trending after years of being dismissed by New Yorkers for having overpriced, uncool touristy spots.
It has “Polo Bar vibes without the Karens,” Meg Radice, who dines out often and runs the food review account The VIP List with 460,000 followers on TikTok, said of The Corner Store.
It’s “the hottest restaurant in New York right now,” she added. “I thought that even before Taylor Swift walked through the door.”
Ella Kahan, a 27-year-old food influencer who runs the account ChewYorkCity, went on a recent Monday night, and said, “The bar was packed when I walked in before sun down … Everyone had a martini.”
The new hotspot specializes in the classic cocktail, devoting an entire menu section to it and even serving a $40 “Martini Service” for two.
The food menu includes nostalgic-but-pricey comfort fare such as an $18.50 pepperoni “pizza roll” appetizer; $24.99 artichoke dip and $68 lobster frites.
The Corner Store is the first restaurant from Catch Hospitality in five years and its first spot not to have “Catch” in the name.
The group opened the first Catch in the Meatpacking District in September of 2011. Along with the likes of Tao Downtown and Buddakan, it was one of a clutch of club-restaurants that were buzzing at that time, serving up viral menu items in cavernous spaces with loud music blaring.
Catch expanded to Los Angeles in 2016, attracting stars such as Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, Cindy Crawford and Sylvester Stallone, who eclipsed menu items like chicken lettuce cups, tuna over crispy rice cakes and #HitMe Chocolate Cake.
But over the years, Gothamites drastically cooled on the once hotspot, and it became saturated with out-of-towners, wannabe models and tables of teens swiping their parent’s American Express card.
It became so passe that its low status sparked an entire storyline on last season’s “Real Housewives of New York.”
Stars Brynn Whitfield and Sai De Silva rejected an invite from fellow star Erin Lichy to dine at the restaurant claiming they were “too tired” but later found the energy to go to Casa Cipriani where they cackled that Catch was for “D-list models.”
Bravo initially bleeped out the name of the offending restaurant in the episode — adding to the intrigue — but Lichy later confirmed the restaurant in question was indeed Catch.
“Catch was available,” she explained on Sirius XM’s “Jeff Lewis Live,” noting that it was an easy last minute reservation for a large group.
Snagging a table at The Corner Store is quite difficult at the moment. Resy currently shows no availability for the next 14 days — as far as the restaurant books in advance. Eugene Remm, co-founder and partner, told The Post the restaurant already has a waitlist.
Radice said that she had to go through a “friend of a friend” for a reservation.
Joseph Bonvouloir, founder and CEO of financial firm ALTI, said his buddies have all been clamoring for a table.
“Everyone is trying to get in, but it’s incredibly challenging even for friends of mine who are VIP everywhere,” Bonvouloir, 28, said.
Those who have managed to go include Brazilian journalist/model Pedro Andrade, “it” girl Christina “Tinx” Najjar, author/influencer Eli Rallo and former “Housewife” Bethenny Frankel.
The latter gushed over the restaurant’s $22 Caesar salad with crispy cream cheese bits and everything bagel croutons.
“Holy s—t,” she said in a TikTok video. “We’re here, and we’re hip.”
Despite such clientele — and a menu full of dishes with viral potential — Remm said they weren’t purposefully courting the influencer crowd, though they “are appreciative of anyone who wants to share their experience with their friends and followers.”
He added, “We’re thrilled with the enthusiasm our guests have shown for the new restaurant.”
