TLDR: Check out the annual fireworks show (and call in advance to find out when it's happening.) Lots of homestyle fried food at a great price.
MENU: Fried catfish (both on the bone and boneless fillets) and fried chicken are the reason people go. They have a pretty expansive salad bar, and some cozy homestyle items like mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and potato salad. Each month, they post the schedule for specials of the day on their Facebook page; this includes a wide variety of treats ranging from Alaskan walleye to frog legs, and lasagna to liver and onions.
FOOD QUALITY: Visiting The Catfish Place is like traveling back in time to the 1980s. If you were alive then, you remember the quality of mom and pop restaurant food. It's homestyle stuff. The kind of thing your grandparents would make on special occasions. Wholesome and tasty, but nothing too fancy.
MENU FAVORITES: Fried catfish fillets. Period. Maybe a drumstick. Maybe a little potato salad or something. But it's really all about that fried fish. Have a little soft-serve ice cream to break the flavor fatigue, then go back for seconds.
MENU FAILS: Comparing apples to apples, I can't say I've had anything here that I was truly disappointed in, but I would say the state of the desert section is usually a disaster, and it isn't the fault of the staff. People will drop the serving utensil directly on top of a tray of cake, spoiling the icing on several pieces. They'll use the serving utensil from one item on another, getting chocolate icing all over the blueberry cobbler, or whatever. Some people are just determined to make the world a dumpster fire. Occasionally the daily special items are frozen factory stuff. The Alaskan walleye is a good example of this; the batter is too thick, there's a stodgy layer of batter next to the meat, the meat itself is thin and mushy. They're doing the best they can to spice things up in a world where walleye isn't a widely available commodity. I get it. But skip anything of that nature and get the freshly fried catfish instead.
THE FIREWORKS SHOW: Considering the size of the restaurant and the scale of the local community, the annual fireworks show at The Catfish Place is AMAZING. They generally do their show on a day prior to the fourth and it varies a little from year to year, so call ahead if you want to go - it might be on the second or the third day of the month, for example. Go have some fried food, put your picnic blanket on the grass and hang out with your family and friends until sundown, then watch the show. The best part is, you can still go see your favorite show elsewhere on the fourth itself.
FRONT OF HOUSE SERVICE: The staff is very friendly and personable, and they'll do their best to make sure you have a great experience. Friendly, salt-of-the-earth folks. I'm not a local to Arbela, but if I were, I imagine this would be a Cheers type of place.
KITCHEN SERVICE: Hot food, fast and fresh. Unless you show up half an hour before closing, in which case you'll be eating whatever is on the sluice table; but that's a reasonable food cost thing. One time, I saw a customer ask if they had malt vinegar and the guys in the back practically turned the kitchen upside down looking for some.
COMPETITION: Steve's Family Diner used to make a mean yardbird, but they closed and moved somewhere else. Catfish Place is the only restaurant of its kind for miles in any direction.
ATMOSPHERE: Cafeteria tables with a roll of paper towels for napkins. You can sit on the pondside deck and watch the ducks swim around, if you want. For a dollar or two, you can get a little bag of kibble to feed the fish/ducks. The restaurant is located on an RV camping site, so there's a playground, paddle boats, and other little amenities around as well. (I'm not certain the paddle boats are available apart from fireworks day, though.) read more
