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Celebrated Atlanta Chef to Open Italian Restaurant Tom Catherall says “Every Dish is a Signature Dish” b y M a r y We l c h
C ertified Master Chef Tom Catherall, one of the defining and influential forces of the Atlanta restaurant scene for over three decades, is bringing his talent and vision to a new restaurant in Seacrest. Due to open May 21 (“I’ve never missed an opening date at any of my restaurants”), Chef Catherall promises that Lola Coastal Italian will be a restaurant unlike other on the Emerald Coast. For one thing, there won’t be any waiters. Guests will look at the menu board, order, get a number and then the food is brought to your table. Behind the counter will also be wines by category: Good ($20 - $25), Better ($35), Best ($50). Tell the cashier which one you want and that’s it! “Right off, I’m cutting 20 percent off the bill this way because you don’t have to tip,” he says. The ordering will be just as simple. Diners will select their pasta (such as fettuccine, spaghetti, linguini); then the sauce (including Alfredo or original Italian); and next, the protein, such as mussels. Everything will be priced separately. The cuisine will be wood-fired pizzas as well as fresh seafood. The restaurant has two wood-fire ovens. One will be used for pizzas; the other for roasting fish, which brings a “nice smoky wood flavor” to the seafood. There will be six pizza options. The pizzas will be Neapolitan style with a thin chewy crust and the burn flavors from the oven integrated into the overall taste. The head chef from Antico Pizza, an Italian eatery with a national reputation, is helping Catherall perfect his pizzas. “It’s coastal Italian. Most Italian restaurants around here are heavy with meats, but not us. We’ll be featuring local, fresh seafood, mussels, snapper, shrimp, crab. Tons of shrimp,” he says. “This area has a wonderful seafood selection and we will take advantage of it. No one else does. “Every dish is a signature dish,” he says. He has had his trusty pasta machine for years. “Every dish will be the best.” The key to outstanding cooking is to “Buy the best ingredients. You start with the ingredients and then you don’t screw it up. In the Panhandle they cook everything to death. They over-fry everything. There’s not great food down here—not really great food.”
Catherall certainly has the resume to bring a new level of excellence and excitement to the area. He is a certified master chef, one of only 62 in the country, and has been in the business for 55 years, starting at hotels and then birthing 12 unique restaurant concepts with 15 locations, from steak, seafood and sushi, to Spanish tapas. Even while he lived in Atlanta, 30-A beckoned. He bought a house in WaterColor about 10 years ago. “I started out spending about 20 percent of my time here, then 30 percent, and then finally about 95 percent. I retired for three to four years and my wife said I needed to do something and to find a restaurant. I found the perfect space.” That space was home to a former steak restaurant but was “too big” to be viable. The landlord chopped the space into thirds and Catherall found his place. The space is 3,500 square feet with seating for 30 outside. “Right now, I’m working with contractors, architects, plumbers, equipment people. But when it’s done, it’ll be a sexy restaurant.” Lola Coastal Italian will be open for lunch and dinner with a happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m. Instead of the usual $20 pizzas, during happy hour they’ll only cost $10 (“and they’re big pizzas,” he says). Other special touches will be a frozen drink machine. “We’re at the beach. You have to have margaritas,” he says. “And, being Italian, we have to have a bellini bar with fresh purees. We’ll also have Pellegrino in several flavors.” Catherall can’t wait to get back to his true calling — serving up the best food and creating memories for his guests. “We really will be the best on the beach,” he promises. For more information: Lola Coastal Italian. 10343 East County Highway 30A, Seacrest Beach. 32416. Hours: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. weekdays; Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Master Chef Tom Catherall
We’ll be featuring local, fresh seafood, mussels, snapper, shrimp, crab. Tons of shrimp. This area has a wonderful seafood
selection and we will take advantage of it.
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