Simon's Catch Brings Catfish Dinners and Cabin Comfort Near Elk City

A plate of fried catfish with fresh-cut fries, coleslaw, beans, hush puppies and tartar sauce is a very good reason to turn a highway meal into a proper sit-down dinner. At Simon's Catch, about 10 minutes from Elk City, that full-plate approach has made the restaurant a familiar stop for Oklahoma road-trippers and longtime regulars alike.

The dining room has a quiet, rural, cabin-like character that suits the food. Instead of grabbing something forgettable and getting back on the road, diners can settle in with a basket of seafood, a steak dinner or a burger and enjoy a meal that is built around generous portions and old-fashioned sides.

It is a comfortable place for a couple at a table, a family gathering for dinner or a larger celebration. The atmosphere is generally calm enough for conversation, with cheerful, attentive service helping keep the meal relaxed.

Fried catfish is the house specialty that brings many people through the door. The fish has a fresh, memorable quality, and its crisp coating gives the plate the satisfying crunch expected from a serious catfish supper.

The all-you-can-eat catfish dinner is a recurring order, particularly for diners with a healthy appetite and groups who want to linger over the meal. It is a straightforward pleasure: hot fried fish arriving with the supporting cast already in place.

Those sides are not treated as an afterthought. Fresh-cut French fries are a frequent favorite, and they give the plate a little more personality than the usual anonymous restaurant fry.

Hush puppies and tartar sauce belong in the catfish equation, of course. Together with the fries, they make the meal easy to share around the table in the informal way that fried seafood dinners often invite.

The coleslaw has its own following, adding a cool, crisp note beside the hot fish. It is the sort of side that earns a forkful between bites rather than being pushed politely to the edge of the plate.

Pinto beans are another notable companion. They are cooked from dry daily, giving them the patient, kitchen-made quality people hope for when beans appear beside a rural Oklahoma dinner.

Brown beans are also offered and carry the familiar comfort of home cooking. A serving of beans alongside catfish, fries and hush puppies may sound like a lot, but that abundance is very much the point here.

For diners choosing a steak or another entrée, a baked potato provides another substantial option. The menu's side dishes help turn the meal into more than a quick stop between destinations.

Fried shrimp offers a seafood alternative for anyone who wants the same hearty dinner rhythm without ordering catfish. Portions are plentiful, and the breading is crisp and carefully done rather than heavy or soggy.

Shrimp works especially well for a mixed table. One person can commit to the catfish dinner while another goes for shrimp, and both still get the pleasure of fries, slaw, beans and the other familiar extras that make a meal feel complete.

Simon's Catch is not limited to seafood. The menu also makes room for steaks, burgers and hand-breaded fried chicken, useful choices when a carload of people is hungry but not all headed in the same culinary direction.

The 8-ounce filet is a more polished turn than the restaurant's fish-fry reputation might suggest. It is a premium, tender cut with a notably soft texture, a good option for someone who wants steak while everyone else is ordering seafood.

Burgers provide the familiar middle ground, while hand-breaded fried chicken keeps the comfort-food theme going. This broader menu is handy on a road trip, where the appeal of a sit-down restaurant often depends on finding a meal that works for everybody.

The restaurant draws travelers moving through the Elk City area, including people making longer Oklahoma drives and Route 66 trips. It offers a change of pace from fast-food counters: a real dining room, a broad menu and enough food to make a stop feel worthwhile.

Parking is available in a free lot with ample space reported. That is a small practical comfort when the day has already involved hours behind the wheel.

The setting has also handled large gatherings, including a birthday meal for roughly 60 to 65 people. That does not change its easygoing, rural tone; it simply means the place can accommodate more than a two-person road-trip dinner.

After a full seafood or steak dinner, dessert may sound ambitious. Still, a shared brownie à la mode makes a fitting finish for a table that has been passing fries, hush puppies and extra bites of catfish around.

Simon's Catch has the useful combination of a specific specialty and enough range to remain interesting on repeat visits. One trip might be all about catfish and beans; the next might call for fried shrimp, a filet or a burger, with those fresh-cut fries still hard to pass up.