I love Milsom Place - there’s just something about the
warren of narrow passages lined with golden stone and creeping ivy, the
balconies and roof terraces, and the fabulous mix of shops and cafes that
reminds me gloriously of Florence. When I spotted that something new was coming
to the space next to Carluccio’s, I was immediately intrigued, and then within
days of the new CAU opening, I was hearing good things – so I knew I had to go
down and find out for myself.
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Tira de Ancho - one of the special Argentinian cuts on CAU's menu |
I must admit that when I googled CAU and discovered it
was a chain, my heart sank slightly. I don’t hate on the chains – I think
that’s ridiculous and counterproductive, because a good number of them were
once independents that just made it big, and how can we discourage people from
that kind of success? But I love The Cowshed, just up the road, and I confess I
wondered how a chain steak joint like CAU could possibly measure up.
Thankfully, we had a fabulous evening at CAU, and I was
thoroughly impressed with their offering. The vibe of the restaurant is kind of
funky student nightclub (albeit much, much cleaner) with panels of blue sky and
grass on the ceiling, illuminated clouds hanging over the bar, and booths with
padded white banquettes, all soundtracked by thumping tunes from the ‘Noughties
Classics’ night. The staff were extremely helpful and very knowledgeable – I
must give a shout out to Jimmy, who looked after us for most of the night, and
knew the menu and wine list inside out. On his recommendation, I started out
with a glass of Lorca ‘Graffiti’ Malbec (as it says on the CAU menu, “There are
nice reds, there are very nice reds and then there's Malbec”) and a plate of
Sticky BBQ Beef Ribs. Ribs are a tricky area – so often they’re not worth the
faff required to eat them – but these bad boys were absolutely heavenly. With
the bones removed, the meat was so tender and juicy it simply fell apart. My
dining companion was off the sauce and so ordered a delicious Homemade Lemonade
to accompany his Picada – a plate of Argentinian charcuterie with sourdough and
pickles, which was full of fabulous flavour.
Scrumptious as the starters were, we weren’t there for
nibbles – the draw of CAU is its steak menu, which it takes very seriously. My
dining companion stuck to the classics, ordering a sirloin steak, but I was
keen to sample one of CAU’s special Argentinian cuts, so after more
consultation with Jimmy, I ordered a Tira de Ancho – a spiral cut of ribeye
that the CAU menu describes as ‘the king of steaks’. I’d failed to pay
attention to the weights given on the menu, beyond ordering the smaller of the
two, so I was a little surprised to say the least when my steak arrived, overhanging
the (enormous) plate at both ends, and accompanied by a dressed green salad and
a handsome portion of triple-cooked chips. I have a big appetite, but I must
confess that I couldn’t eat the whole thing. It was absolutely, swooningly
delicious, perfectly cooked and smothered in tangy chimichurri, and I can give
it no higher praise than to say that I abandoned the amazing chips almost completely
in order to be able to eat as much steak as possible. For me to leave my chips
is a serious, serious thing.
With the end in sight, we knew it was our duty to sample
the dessert menu, but we could only manage one between us. I’m so glad we did,
though, because the traditional churros that we ordered were completely
fabulous: crisp, fresh and drenched in cinnamon sugar, served with creamy dulce
de leche. I couldn’t resist trying CAU’s dessert Malbec to go with it – I’m a
new convert to dessert red wine and I’m completely head over heels. A small,
fragrant glass of Zuccardi Malamado Malbec was just the thing to finish the
meal and went perfectly with the churros.
In conclusion, the food was fabulous, the wines
delightful and the staff excellent. I must admit that I’m still disappointed in
CAU for shipping all their beef over from Argentina when such good beef is
raised here in the west country – I know the point is that this chain is all
about Argentinian food, but wouldn’t it be possible to do those fabulous dishes
justice with more local ingredients? – so that’s why my heart belongs to The
Cowshed, but I can’t deny that I would go back to CAU, and I’d recommend it to
you guys too.