CAU, Reading Reviewed

If fine wines, top cuts of Argentinian steaks and a relaxed and laid back atmosphere are on your agenda when searching for a restaurant, we would highly recommend CAU Reading.

CAU is one of our favourite additions to the many high-end steak house chains now available to the UK.   The recent addition of a new restaurant in Reading (Berkshire), was music to our ears and we went along to find out how things were shaping up.

The restaurant nestled neatly on the outer edge of the Reading’s Oracle centre and can easily be found. It has to be said that in terms of the restaurants offered in the area, this has to be one of the highest-class outlets available and the food outstrips its competitors in almost every department.   Inside, the setting, typical of CAU, is refined, elegant and slick. Dark furniture and stainless steel provide the backdrop for what is a sophisticated and yet relaxed atmosphere. The relaxed nature of the restaurant is also supplemented by the waiters who are amusingly referred to as CAU Boys and CAU Girls – a nice touch. Service was fantastic throughout we might add and on par with other high-end steak houses we have visited.

To kick off the meal, we dove right into the South American style with CAU’s take on one of the regions street food favourites, Anticucho skewers. These succulent skewers of chicken for us came with a wonderful guacamole dip and made for a fun start to the meal. We would also recommend the sticky glazed ribs which fell from the bone and set the tone for a fantastic meat laden night.

CAU specialises in bringing a touch of Argentina to the plate and this translates into an impressive selection of steak cuts from the region. Whether you favour a fillet steak, a “Lomito” (The fillet of rump is considered the finest cut in Argentina) or a spiral cut rump steak, CAU has all the boxes ticked). The steaks are from grass fed cattle raised in the Pampas of Argentina. Having sampled the Tira De Ancho (500g £33.50), we can see exactly why the chain has gone from strength to strength. This steak, know as this “king of steaks” (pictured below) according to the menu, is a spiral cut of rib-eye marinated in chimichurri and grilled slowly for maximum tenderness. It came perfectly cooked and was the star of show for us. Each mouthful was packed full of flavour from the meat and offset well with the zingy chimichurri. The Lomito my partner was also juicy and tender, but didn’t quite pack the wow factor as mine. To go with this we sampled the house red, a Finca Valero Tempranillo-Granacha (£17.50), which complimented the steak well and had a pleasant fruitiness about it. For those not into steaks, there was also a selection of alternative mains but there were slim pickings for vegetarians, which is to be expected.Deserts also carried on the indulgent theme of the meal, with the CAU chocolate fondant paving the way for a warm and gooey taste of chocolate bliss. There is also a good selection of desert wines and coffees for that after dinner sweet tooth.

We love CAU and we fully recommend a visit if you close to one in the future. To make your booking and to find out where your local CAU is, click here: http://www.caurestaurants.com/