{"id":718,"date":"2016-08-18T16:43:06","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T15:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp\/?p=718"},"modified":"2026-02-18T16:49:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:49:29","slug":"cau-kingston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/cau-kingston\/","title":{"rendered":"CAU Kingston – restaurant review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CAU People say it\u2019s all about location. That\u2019s probably true, as there is no finer spot than CAU in Kingston on a hot summer evening. Sitting outside with just a footpath between the diner and the Thames, one can bask in warm contentment, lifting a glass and the silverware being the only exertions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team behind Argentinian restaurant chain Gaucho has launched this more-casual dining concept. CAU is actually Carne Argentina Unica and the menu reflects the beef-biased cuisine of Buenos Aires. They have refined but accessible dishes there, inspired by Italy and Spain from where much of the population originated.<\/p>\n

Gaucho is polished and prices reflect that. CAU is more relaxed and the cost of a decent meal isn\u2019t prohibitive. The waiters sport shirts proclaiming that they are CAUBOYS. Diners are predominantly young and discerning. CAU is vibrant!<\/p>\n

\"CAU
\nThere are non-bovine offerings here but you would come craving substantial plates of beef, at least for your main course. We started with a beautifully presented Blue Corn Tortilla. Yes, the corn truly is blue, although the colour is a little less pronounced on cooking. The light and crisp tortilla was topped with succulent chunks of braised beef garnished with pickled red onion and jalape\u00f1o peppers. CAU also does veggie and fish options.<\/p>\n

Leche de tigre<\/h4>\n

Empanadas are a classic South American snack, with every country and every region having its own version. They are miniature pasties and perfect as a starter or a nibble alongside a glass of Malbec, which is the celebrated wine of Argentina. The corn and cheese filling was mild and creamy and the pastry flaky and light. Salmon Tiradito is another delicious and non-beef offering: cured salmon, leche de tigre (Peruvian citrus-based marinade for ceviche), beetroot mayo and a garnish of moreish crisp lotus root chips.<\/p>\n

\"CAU Steaks, obviously, are here aplenty. I chose Medallions of Beef as my main course. Granted, this isn\u2019t the tenderest of cuts but it has great flavour. The trick is to cut across the grain. If you are looking for flavour and melting texture then perhaps Tapa De Cuadril would be best. This is cut from the top of the rump and is a signature dish served the Brazilian way \u2013 thinly sliced and flash grilled.<\/p>\n

Latin Burger was my guest\u2019s main dish. He is a man who appreciates a good burger and he was pleased with this one. The beef patty was topped with jalape\u00f1os, guacamole, charred peppers and fresh avocado in a brioche-style bun. A burger can be the best meat dish ever when it\u2019s made with quality meat and thoughtfully chosen condiments. This one was, and the recipient was sufficiently impressed to promise a return to evaluate the rest of the burger list.<\/p>\n

Architectural interest and textural contrast<\/h4>\n

People say it\u2019s all about location; and they also say there is always room for dessert. CAU Cornflake Ice Cream Sundae was recommended by our waiter. Layers of cornflake-flavoured ice cream (that was a new one for me), cornflakes, crumbled chocolate brownie and dulce de leche filled a classic Sundae glass. It truly was remarkable and far too good for kids, who would likely not appreciate the subtlety of this ice cream nor the gastronomic juxtaposition with the dulce de leche attractively coating the perfectly proportioned goblet, with a flourish of cubed brownie topping the whole, to present architectural interest and textural contrast …or one could just describe it as a sweet stunner.<\/p>\n

\"CAU The aforementioned Malbec puts in a surprising appearance on the dessert wine menu! Zuccardi Malamado Port-Style Malbec from Argentina was a change from the too-syrupy white dessert wines which are more common. This had intense black and red fruit with a hint of mild spice.<\/p>\n

CAU was fun, with great ambiance. The dishes, both meat and non-meat, were as one would hope and one can\u2019t say fairer than that. Location, location, location and bon appetit!<\/p>\n

CAU Kingston
\nRiverside Walk
\nKingston Upon Thames
\nKT1 1QN<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[This venue is now closed.]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Read more articles about hotels and restaurants in Surrey here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Restaurant review by Chrissie Walker \u00a9 2018<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People say it\u2019s all about location. That\u2019s probably true, as there is no finer spot than CAU in Kingston on a hot summer evening. Sitting outside with just a footpath […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,7],"tags":[184,1866,8,9,140],"class_list":["post-718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-restaurants","tag-burgers","tag-cau","tag-london","tag-steak","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27201,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718\/revisions\/27201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}