Southampton has fast become a foodie hub, the city is developing at rapid speed and businesses are flocking to be a part of it. West Quay South opened its doors early December, becoming the home of many a new restaurant, one of which was CAU Restaurants that we visited recently. CAU brings a taste of Buenos Aires to the UK with succulent steaks as well as a sprinkle of Spanish and Italian inspired dishes. It was good, really good.
We headed in on a Tuesday evening around 7pm and we were the first customers of the evening but the restaurant filled up pretty quickly and soon there was a lot of steak happy faces. After been seated and introduced to our server for the evening, Nuno we ordered our drinks. I stuck to diet coke while Arran tried one of their delicious cocktails, he chose the Rum & Mango Smash which contained Ron Abuelo 7yr rum, fresh mango,
basil & orange in a ice cold cooler. We sipped our drinks while we looked over the menu to decide what to order.
I stuck with my usual order of seafood to start with the Salt & Pepper Squid, while Arran ordered the Paprika marinated Chicken Anticuchos Skewers with guacamole. The squid was incredible and it came with a side of chipotle mayo which gave it a kick, thankfully Arran doesn't like seafood so I didn't have to share any! I did get to try some of his skewers and they were delicious. Cooked perfectly with just the right amount of paprika. The guacamole was a great accompaniment to the dish. I have my eye on the grilled prawn skewers for when we visit next.
For mains, we had to go the full hog, so both ordered succulent steaks. I went down the classic route with a medium cooked 220g Sirloin with a side salad and peppercorn sauce while Arran went big with a medium 400g Asado De Chorizo sirloin steak with a churrasco marinade of smoked paprika, aji molido, garlic and parsley. He had his with their chunky chips and classic chimichurri sauce both of which was lovely as I also tried his sides too. Obviously for the review not because I'm greedy.
I thoroughly enjoyed my steak and having it with a side salad meant the meal wasn't too heavy for me, there was no way I would've been able to eat what Arran had, no matter how yummy it was. The boy did good. After we had eaten, we sat to chill for a little while and ordered coffee which unfortunately wasn't their strong point, I'll never understand why restaurants always seem to use whole milk. We actually sent these back and I ordered a tea while Arran had a soft drink instead.
Having looked at the menu earlier in the day, we already knew what we were ordering for dessert. I'm a cheesecake fiend and churros are one of Arran's favourites so the desserts were the easiest decision of the whole evening. The churros were dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with dulce de leche while the cheesecake was winter berry with a marbled top and served with blueberries. Both dishes were incredible and any restaurant that has churros on their menu is a winner for us.
The service throughout the evening was so attentive and there was always someone on hand to clear the table right away and to top up the drinks. I couldn't fault it at all. Southampton needed somewhere a little different that served incredible steak and now we have it. I'm so looking forward to spending more time here.
There are twenty three CAU Restaurants throughout the UK so hop online and find your nearest one.
Complimentary meal for the purpose of review - see disclaimer.