1666 Market Street b/t Franklin
and Gough
phone: 415.437.1770
hours: Mon-Thurs 5:30-11pm, Fri-Sat 5:30-Midnight
Full Bar
Eclectic
cavwinebar.com
Great wines, wonderful menu, cool comfortable environment, an
insidious staff, and mild food poisoning sum up my experience.
We sat at the bar and enjoyed wine and small plates, so this
review does not encompass the full dinner experience.
The Ambience:
Disguised behind a small windowed entry, Cav unfolds into a
larger uniquely shaped, white space highlighted by red accents.
A large, funky cork art piece lines the restaurant wall, while
a chalkboard wall sets off the aluminum bar. Chic and airy,
it's cool and comfortable without being cozy.
They played older, popular rock music from an ipod, which completely
undercut the environment. The restaurant is more suited to jazz
or downtempo, and it was surprising that an establishment clearly
paying such attention to detail didn't factor music into their
planning.
The Menu:
They offer an extensive, exquisite wine list (325 wines from
18 countries and 70 regions) at various prices. Cav also has
a nice port selection. I suspect you can't go wrong with any
of their wines.
Small and large plates of extremely creative dishes are offered,
as well as an extensive cheese menu. Full menu available on
the website.
The Food:
The cheese plate was offset by perfect figs, walnuts and fruit.
Presentation was exceptional, and the cheeses were perfection.
The charcuterie platter was intense, and despite a concerted
effort, my palette simply could not enjoy the aftertaste of
these particularly buttery meats.
Eight hours later, I was vomiting.
The Service:
The bartender was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. His
professional banter with customers led him to lag in service,
but we were in no rush.
Though we didn't order it, he poured us a delicious taster
of Riesling to pair with our Danish blue cheese. He brought
us another paired taster to go with our charcuterie platter.
Turns out, we were charged for the second one, which is a completely
underhanded and sleazy maneuver.
We had some nice Graham port after eating, and we probably
would have ordered a second round if he didn't clear our empty
glasses and walk away to talk to the staff. As he brought our
check, he mentioned the bar "stays open as long as there
are customers," but I got the impression present company
was excluded.
While sitting at the bar, the kitchen staff came out and coldly
asked us to move over. They didn't thank us, and in the end,
we felt we were being silently and rudely ushered out from all
angles.
I called the restaurant the next day to tell them I had been
sick from their charcuterie platter the night before. The woman
I spoke with allowed no possibility for this to be true. She
told me eight hours was too long for food poisoning to set in
(In truth, food poisoning incubation periods vary greatly, from
a few hours to a few days.) She was snippy and annoyed with
my call, telling me that it was "probably the flu."
Reservations: Requested, but
not necessary
Overall: D
It wasn't the flu, I'd avoid the charcuterie and be very wary
of the upselling staff. Overall, Cav has promise, but in the
end, they utterly failed.
Reviewed : Sept 2006
