We were invited along to try out the new menu at CAU in Tunbridge Wells while they're running their #BuenosHeroes promotion which offers diners the chance to win the trip of a lifetime to Buenos Aires. (See below for more details about the promotion.)
Nik and I really enjoyed our meal at CAU, I started with one of the HERO cocktails and entered the competition myself with the big Insta frame. Since the waiting staff bring over the big Instagram frame and help you hold it, it's not as embarrassing as you might think taking a selfie in the middle of a busy restaurant and we saw a few others doing it. Plus for the chance of winning an amazing trip, it's definitely worth bringing a little attention to yourself.
I loved the Grass is Greener cocktail, made with Hendricks Gin, Midori, apple juice, and a dash of citrus it was refreshing and different. Nik had a classic Mojito but they also did other flavours like passion fruit.
To start, we ordered two of the HERO dishes available, the crispy fried Shrimp Chicarron and the Empanadas. The Empanadas come in 4 flavours and we chose the Spicy Beef and the Spicy Creamed Corn & Tallegio Cheese.
The crispy shrimp were my favourites with a creamy, slightly sweet sauce. The Empanadas were also very tasty with a bit of a kick in the beef one and a lovely salsa to accompany them. We also ordered a bottle of the house red wine, Garnacha, which was very nice with the spicy food and especially the beef we had for our main course.
For our main course we chose to share one of the ULTIMATE HEROS, the Tira de Ancho, a spiral cut of rib-eye which is slow-grilled for extra tenderness but still served how you like it. We opted for medium rare and although it was more to the rare side, it was absolutely delicious! It was marinated and topped with chimichurri and we were advised to cut it into half and half again to share a bit from each side as the textures were different. One side was more fatty and the other less so but both were lovely and it was nice to experience both types of meat. The chimichurri was so fresh tasting, I just loved the whole dish, I was mopping up the juices with the fries.
Our steak came with fries (or chips or salad) and we also ordered the crispy salt & pepper oyster mushrooms which came with lime to squeeze over, they were good but I had expected them to be a bit more peppery. The CAUslaw was good too with lots of red cabbage, it was perfect with the chips and steak to add a bit of creaminess and it's also a HERO item.
With our dessert we ordered a dessert cocktail to share, the After Eight which for some reason I expected to be creamy like Baileys. It was nice but not really my kind of thing, Nik really liked it though, it definitely tasted like After Eights.
We both chose HERO desserts as well. Nik had the CAU Cornflake Sundae and I had the Dulce Volcano.
They were both lovely although the Amaretto cream was just a coating in the bottom of the bowl, covered in lovely crunchy nuts. It would have been nice to have a bit more cream to counteract all the sweetness from the Dulce de Leche but Nik gave me some of his ice-cream. We liked that his dessert was a bit different and found the cornflakes worked surprisingly well in a sundae.
Overall we absolutely loved our meal, the steak was amazing, we don't often order steak on a night out as we prefer to have something different to what we can cook easily at home but this was definitely something special and well worth trying. The restaurant itself is modern with some cool quirky touches like cloud lights and the service was excellent. We were surprised that our waiter, David, had only been there for 5 days! He was attentive, efficient, friendly and pretty knowledgeable about the dishes and promotion, telling us all about it as he didn't realise we already knew.
We've been to CAU before when we first moved here and really enjoyed it but haven't been back since the twins were born, since this visit we're planning on heading back again soon to try their brunch menu as we noticed they do a mini brunch menu for kids for just £2.50 and I fancy trying their Avocado Eggs.
Nik and I received our meal on the house in return for this review, as always all opinions are my own and honest. Our total bill would have come to £119.80 which we think is pretty good value for a 3 course meal for two including a good steak dinner, bottle of wine, bottle of sparkling water and 3 cocktails.
We've been to CAU before when we first moved here and really enjoyed it but haven't been back since the twins were born, since this visit we're planning on heading back again soon to try their brunch menu as we noticed they do a mini brunch menu for kids for just £2.50 and I fancy trying their Avocado Eggs.
Olive Dragonfly Rating - CAU Tunbridge Wells
Food & Drink - 9/10
Atmosphere - 8/10
Service - 10/10
Value - 9/10
Overall - 9/10
Nik and I received our meal on the house in return for this review, as always all opinions are my own and honest. Our total bill would have come to £119.80 which we think is pretty good value for a 3 course meal for two including a good steak dinner, bottle of wine, bottle of sparkling water and 3 cocktails.
Until 31st August diners can enter the BUENOS HEROS competition by choosing from a selection of HERO dishes from across the menu, including their Empanadas, Shrimp Chicarron, Twisted Fish & Chips and Sweet Potato Pancakes, as well as a selection of desserts, wines and cocktails.
Order at least one HERO dish when dining at CAU to enter into the grand prize draw at the end of August to win a return trip for two to Buenos Aires. All you've got to do is turn up, order a HERO dish, take a photo, upload tagging CAU on Instagram with the hashtag #BUENOSHEROS and you could be on your way to BA!
Available until 31st August, there is everything to play for this summer at CAU including weekly spot prizes such as a meal for two, a round of cocktails and a bottle of CAU's own brand Malbec wine.
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