First and foremost, let me begin by noting that this restaurant is not located inside a mall! Whoop whoop, boy, does that feel like a rare thing these days in our modern Nanjing. Sourcing natural wood and rock materials when decorating Cave, the owners hoped it would give the restaurant a warm and comfortable feeling; I think they have succeeded.
Cave is located just off Hexi’s main road, Jiangdong Bei Lu. Featuring a relaxing, outside seating area and a sophisticated inside dining space, it is undeniably very pleasant. Not overly large, the restaurant is the kind of place one might find themselves with friends, settling in for the evening, with a bottle of wine or some whisky while they enjoy the band after a good meal.
That brings me to the food. “Cuisine à la Cave” is a mixture of classic Western dishes with a solid focus on steak, which to be fair, is that The Nanjinger enjoyed most. When sampling the restaurant’s Canadian fillet steak, it practically melted in our mouths, however, rather disappointingly, the vegetable section of the plate was a little on the petite side.
Perhaps this is the new norm in Nanjing, a city where a restaurant does not consider itself to be of quality dining unless its portions are of minuscule picture-perfect proportions? Three chips does not equal fine dining. Anyhow, order one of the restaurants fresh and flavoursome salads and couple that with a pretty awesome appetizer, perhaps the veal or seared tuna, which were both darned delicious, and you have yourself a complete meal.
Cave is currently offering a buy one, get one free, beer promotion over the summer. With 10 bottles on its red wine list, more on the white’s, cocktails and approximately 15 whiskey bottles from which to chose, drinks are not a problem.
Before Cave came on the scene, the location used to be a Mao Kong coffee house, which is saying a lot for exactly how far its owner has come in terms of a quest for quality. Hats off to all who made Cave what it is, a lovely little local for those living in the Hexi area.
Cave is located at 269 Jiangdong Bei Lu 江东北路269号. Tel: 13914751114
