Cave Ventura Wine Co The Cave
4435 McGrath St., Ste. 301 (Telephone Rd.)
Ventura, CA 93003
805-642-9449
Map
Small bites paired with self-serve wines in a decidedly rustic setting.
Openings: Lunch Sat., Dinner Tues.-Sat.

Features

  • Parking lot
  • Dress code: Casual


The Cave Restaurant Review:


A dimly lit grotto in an industrial neighborhood hardly seems the place for tender paillard of lamb. Add state-of-the-art Enomatic wine dispensers and a small plates menu designed for pairing, and you have one of Ventura County’s most ambitious food and wine enterprises. A well-stocked wine shop serves as a foyer to the restaurant, aptly named The Cave, where stone-like walls, cozy lighting and sleek black tables create an ambience of high-tech intimacy. Customers purchase a chip-embedded card that enables them to serve themselves one-, three- and five-ounce pours of 32 wines at the push of a button. Chef Sheme Santiago mixes up the menu to match the featured wines, creating everything from charred salmon cakes to pork empanadas and tarragon chicken on a polenta cake. Choose from clams and mussel fresca, calamari risotto, pizza and cheese plates. House-made desserts including chocolate brûlée with port nut cluster round out the fun experience.