Restaurant of the Week: Cava

Cava fosters good food in a sweet setting

By Audrey Van Buskirk

The Portland Tribune, Dec 21, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

KATIE HARTLEY / TRIBUNE PHOTOS

Mussels make a nice beginning at Cava.

“Cozy” is often a euphemism for “cramped,” but that’s not the case at Cava, a wonderful new addition to the Southeast Foster Road neighborhood.

In the way that Lauro Kitchen made mid-Southeast Division a place to go and eat, Cava may have that transformative effect on this neighborhood, though at the moment it still sticks out like a flute of pink champagne at a brew pub.

A generous entryway means the place can look deserted from the street, but it serves to keep the chill air outside.

The main room has a faintly old English village church ambience, and a reclaimed pew divides the restaurant. Seating is at low tables along that side, in comfortable oversize booths or at the friendly bar.

If too much holiday cheer has taken a toll on your appearance, the lighting in here will do wonders for your skin. The persimmon-colored walls make everyone glow.

Attention to small details elevate Cava from neighborhood standard to a citywide find.

The beer, wine and spirits lists are carefully selected to provide the best bang for the (not so many) bucks. The judiciously limited menu is Mediterranean in the broad sense of the word – Spain to France, Italy and Morocco.

Two special salads one recent night both made fine use of local bounty. Lightly cooking local greens faded some of their inherent bitterness, and nubs of chestnuts and guanciale provided sweetness and salt. Another salad featured shaved fennel enlivened with citrus.

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