Midlands & East Anglia

New launches on the menu for CAU

CAU Restaurants- Cambridge

Hot on the heels of its first UK site in Guildford, innovative restaurant chain CAU (pronounced ‘cow’) is celebrating the launch of its second site, CAU Cambridge.

Serving up a mouth-watering slice of Argentinean cuisine in a competitively priced dining environment, CAU Cambridge promises the same great food that guests have come to expect from the CAU brand, all housed within a 4,000ft² site.

The 130-cover CAU restaurant is situated on Bene’t Street, Cambridge and opened its doors in January 2013. Feedback has been extremely positive and with a tasty, yet uncomplicated menu, the site is already shaping up to be just as successful as its predecessor.

The first CAU restaurant launched in July 2011 in Guildford, Surrey and after quickly wowing guests with its delicious dishes, it soon found itself receiving the Toptable’s Diners’ Choice Award 2012. Keen to build upon the site’s success CAU looked to expand its offering with a second site in Cambridge, as well as a third site which will shortly open in Kingston.

CAU Restaurants- Cambridge

Charlie McLean is the Managing Director of CAU and has worked in the restaurant industry for more than 12 years. Charlie’s previous experience includes time spent with the Yum brand, as well as Gaucho Restaurants.

Discussing the launch of the new CAU site in Cambridge, as well as the brand’s third site, Charlie McLean, said:

“We are very excited to be opening CAU in Cambridge and Kingston. We hope both will be popular with local residents, shoppers, students and visitors. We believe the old Barclays bank building on Bene’t Street is a perfect location and will build on the success and popularity of our first site in Guildford. We will be serving high quality Argentinean steak as well as many other freshly prepared Argentinean influenced dishes, all cooked from scratch on site. We hope that this, combined with our modern and funky design, will create a new restaurant for Cambridge and Kingston that everyone will love.”

Aesthetically, CAU boasts a bold, distinctive design, which incorporates key Argentinean themes with a modern twist. The design combines the bright and bold urbanity of Buenos Aries, with the intense blue of the South American skies above the green grazing grasses.

CAU Cambridge features strong and very distinctive white corrugated walls, a contemporary feature staircase, glossy ‘bubble lamps’, white-on-black flooring and booth seating. The design presents a bright and relaxed space, with clever divisions that provide both large and intimate dining areas.

CAU Restaurants- Cambridge

Crane Interiors was the main contractor on CAU Cambridge and began work on the project in late September 2012. The team completed work on the site in December ahead of its opening in the New Year.

Discussing the site, Crane Interiors Commercial Director, Bob Tracey, said:

“The ground floor of the building was originally a very ornate banking hall however this was converted to provide a number of units for retail use, including CAU Cambridge. This is quite a large building which is being redeveloped at the moment and along with the installation of CAU, a new Zizzi has also been installed.

“CAU Cambridge is very modern, with contemporary hard metal finishes in its design. One of the standout design features of the restaurant is the use of bespoke corrugated metal panelling which runs around the walls, from floor to ceiling. In addition, the staircase is an interesting mix of glass and steel and the floor is decked out in black and white resin.

“Although there are a few design themes which have been carried over from the Guildford site, the look of CAU Cambridge has been developed a little further, in order to take this site to another level. Quality and build-ability is the key for continuing to push the potential of the CAU brand in the future.”

Bob added:

“CAU Cambridge was our first site for the CAU brand and we enjoyed being a part of this fantastic restaurant. The first site is always the most difficult, but having achieved what we set out to do with this restaurant we hope to continue our working relationship with the brand.”

Just like CAU Guildford, CAU Cambridge boasts a scrumptious menu, offering a wide range of food, from traditional Argentinean beef, to handmade ravioli, charcoal pork cutlets and a fantastic selection of salads, sides and sandwiches. As well as using a traditional option of preparing meals on an Argentinean grill CAU also uses a charcoal Josper grill, which reaches temperatures that exceed those of an indoor barbecue, which ensures none of the natural flavour escapes during cooking.

CAU Restaurants- Cambridge

CAU uses beef that has been bred on the Argentinean Pampas – vast grassy planes in South America – and diners can choose from a detailed selection, including sirloin (8oz), rib eye (10oz), lomito (16oz) or Tapa de Cuadril (8oz). All of CAU’s range of steaks sit perfectly alongside a variety of fish and pasta dishes and for those with a sweet tooth CAU has a tummy rumbling array of desserts.

The CAU team comprises managing director Charlie McLean, Creative Director Patsy Godik and Operations Manager Alex Rojas. Each member of the team brings a wealth of experience to the table, having worked for such high profile brands as Gaucho, Chez Gerard and Flemings Mayfair Hotel.

CAU Cambridge is open seven days a week, Monday to Friday from midday to 11pm and Sundays and Bank holidays from midday to 10:30pm. For more information about CAU restaurants or to make a booking, please visit: www.caurestaurants.com.

Crane Interiors

Crane Interiors specialise in fast-track fit-outs for restaurants, bars and hotels. The company has been in operation for more than 23 years and in this time has completed works for Wagamama, D&D London, Coya, Morton’s on Berkley Square and of course, CAU Cambridge.

Crane Interiors provides its clients with a complete, professional service which runs from design through to completion and is delivered in a consistent manner. Commercial Director Bob Tracey has worked in the commercial interiors sector for more than 20 years and is responsible for delivering all Crane Interiors’ projects.

Crane Interiors Commercial Director, Bob Tracey, said:

“At Crane Interiors we have completed high quality work for many leading names within the industry and we continue to develop and provide the service our clients have come to expect. Working with CAU was very important to us as they are a prestigious brand, from the same company behind the Gaucho chain. We value our time spent on CAU Cambridge.”

Crane Interiors prides itself on its proactive approach to each job and always works to find the best solutions for the client. The company ensures a smooth handover once work is complete and strives to provide a rewarding experience for everyone involved.

For more information about Crane Interiors, please visit: www.craneinteriors.co.uk.

PA Schofield Ltd

PA Schofield Ltd has provided high end decorating services to the leisure, retail, restaurant & licensed industries for over 20 years and is still going strong, completing all projects on time to the clients’ satisfaction.

PA Schofield Ltd work with many high profile clients, including Gala Bingo-Casino, KFC, Pizza Hut, Pizza Express, Wagamama, Byron Hamburgers, Zizzi Restaurants and Virgin Rooftop Gardens, as well as many more.  PAS Ltd has an excellent working relationship with all its clients, either working through principle main contractors or direct.

Decorating works at CAU Restaurant, Cambridge were completed yet again on time and to the client’s satisfaction. Most of the works on this project entailed the installation of hanging specialist imported vinyl wallcovering designs from Holland. The designs feature on walls and ceilings and looked spectacular when completed.

PA Schofield Ltd Managing Director, Paul Schofield said:

“It’s very important for PA Schofield Ltd to continue to be involved with new high street brands such as CAU. I wish them every success with Cambridge and their new restaurant at Kingston.”

C Newbold Plumbing

Since 1976, C Newbold Plumbing has provided specialist plumbing services to the leisure and hospitality industry, working on a range of projects from bars to restaurants. Within this time C Newbold Plumbing has worked on many high profile projects and has provided plumbing services for the likes of Pizza Express, Caffe Nero, Burger King and most recently CAU.

Working with Crane Interiors on CAU, C Newbold Plumbing provided services on all aspects of the site’s plumbing, from the installation of copper pipe plumbing, through to the provision of hot water and washroom facilities.

Commenting on the company’s longstanding relationship with Crane Interiors, C Newbold Plumbing Company Proprietor, Colin Newbold, said:

“I’ve worked with Crane Interiors for the past 20 years and have a fantastic working relationship with the company.”

Colin added:

“At C Newbold Plumbing we always complete our work to the best of our ability and finish our work on schedule.”

 CJ Morrison

CJ Morrison Ltd is a suspended ceiling and dry-lining contractor designing and installing bespoke ceilings and rafts for restaurants, shops and offices. The company has been in operation for over 12 years although only recently became incorporated.

CJ Morrison’s clients carry out fit-out works for Wagamama, Aspinal’s Casinos, Yo Sushi, Byrons, Starbucks & many other big name high street brands. For CAU restaurants CJ Morrison completed all of the floating rafts, plastering and dry lining works on the site.

CJ Morrison Company Director, Carl Morrison, said:

“This is the first time CAU project that we have ever been involved in, but we were pleased to undertaken what was a combination of challenging components.”

Carl added:

“CJ Morrison Ltd offer a wealth of acoustical, thermal fire resisting knowledge that we are always happy to share & recommend or both new & existing customers.”

“At CJ Morrison we are proud of the great service & value for money that we are offer. We are always looking for new business within the retail sector of the construction industry & are never put off by a challenging design or installation. Infact we openly welcome any challenging design.”

Resintek Services Ltd

Resintek Services Ltd is a bespoke resin installer, specialising in the restaurant sector and high end installations. The company has been in operation for over 20 years and has undergone major expansion moving to new premises in Burgess Hill, West Sussex.

Resintek Services was entrusted with the design of the resin floor system at CAU Cambridge, with the remit that the system should offer both aesthetics and durability for CAU’s current and future needs. It was important to consider the overall look required for such a busy restaurant as well as ensuring such a system offered low levels of future maintenance. It was decided that the front of house system should be a bespoke resin flake system as this would meet the client’s expectations.

Considerable care was taken in determining the overall final finish and different flake combinations were considered by the client.  Furthermore, to ensure the system stood the test of time a bespoke specialised final seal was applied to assist with UV stability and surface profile.

The back of house resin installed by Resintek followed more traditional lines in that it was a hard wearing heavy duty system. This provided the necessary properties in terms of surface profile and temperature tolerance required for a busy working kitchen.

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