Caveau

Ph: 4226 4855; 122-124 Keira St, WOLLONGONG 2500 www.caveau.com.au

French, $$$, * for Food
Open Lunch Thu-Fri from noon Dinner Tue-Sat from 6pm; Licensed, BYO wine wed only , Corkage no on glassware; AE MC V EFT
Chef Peter Sheppard (29-11-08) Owner Peter & Nicola Sheppard (29-11-08)

Mietta's Review
Incredible as it may seem fine-dining has come to Wollongong with Peter and Nicola Sheppard's latest venture. She does the floor, he the kitchen. High quality French based food is served to a slighly unsure local audience and appreciative visitors. This is a haven of city sophistication in industrial Wollongong.

Other published opinions

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 15.5/20, One Hat "Small servings of exquisitely prepared food wow visitors to this fine diner, with its softly lit, elegant interior - comfortable without being stuffy - and excellent service"

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide "With a warm and unobtrusive decor and service executed with youthful earnestness, Caveau conveys a level of thoughtfulness frequently overlooked by slick city diners. Salmon confit with mud crab tortellino, cauliflower puree and basil oil, garnished with tiny cucumber balls is balanced in flavour, texture and colour"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 15.5/20, One Hat "It feels like a minor miracle to find food this good and service so unobtrusively stylish on the gritty main drag of the 'Gong"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "Lucky Wollongong locals have a gem in their midst in the form of ex-Banc chef Peter Sheppard"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 15/20, One Hat "Wollongong may be slow to realise what a gem they have in Caveau, but chef Peter Sheppard (ex-Banc) isn't compromising his high standards, applying labour-intensive traditional French techniques to the best produce in perfectly seasoned and sauced classics."

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Restaurant Guide "Ex-Banc chef Peter Sheppard's menu is short (five entrees, five mains), but it's also highly interesting in a no-holds-barred French kind of way. Quail two ways (roasted breast and confit leg) with house-made boudin noir - the unctuous black pudding reinforcing the earthiness of the game bird - is a favourite, as is a dish of juicy lamb cutlets and sweetbread raviolo with an achingly rich Lyonnaise onion sauce."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2006 score 14/20 "Locals have been slow to adopt Wollongong 's newest fine-dining experience, and while the French moniker may intimidate some, it only hints at the style and standards you can expect. Previously sous chef at Banc, Peter Sheppard's technical mastery and classical repertoire of elaborate and labour-intensive dishes proves he's used to impressing a sophisticated clientele."

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide * "At last, fine dining has arrived in Wollongong, with a flourish of French technique and repertoire. Locals are still a little wary of the drawn venetian blinds on the street-front, but inside all is warmth and welcome."

SMH Good Food Guide 2005 score 14/20 "Huskisson's loss was a big win for Wollongong, when Peter and Nicola Sheppard (exReflections) resurfaced in the Gong's best restaurant strip mid-2004 with this warm, softly-lit yellow-and-blue-trimmed space with damask-cloth'd tables and blonde timber chairs. While she tends diners with good cheer, his French-influenced, daily, fixed-price menu bristles with panache and demonstrates an assured hand."

Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide 2005 * "Wollongong has not been spoilt for choice at the fine-dining end ofthe restaurant spectrum, but Caveau is a welcome addition that raises standards in one giant leap. A restrained interior in neutral tones and service that is friendly without being familiar, let food shine."