One of the surest ways to my heart is a good cheese board. I don’t tend to order them in restaurants as they are often a menu’s lonely, back of the fridge afterthought, dragged out and given a quick shave in the hope the diner doesn’t notice. We do. It’s like the guy who douses himself with Lynx instead of showering. We just know.
So I was very excited about seeing what the Cavern, the new baby offshoot of Baggot Street Wines, offered on their cheese board. I’m a big fan of the wine shop, their staff are lovely, unpretentious and helpful and when they introduced a very good selection of Sheridan’s cheeses ‘to go’ by their cash register, I hoped it would evolve into a wine cellar.
Enter The Cavern.
I went on a Thursday evening with a very good friend who kindly ordered champagne to toast a recent happy event. It was delicious with star-like tiny bubbles. The staff members were attentive and warm, answering any questions we had and topping up drinks at just the right moment. An undervalued skill.
It was jam packed this Thursday with a large group of attractive people wearing suits and pin striped skirts. My friend and I shared a cheese and charcuterie board which featured healthy pieces of delicious cheese including the Grubb’s Cahel Blue from Tipperary and Mossfield from Offaly. The cured meats were room temperature and the Parma ham was sliced perfectly. There was a very good Bresaola along with Sheridan’s crackers, grapes, chutney and cornichons.
They have a fine selection of wines by the glass and bottle in The Cavern, but the magic here is selecting your bottle upstairs from Baggot Street Wines and taking it to your table. The corkage is 5 euro.
I love places like the Cavern. The kind of wine bar that serves a proper cheese board, a fine selection of wines, friendly and attentive staff and great music. The recipe for a heavenly Thursday.
the mcbride guide 