The Cave

O. M. G. Quite possibly my new favorite place. My hubby and I came here for our anniversary and loved every minute. Love the whole concept — and because I’m picky about wine it was a great economical way to try new ones without feeling like I made a mistake! The staff was unbelievably gracious, friendly, and professional — so, so appreciated. We started with the warm goat cheese with homemade crostini… it doesn’t get better. We also got a cheese/​charcuterie platter — the Proscuitto Speck is something I could live off of. And the Humboldt Fog? Yes please.
We also got the scallop small plate with English pea risotto (HEAVENLY) and the chicken. Oh the chicken… I took a bite, looked at my husband and said «I think I just died.» He then took a bite and burst out laughing because he totally agreed. It was UN-​FRICKIN-​BELIEVABLE.
We bowed out from dessert THIS time, but will imbibe next time. And there WILL be a next time. Love love love this newfound gem of a restaurant!

Was so excited to finally have the opportunity to check out The Cave last night for a birthday dinner. It’s one of that places that you always drive by and don’t except it to be a fun place because of the exterior, but in reality it’s a great spot!
You must enter from the store front that leads to the restaurant section. Like other places, I was informed that our party of 7 must all be present before we can be seated. We had placed reservations and were seated fairly quickly upon everyone’s arrival. The concept is different. My cousin explained to me that you must purchase a card wine card ($ 5) and add money in order to use the self service wine selection machine. They have an array of red and white wine and even sake to sample, each ounce a different price. I really enjoyed how the samples had a brief description on the taste so you know what to expect.
Some of the meals I sampled from my group were the following from the «Small Plates» selection of the menu. Please note the menu varies each month. Although I didn’t the chance to try, I did appreciate the Filipino rooted dishes. Was bummed to see that the Kare Kare Dish that I saw on a recent Unilocal review was not on this months menu.
— Aunt Phyllis Chicken: battered chicken topped with Marsala sauce and mushrooms. Came with one of the best mashed potatoes I have had! Someone about goat cheese mixed in the mashed potatoes that got me hooked!
— Horchata Fried Chicken & Waffles: Meal was a little smaller than I expected, considering the fact that the other «small dishes» we’re reasonably portioned. Consisted of 2 fried chicken strips and a piece of waffle covered in cinnamon sugar.
— Pork Belly PB&J Sandwich: 2 small sandwiches that laid on a bed of mixed greens. Good enough portion and an even balance of saltiness and sweet!
Items also from the menu:
— Turkey Burger: I’m sure my cousin ordered this because he’s on that work out tip, but this tastes exactly like a regular turkey burger.
— Artisanal Charcuterie Board: selection of meat and cheese. Great for a group to share.
— Mac & Cheese: Tastes like regular Mac n cheese
— French Fries: A little too salty, but none the less regular fries with your choice of dipping sauce.
— Flourless Chocolate Cake: Tasty chocolate cake without the guilt of flour!
Staff was friendly and accommodating. Food took a little longer to come out, but that’s why you have the wine dispensaries at your leisure! Also their speciality is wine, so I don’t expect them to have a large kitchen like a place such as Yard House. Large parties can split the bill up to 6 times. Check out process was fast was no issues, considering we were a large party. Ambiance was intimate and settling is very relaxing. Guitarist Warren graced us with his presence by playing acoustics. This is a perfect place for a date night or group dinner.

This was my first time. My boyfriend had been here once before. Word for the wise they don’t quote you a correct wait time at all. This was the most disappointing part, I would have appreciated the truth. When we arrived we were told about 30 minutes, when in reality it was more than an hour! Thats not just miss judging that’s just sugar coating it!
Now to the good part: the atmosphere was cozy and intimate, but friendly and not just lovey dove-​y couples who need a room! This definitely feels like a place for people in our age group (25 – 35)
The food was amazing and lived up to how great it smelled when we first walked in.
I had the pizza special: a chicken pizza with avocado and a spicy chile sauce. It was so good and the flavors just really complimented each other.
My boyfriend had a baked chicken over mashed potatoes with a mushroom sauce. It was heavenly!
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the idea of being able to sample the wines they have on «tap». Helped us to not buy a bottle we thought we would have loved, but really only felt so-​so about after trying it. So at least you get to drink wine to pass the waiting time!!!
Trying the wines begins with a card that you purchase with a first time fee of $ 5 if you load it with less than $ 50. This card is yours to keep and reload as desired! It has a chip that you place into a slot and the machine reads your card and displays the balance left. You can try 3 different amounts of wine: 1oz, 3oz, & 5oz (with corresponding prices depending on the bottle wine) So depending on if you know you like that wine or not you can try just a very small amount.
Overall great experience! Just know if you go on a weekend your going to wait… a while, much longer than quoted…

Omg. Wine vending machine? Mind blown! This place is an experience that all wine lovers must take upon. There are 10’s of wines available to purchase by the ounce. You just load money on a card and use the card in the wine dispensing machines. It’s a little pricy, but you get the opportunity to buy an ounce and try a wide variety of wines. The food is good, but don’t go for meal.

Got really confused about the wine card thing as the waitress explain how it works, but after it sink in its really quite simple. The card itself is free if you put in $ 50 or more. Anything under the card cost $ 5 + whatever amount u wish. The card is for the vending machine you try different wines from. It’s awesome for anyone loves to explore new options but doesn’t want to be stuck with a huge bottle. If you have your mind set on one certain bottle, then get a bottle from the market and the restaurant charge a $ 10/​corkage fee. I didn’t want to drink that much and wasn’t sure if I would keep coming back so I ended up just ordering a beer, which did not disappoint!
The food here is quite impressive! Unique ingredients, interesting combinations turns into something quite magical in your taste buds! No point of talking about what I had cause the menu is probably different by the time you are trying this place out. But I would totally keep coming back because the menu changes every first Tuesday of the month. I imagine the wine changes as well, so it would be a new place every time you visit! You don’t get that anywhere!

Good atmosphere here. The food and wine are ok but the people are nice. More of an older/​mature crowd, but again the atmosphere was nice. Not a place to go for a meal, more like some wine and a snack

Love the Cave, great selection of wine and spirits! Love the idea of being able to buy the wine bottle and take to dinner. The Food was delicious!

This place almost got a four due to the cost to benefit ratio. The food was good. We liked the crispy prosciutto and fig and Filipino pork appetizers. The filet minion small plate was good but the lobster pistachio pesto tasted bland. I was somewhat torn on the wine tasting arrangement, but at the end I enjoyed trying a bunch of new wines.

This was way more romantic than I thought it would be. We prepaid to load our wine card, $ 25 for two and we’re sat near the rear of the room. It was cozy and the service was attentive when we wanted it to be. We tried about 5 wines each from the vending stations and had the meat and cheese board, house salad with vinagrette and lobster ravioli. The ravioli had huge chucks of lobster and tasted amazing. The meat and cheese board was pretty but could have had better quality items. My side salad was generous and delicious. The place was hopping for a Tuesday. I appreciated the high number of servers and the relaxed atmosphere. We finished our date night with a movie at the cheap theater nearby. I’m definitely coming back to use the rest of the money on the wine card and to check out the wine shop in front.

Really enjoyed my dinner at The Cave. For appetizer, I had the grilled goat cheese w baguette. For mains, I had the scallops and hanger steak. And… last but not least — chocolate cake and vanilla custard ice cream to finish off the amazing dining experience.
All in all, everything was really good. Everything goes very well w their wine selection. For those who doesn’t drink, will definitely enjoy their evening at The Cave too!
Second time around — for starters, I had the absolute ambrosia baked brie. It was absolutely divine.
For mains, I had the slow cooked pork loin serves with pumpkin and avocado purée on the side. Interesting dish, as the purée sets out acidic aftertaste along with a little bit of heat. Shortly after, a very appealing plate of fillet mignon was served. Cooked medium rare, leaving the inside pink and juicy. It’s serves with asparagus and mash potatoes on the side. It was absolutely divine.
For dessert, the usual — banana bread pudding and flourless chocolate cake. Dessert was amazing as expected, though I thought the chocolate cake was a tad bit too sweet.

We always have a good time here! Creative food & wine while you’re enjoying a date with your sweetheart!

We attended a special tasting event and had a blast. Over a hundred different vintners pouring CA wines (one winemaker from Ventura County, and one from Santa Barbara, so locals are making progress). The event was catered by the Cave and served delicious mac and cheese, breads and cheeses, along with appetizers.
The tasting room has a clever way of dispensing your wine, and provides you with a charge card, so you do not really notice how much you are spending until your card runs out (sad face).There is a well stocked store attached to the tasting room and dining area. We picked up a case of our favorite wine. They add 10% of your purchase price to your card (smiley face). Parking is available right out front, so not far to carry our haul.

I don’t drink! I was hosting a company party there. The food was delish! Yum. Everything was great. Another really fine tuned that menus so you can pick anything and be happy.

Amazing! I just discovered this gem! The food is amazing. I love the self serve wine tasting bars too.

Talk about my new favorite place!!! Holy moly this place is AMAZING!!! We came with a party of 7 on a Friday night and had to wait about 45 minutes which wasn’t bad because we were sitting down by the kitchen and talking and catching up with old friends, and drinking amazing wine of course. Once we got seated we got some more wine and my dad was able to order a beer from their gift shop area and they brought it for him which was super cool. But let’s get to their food… Holy shit. Some
Of the best food I’ve ever had while out drinking. Our table got a cheese and meat plate, and fries with pesto dipping sauce as an appetizer and I could have just eaten that all night!!! Some guests at our table got a small steak, salmon, a burger, chicken and I got a sausage and mushroom pizza. Not one person had anything bad to say about their food. Almost 2 weeks later we are still raving about this place. I can’t wait to be back!!!

One of my favorite wine and tapas places. It’s your classic buy a card and pick and pour your own 1oz, 3oz or 5oz. The door is where their wine shop is on the left. You enter through the shop and go towards the right where the hostess stand is. Came here on a Saturday night and there was live music ! The service was fantastic and spot on. Everyone was friendly and prompt. This was definitely your casual but looks high class in a non pretentious spot. If you are wondering why it’s called The Cave… well it looks like you are in one. For new cards, it’s $ 5 to activate it. I would suggest for couples just getting one card and loading it since you’ll probably be sharing wines and going together to select them. $ 20 is good to start for good tastings.
You cannot have wine without cheese. Cannot! We got the small cheese plate with rosey goat and smoked Gouda and it did not disappoint. It came with baguette (I believe you can ask for Foccacia if you desire), red grapes, walnut and thin Apple slices. The rosey goat was my absolute favorite — it’s a creamy goat cheese with rosemary (I’m not even a big fan of Rosemary!). Do not think about it. Just do it.
The sausage and mushroom pizza was amazing. It had caramelized onions on it as well. This pizza is not your thin crust pizza, it’s is heavy! It’s between a regular and thin crust — definitely filling and tasty.
The only thing missing that could have thrown it over the moon was having linen napkins instead of paper napkins rolled in silverware. This is where the causal but high class looking thing comes into play. I know who cares right. Okay I admit I was trying hard to find something on the downside to mention, and if that’s it then you got to check this place out. Seriously.

This place is maybe three minutes from the office — went here for a co-worker’s birthday lunch. It’s far away from quaint and scenic downtown Ventura — almost on the last block of «town» before Telephone Road heads out into the fields and citrus groves and the extreme southern edge of town. The entrance is through the wine store, don’t try to walk in where it says «The Cave.» There seemed to be plenty of parking.
I want to go back and browse the terrific wine store. Since we were on our lunch hour, we didn’t have any alcohol, but I was thrilled to find that they serve Lori’s Lavender and Ginger Lemonades, as well as some bottled pomegranate tea and other tasty non-​alcoholic beverages. Of course we all wanted to come back and try their «wine fountain» — the central item in the main dining area. We watched other patrons use it and it seemed to involve putting money on a wine card, inserting the card into the machine and then dispensing your vino of choice into your glass in whatever quantity you desire — from a sip to a full glass and being charged accordingly.
The dining area is not very big but there are some options — some tables for 2,4, and 6 patrons, as I recall. Tables can be moved around to accommodate a larger group. There is a corner seating area with some couches that gives the room a cozy feel.
The menu had some really nice options. I ordered the grilled portobello panini with the pasta side salad (they give you quite a few options for sides). The sandwich was tasty but I found it rather dry — wish it had maybe some arugula or tomatoes on it or had come with some kind of dipping sauce. I would love a panini made with a different kind of bread maybe rather than the flat bread. My issue wasn’t with the taste of it, more the texture of the bread and overall dry feeling of the sandwich. That said, I ate every bite of the sandwich and side salad. Most of us finished our meals or got boxes to go so I think in general the food is quite good but I would try something else next time I go. Looking forward to a return trip and sampling some of those small plates and having some wine.

This is one of my favorite spots in Ventura. Great service, fun events (come for the champagne party), and an incredible wine selection. I love their «on tap» approach to the wines so you can taste a lot of different things on your own without feeling the need to impress anyone.
The food is really outstanding and changes fairly often. Come and be adventurous — try it all. You might find a surprising new wine love.

I am absolutely thrilled to finally make it to the Cave! The food was excellent. We had the special burger (I think it changes often) and truffle fries. Our friends had the carne & cheese plate and a small bites meal salmon atop purple potatoes. My friend raves about the Cavegirl burger too. Pretty cool tasting all the wines and choosing the size of your pour: 1oz to 5oz through a vending machine! You can make your own flight and even write notes on what you like. Next time I’m saving room for dessert.
One tip: They use rechargeable prepaid wine cards. Go for the $ 50 wine card instead of paying $ 5 service charge for amounts less than $ 50. You’ll use more $$$ than you think.

The Cave was such a nice experience. We were staying at Port Hueneme for a wedding and really wanted to do some wine tasting, so we hopped on Unilocal and found this little gem. My hubby, my friends, and I hopped in a cab and made our way over. The Cave is located in a strange office park that doesn’t look like it would house a nice restaurant, so don’t be confused when you pull up… it’s in there, you just have to find it.
Once you walk into the establishment, you will find a nice wine store in the front. Once you walk past the store, you will find the restaurant in the back, in what has been designed to look like a cave… it’s cute. They have a neat system for the wine tasting where you load money onto a card and then use that card to purchase samples or glasses of wine. I will agree with some of the other reviews, for those of us who are visiting from out of town, the initial $ 5 charge for the card is a little off-​putting, considering we are only visiting. I think it would be nice if the $ 5 was just a deposit returned to the customer at the end of the night. Perhaps it is something worth exploring for your customers who are visiting from out of town.
The wine tasting is really cool because there is no pressure; you just walk around and read the descriptions of wine at your own pace. I really enjoyed reading about the different wines because I really don’t know anything about wine, though I love learning about it… which entails drinking it :)
The Cave may be known for its abundant wine selection, but it also has a great food menu. We ordered the fruit and cheese plate, the shrimp bruschetta, the Mexican-​style pizza, a burger, the flat-​iron steak, a pork dish with noodles and veggies, and a few other items. We had a feast and everything was really tasty. We really enjoyed the food and we also ordered the cheesecake and bread pudding for desert. Those were both delicious as well. If I lived in Ventura, I would likely visit The Cave all the time. It’s a nice wine tasting without being pretentious.