Cafe Caturra

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  Simply put, an excellent little brasserie set in  playful, yet elegant decor. The Mediterranean-ground menu provokes drool to run free and offers a stylish variety for most-any palate. The beer selection is limited, yet skillfully chosen - try a 1/2 of Westbrook's Mexican Wedding stout.
  
  A nice vino list backs a bevy of beautifully boozy cocktails made traditionally, if not a little hipstery - mint leaves etc are in mason jars on the bar.
  Caturra is, again, excellent, elegant and ever-so playful.

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  Posted on 06.18.13 Mike G.

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  Great place for appetizers mon.- fri happy hour 3 dollar beers! Stick with the mini burgers and deviled eggs. Great service, nice outdoor seating and really close to home.

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  Posted on 05.24.13 Rick T.

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  We spent a couple of hours dawdling outside. I'd forgotten how good it feels to dawdle. We split a bottle of cheap Cote de Rhone which was quite tasty. The others enjoyed the Westbrook beers they purchased. The food really sucked. The roasted brussel sprouts were OK, however it was all downhill from there. I ordered a mushroom pizza. The major flavor was the sauce, which was an overly-sweet marinara. Awful. A little cheese, a sprinkling of mushroom. This is something certainly to be avoided. Two friends ordered pimento cheese and guacamole to snack on. They said the pimento cheese was good, but the guacamole was very salty. Too salty. I asked for a taste and then regretted it. My wife and I dined here four or five months ago. I had two or three boring, unimaginative tacos, and my wife had the scallops with risotto. The scallops and risotto were also too salty. Two of my friends ordered the scallops and risotto tonight, and they both complained about the saltiness. They gobbled up their pizza, but I was afraid to ask them how it tasted. (I finished my mushroom pizza, but only because I was starving!) So, Cafe Caturra has an extensive wine list which looks pretty good. I've seen the wine list at locations in North Carolina and other states, and they have much better choices. If I'm hungry, I'll certainly avoid this place. If I want to sit outdoors and enjoy a cheap glass of wine, I'll go back. If you like good food, avoid this place. That's my opinion.

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  Posted on 05.22.13 Timothy M.

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  Wonderful place.  The cement walkway under the outdoor seating is suitable for my many lounging positions.  The outdoor fire pit and heaters are also a big plus.
  
  The staff have always been friendly and accepting.  Even the manager, James, often makes it a point to come by and say hello to me.
  
  As for the food, I have yet to really sample their menu.  Sure, I get the occasional pizza crust here and there, but nothing of substance yet.  My dining companions always seem quite pleased though.  They do have a lot of plants close to the ground.  I munch on those.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.
  
  It is such a festive and friendly atmosphere that other diners always want to approach me.  As I generally prefer to keep a low profile, I just growl at them and they go on their way.

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  Posted on 03.27.13 Fannie Mae C.

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  I wanted to like this place.  Actually, I DO like the PLACE.  The food is just OK.  Service is poor.  I have given them three tries.  First time, at dinner with the family, they got my sandwich order wrong.  That's okay.   The manager replaced the sandwich, and I was happy with it.   Everybody deserves one mulligan, right?  Second time, I met a friend for lunch and didn't get my beer til I was almost done eating.  I think they were changing the keg, so I was willing to give them a pass.  Server was apologetic and said the beer was on the house.  Bill came, and the $5.00 charge for the beer was still on it.  Decided not to fuss with it and paid for it -- I drank it, so I paid for it.  Third time, my wife and I went there before a movie.  They served her entree with the wrong side.  This was not a special order -- she ordered it exactly as described on the menu -- yet it was plated with the wrong side.  When she pointed it out to the server, he brought out the correct side, but it was still cold.  And to add insult to injury, when the bill came, I was charged extra for the replacement side!  The server took it off the bill, but this was just one too many screw-ups for us.  We eat out a lot, and have mostly flawless experiences from our go-to places.  I paid the bill and left my usual 20% tip, but I probably will not be back.  It's a shame, because I like the place, and the location is nice.  But there are too many other places I trust to deliver a good meal and good service every time.  If you want to go to a nice place in Trenholm Plaza, skip this one and go to Rosso.  It has never failed me.

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  Posted on 12.30.12 Randall D.

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  I went here with my mom on a Friday night and sat outside.  They have heaters built into the ceiling so you can be outside when it's cold and still be comfy.  The ambience was pretty good; lots of low light and people having conversations.  
  
  The food was a big disappointment for the price.  This is a typical tapas bar:  high prices, mediocre quality, small portions.  My squash soup was the consistency of baby food (more like a chunky porridge) and the hummus plate I ordered was...mealy and bland.  Publix sells a decent hummus that Cafe Caturra could buy and dump in a dish and it would be better than what they already have.  Our sandwiches were OK, but for the $30+ I paid, I wanted more quality.  
  
  This place is good for drinking wine and spending a lot of money.  Forest Acres has gone a long time without a pretentious, overpriced wine bar for the well-to-do to to waste money at but now there's Cafe Caturra.
  
  For your money, you're better off going to Rossi for supper and the froyo place for dessert.

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  Posted on 12.30.12 Gwonk B.

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  I will only go for happy hour, it tastes better when you pay the correct prices for the food.  Unique food for Columbia, a nice change of pace.

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  Posted on 12.15.12 Aaron Z.

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  I had dinner at Cafe Caturra recently and have to say, LOVE the ambiance!  The space is warm and inviting and the decor is just so soothing and tranquil.  Just for the interior design I'd be happy to go back and have another meal!  They also have outdoor seating with heat lamps so you can enjoy the experience outside if you want to, which we did, and it was fantastic.
  
  About the food - the arugula salad I got to start with was spot on.  I really liked the dried blueberries they put in it, which gave it a nice crunchy texture and the blending of all flavors worked together effortlessly.  I cleaned my plate.  I had a Margherita pizza for my entree and thought it was alright.  A little more basil would have been nice.  The butternut squash hash that I got as a side fell short.  It could've been just a bad combination with my pizza, but nonetheless I couldn't finish it and was slightly disappointed with how it tasted.  My friend ordered their hummus trio for her appetizer and the jalapeno and red pepper dips were delicious.  She was nice enough to let me try a few bites and I was impressed.  The other one, whose name I cannot remember, was kind of oily and tasted strange, but two out of three faring well, not bad, not bad at all.  Also we wrapped up our meal sharing a slice of their lemon pie, and it was perfect.  It was light, fluffy, excellently tarty, and just finished off our experience at Cafe Caturra on the right note.  If you have a sweet tooth, this will leave you smiling.
  
  Overall even with a few not so great dishes, for the most part I really liked the food, and as I mentioned before, loved the ambiance.  Service was also good.  I especially appreciated that the manager and/or owner asked us about how our meal was when we were leaving and took a genuine interest in our experience, a huge plus in my opinion.  I'm looking forward to going back to this place and am excited about some of their other desserts.

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  Posted on 12.09.12 Swetha G.

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  Perfect wine and tapas bar. Had a wonderful meal Saturday night with the BF. Cheese plate was large with good portions - olives, grapes, and bread were included. Mussels on special for the night were cooked perfectly. Scallops were WAY over seasoned but once we scraped off all the spices it was much better. Pork tacos were AMAZING! I have a strong love affair with pork and these were on point. Server was very nice but a tad over bearing.
  
  Wine flights are $12 and you have three choices to pick from. Good size portions with cheese and bread to go with each sample.

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  Posted on 10.22.12 Amanda B.

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  For lunch you order at the line and pick a seat. Dinner is full service. There are no booths but they have really cool seating indoors and outside. Bathrooms are unnecessarily upscale and small for the turnover. If there was more than one urinal i would give five stars. Yes, it's that important!
  
  I had a salad and all ingredients were really fresh. The salads don't say onions on the menu but there were red onions all over mine. They toss the salad greens and croutons with the dressing so it can be hard to pick out undesirables like onions. I ordered "no cheese" but it came with it anyway.  I didn't send it back because that at least was easy to pick off.  
  
  Restaurants that can handle special requests, especially when it comes to leaving items I'm allergic to off really inspire me to return. This visit did not but I can see why people really like it and would give it another try.

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  Posted on 10.21.12 Jason L.

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  this is really a Tapas type cafe. If you're expecting full-course meals this is probably not the place for you.  If you're looking for something to nibble over a few drinks it's spot on.  I like the fact that you can go up to bar and get a small taste of just about any wine on their list.  That's nice, because I hate ordering a glass and not liking it. I'm always too embarrassed to turn it down.  
  
  why did I give it 2 stars? I ordered the "breads and spreads" appetizer.  about $8?  it came with pita bread and 3 types of spreads.  
  
  The hummis was okay but I've had better and it came from the grocery store. .  
  
  There was a pimento cheese that was the color of that fake orange cheese powder that comes  in Kraft macaroni.  It was supposed to be "white cheddar and smoked paprika Pimento cheese" .  perhaps the paprika is what gave it that god-awful color but I was disappointed. I expected a white-cheddar pimento cheese to be paler.  That and I expected to actually find PIMENTO  in the spread, there was none.  
  
  Then there was the "Tuna, white bean and basil" spread.  *gag*  I expected better from an establishment such as this.  The tuna was dry and it was dark meat tuna, you know the cheap stuff.  It was so strong you couldn't even TASTE the basil.  I would have made it with albacore, which has a much milder flavor. The basil would have been able to shine through and even accentuate the flavor of the tuna.

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  Posted on 08.21.12 Tiffanie C.

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  Excellent mid evening dinner alone on the beautiful euro style patio. I had the deviled eggs, and the shrimp taco. Both amazingly tasty, affordable and adequate serving sizes. The employees were doting and helpful.
  
  Less than 5 stars because there was a weird sewage smell in the outdoor area.

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  Posted on 08.16.12 Kara S.

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  Been a few times and I've been impressed by the food and service. The atmosphere is nice -- you certainly don't feel like you're sitting in the parking lot of Trenholm plaza. The prices are fair and the wine selection is nice.

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  Posted on 07.20.12 Jen M.

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  Nice atmosphere.  Good chicken sandwich.

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  Posted on 06.09.12 Saluda F.

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  Great food, service and atmosphere!  I've eaten here on 2 different occasions and have been pleased each time!  They serve Tapa's so if you're anything like me, you're able to eat several different items and have a great meal!  I highly recommend the jerk shrimp tacos!!  I was reluctantly surprised.  They were awesome!

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  Posted on 05.30.12 Morgan F.

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  One of the few places to eat out on a Sunday evening in the Forest Acres/Trenholm area, but what a treat!  I have been away from Columbia for a few months and was pleasantly surprise at what had happened with Trenholm Plaza since I left.  
  
  This place is off the charts amazing!   You go  to the wine tasting bar and try whatever you were interested in - they even had comp bread and cheese to compliment the pairings.  Once you found something you like, you go to your table - we sat outside on a fabulous night - but even if is was cool, there was an open fire pit to take off the chill.  
  
  We ordered an app - Goat Cheese Crostini with roasted red peppers - excellent.  Hubby had small salad - raspberry walnut salad, which was good, but he said there were Craisins on it.  We shared the white pizza, which was outstanding.  
  
  Probably the most impressive thing was the wait staff - top notch.  Instead of one person waiting your table, it seemed we had at least five waiters/waitresses come to our table throughout the evening with different tasks.  They were all young, attentive and entertaining, even the busboy was having a great time,  Everyone's mood was infectious.  (There was even a local chef from one of Columbia's best bistro's ((incognito of course)) having dinner there).
  
  This restaurant has raised the bar for Columbia's service industry, period - my only complaint/concern is that I'm not sure if it's locally owned.

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  Posted on 04.29.12 Lori R.

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  Boyfriend and I went by around 7:45pm on a Saturday and only had to wait about 10 minutes.  We sat outside at a cocktail table with high chairs.  I do not recommend sitting at one of these tables.  The table top is small and the chairs are uncomfortable.  The outdoor ambiance was nice though.  We ordered drinks and then the waiter left.  It took a while for him to come back for our order.  I ordered the mac and cheese and flank steak satay.  Boyfriend ordered a pizza.  We were told the pizza would take 20 minutes and the rest of the food would only take about 8 minutes. I asked if it could all come out at the same time and we were told no.  Ummm... isn't that the job of the kitchen, to coordinate the orders and get what the customer wants to the table at the same time?  Apparently not here.  So we did not have the pizza.  Boyfriend ordered the mini burgers instead.  
  
  Food arrives and we shuffle things around on the tiny table top and the mac and cheese was delicious. I would order it again.  It was creamy with a crunchy topping and the cavatappi pasta makes me happy.   The seared flank steak satay was good but a bit crispy/over seared in places. The Gorgonzola sauce that came with it was tasty but the flavor was strong.  I only used a bit. The mini burgers came with only meat, cheese and bacon with cups of ketchup and mustard and generic crinkle cut chips on the side.  The burgers weren't anything special.  We opted out of dessert and decided to come back when we both can order pizza.
  
  If you are looking for a cool place to hang around outside and drink some wine this is probably a place for you.  People seemed to be  hanging out and socializing on the patio area... having some drinks and sharing some apps and "small plates".   We will try it again but it probably won't be a place that goes in our regular rotation.

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  Posted on 04.21.12 Rachel O.

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