My friend Karen has been going to Cavo on Fridays for about three years straight, and the way she talks about it you’d think she co-owns the place. That’s how it goes with Cavo — people find it, claim it, and bring everyone they know.
Cavo Wine & Tapas sits in the Dundee neighborhood, which is the kind of area where people actually walk somewhere on a weeknight. The space is small — maybe a dozen tables — with warm lighting and a bar that feels like it was built to encourage lingering. The wine list is serious without being intimidating. Someone clearly put real thought into it: lots of Spanish and French pours by the glass, a few surprises from the Canary Islands or the Jura that you wouldn’t expect to find in a landlocked Midwestern city. The staff knows what they’re talking about, but they don’t make you feel like you don’t.
I went on a Wednesday in November with my partner. We started with the charcuterie, which is assembled rather than assembled-looking — real imported manchego, a couple of cured meats I couldn’t name but wanted more of, and good bread that held up without getting soggy. We ordered the patatas bravas because we always order patatas bravas and these are among the better ones I’ve had: crispy on the outside, yielding inside, with a smoky aioli that had actual heat behind it. The bacon-wrapped dates are the thing Karen always orders. She’s right to. They’re sweet and fatty and gone in two bites and you immediately want two more.
The woman running the floor on our visit — I think her name was Melissa, though I didn’t catch it for certain — has been there long enough to know the regulars by their usual order. She suggested a Galician Albariño when I was dithering between two whites and it was exactly right. That kind of recommendation, offered without fanfare, is what separates a good wine bar from a great one.
Cavo draws a crowd that skews a little older than Benson’s bar scene — professionals, couples, the occasional solo diner with a book — but it doesn’t feel stuffy. Tables turn over slowly because nobody’s in a hurry. On busier nights you’ll want a reservation; I’ve heard of people waiting forty minutes on a Friday when they showed up cold. On a weeknight you can usually walk in, especially if you’re two people willing to sit at the bar.
Cost-wise, expect to spend around $60–$80 for two with a couple glasses of wine each and four or five tapas. It’s not cheap, but it doesn’t feel overpriced for what you’re getting — the portions are honest and the wine pours are generous. If you want to keep it light, two or three plates and a glass each runs closer to $40.
I’ve been back twice since November. Karen, naturally, has been back six times. There’s a reason regulars treat a place like it’s theirs — sometimes, in all the ways that matter, it is.
