A SPECIALITY for bringing the tastes of Buenos Aires to Reading has seen a popular restaurant nominated for a top accolade.

Cau Steak Restaurant, based at The Oracle shopping centre, has been a finalist at the Reading Retail Awards on many occasions.

General manager Darren Heath has also claimed top spot in the Manager of the Year category and his team are hoping to build on their consistency by winning the Restaurant of the Year prize this year.

He said: "We have been nominated three times for Restaurant of the Year so it is one of those things that we really try to push.

"I was very happy to win two years ago and last year we made the shortlist. We have a good history with the retail awards."

Cau has been a fixture of the town centre for more than three years and continues to fight off intense competition from other popular restaurants.

Coming from humble beginnings, the business has grown on the basis on keeping comfort food reasonably priced, expanding to 22 locations across the UK.

The manager added: "I have really enjoyed seeing the business grow. It has been very consistent and a real highlight of Cau.

"We are still to let as many people as possible know where we are and it is important to do a lot of work on that.

"There is a lot of competition around Reading so there is always a need to be good at what you do.We have fresh food, good service and good quality steak at a reasonable price.

"We have a lot of regular guests that come back week on week, but we also get a lot of new faces coming through the doors."

Nominations are still open for this year's Reading Retail Awards and forms are available at The Oracle and Broad Street Mall.