Cava was established in May 2008 by husband and wife team, Jp McMahon and Drigín Gaffey in order to introduce Galway to the wealth and breath of Spanish cooking. Its Tapas menu is famous for its representation of many aspects of regional Spanish cooking. It showcases over 50 regional Spanish Tapas. Cava is committed to supporting the local infrastructure in terms of food and wine and purchases it fish, meat, and vegetables locally. Cava is also equally famous for its drinks menu which is entirely devoted to Spanish wine, beer, cider, and sherry. It has over 140 varieties of Spanish wines and
beers in its cellar from the inexpensive to the absolutely expensive. Cava holds awards from the Bridgestone (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) and Georgina Campbell (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), and has been heralded as serving the “Best Tapas in Ireland” by the famous food and wine gourmand Tom Doorley.
Jp McMahon
An academic with a love of food, head chef/proprietor Jp also lectures in Art History in UCC and was trained originally in French and Italian cuisine in Ireland and abroad. He is passionate about good food and wine. Jp is also committed to the educational and ethical aspects of food. He runs cooking classes in Cava during the early part of the week and is committed to buying the best of local, free-range and fair trade produce where possible. Jp is currently finishing his PhD in art history, which focuses on twentieth century American art. In conjunction with this, Cava regularly hosts exhibitions, sponsors local arts festivals and events, and promotes the arts on a local level in Galway. His aim is to produce the best Spanish food available in Ireland.
Drigín Gaffey
Drigín has a passion for good food and wine and has worked in the catering industry (both as a chef and in front of house) since she was 16 years of age. Drigín’s love of fine food led her to study the art of chocolate making in 2008 and she is now a certified chocolatier. She has also developed a growing knowledge of wine from her many wine tastings, meetings with wine makers and from visiting various vineyards on her travels. Drigín also has many years of experience working in human resources, accounts and payroll. Her main focus in Cava is to manage the business side of the restaurant. Alongside Drigín’s love for good food and wine is her fondness of the arts. Drigín has an MA in Drama and Theatre Studies and has worked as an actor, director and acting teacher. She says that, “running a restaurant is like putting on a different performance every night”. Drigín’s focus is to ensure that Cava’s performance continues to receive rave reviews.
