Cara Bistro & Wine Bar in Newcastle is a relaxed, wine-led bistro built for long, unhurried meals. Opened in October 2025 by Max Crawford, it focuses on small share plates. The wine list is thoughtful and interesting, with less common bottles including Georgian wines.
It's a warm Thursday night when we arrive at Cara Bistro & Wine Bar. So who is Cara? It turns out Cara isn't named after a specific person; Cara is the Gaelic word for good friend and is also an affectionate way to address people in Italian. Cara's owner and Head Chef Max Crawford has a background in wine bars - most recently at Havilah in Launceston. When Max told them he was opening up his own wine bar they sent a pallet of wine.
Cara opened in October 2025 and is located at The Junction square, around 5 minutes drive from the city centre and is a wine bar and bistro where he wanted the wine equal to the food. Indeed the wine list has some interesting wines like a Georgian wine that we all gravitate towards. The food is all about small, share plates. "We want people to lock in, don't rush and take your time," says Max.
We are sitting outside and start with the focaccia that is soft and downy and served with burnt leek butter. I regret to inform you that you will want more than one slice of this per person it's so moreish!
The pickle plate features a range of sweet and salty pickles to get your appetite going.
These petite choux buns are filled with a herby tarragon goat's curd with beetroot. They're a lovely, tasty mouthful.
Our next dish is a favourite at the table. It is ribbons of turmeric pickled pumpkin with succulent prawns and nigella seeds. This dish has a good contrast of flavours and textures although this plate is on the smaller side for the price.
This is their version of potato salad and is an ode to the delicious richness of creme fraiche. It has tender pieces of potato, cod roe, dill and a scoop of creme fraiche. It is super creamy, herby and rich and goes well with the pickled pumpkin and prawns.
We also got to try an item that isn't yet on the menu but is soon to appear on it. It's a tian of blue swimmer crab with green goddess dressing, avocado, tahini, mint and dill and finished with crispy shallots on top.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like eating small share plates or do you prefer a traditional 3 course meal? Which dish do you like the look of?
NQN was a guest of Cara as part of a media group but all opinions remain her own.
Cara Bistro & Wine Bar
The Junction Village 10-16 Kenrick St, The Junction NSW 2291
Phone: 0411 922 444
Wednesday & Thursday 5–10 pm
Friday & Saturday 3–10 pm
Sunday 4–9 pm
Monday & Tuesday closed
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