Brother’s Cafe 3:16 was a good sized place with indoor and outdoor dining, 7 days a week for breakfast and lunch. Located in a shopping center, there’s plenty of of free parking. Bright and clean there were seats at the counter facing the window to the kitchen as well as two sizes of bare wood tables. Red artificial blooms were striking decorations. Service was efficient, friendly and helpful. Portions were generous and the food was good. There was a large percentage of Mexican favorites but also plenty of standard breakfast foods. I would easily go again and suggest it as a dining option when in Paso Robles. Continue reading →
building – 849 13th St, Paso Robles, CA 93446-2220
Somm’s Kitchen was a 16 seat counter tasting menu with paired wines by Chef/Sommelier Ian Adamo. There was just one seating per night with all coming at the same time. The concept was to serve 8 courses with two paired wines for each course as he discusses the wines their effect on the food. He’s been doing this for thirteen years and was an engaging host. He wanted guests to relax and enjoy the experience and in that mode he started with a round the bar self introduction of the guest pairs and all but one (a local winemaker) were there for their first visit. The horseshoe shaped granite bar was in a darkened room with sporatic music in the background. Adamo grew up in New York, attended some school in England and also guides wine/food trips. There is one dishwasher in the back but otherwise this was all his show as he happily poured wines as talked about how he prepared the food he was about to serve. All the courses are shared plates so find someone to go with you. This was a totally unique experience in the casualness – no menu, not list of wines and fast talking host but it’s compelling. He thinks up the menu and even dished out some foods he was still working on. Wines were not all from California and there was no real chance for pictures of them, so the details of the meal are slim. Nevertheless it’s one I’d recommend to my adventurous eaters – it’s a night of fun, good flavors and the chance to make new friends. All reservations are pre-paid so when you’re through, that’s it. Continue reading →
Red Scooter Deli is on the main square in Paso Robles and open 7 days a week for breakfast and lunch. Stephanie Johnston opened the deli in December 2010 and is actively involved in the Paso community. The place has no indoor dining options but does have a number of outdoor tables where you can eat your selections. It’s a tiny place to go inside where you order and pick up any chips, drinks or cookies, etc that you want to go with your food. They have tons of sandwich combinations or you can design your own. We tried 2 of their plain sandwiches as opposed to the box where they come with sides. They also have options for gluten free, vegan and vegetarian eaters. I love the idea of a female owned and operated business and the people working there were very nice, but the food we tried was mixed and smaller in portion than the sandwich we had at High Street Deli.
building – 11680 Chimney Rock Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446
The restaurant at JUSTIN Winery was led by Executive Chef Rachel Haddstrom (who we never saw) and offered seasonal menus with ingredients sourced from the onsite 26 acre farm for dinner Thursday through Sunday. They have one Michelin star and a Michelin Green Star. It’s a large place with lots of buildings and at first Google maps sent us to the wrong spot, but after some searching with another lost diner we found the right spot. As you entered what looked like a large house you walk through the first room of wines, foods and souvenirs for sale and then into a huge bar room. There were no seats but tons of glasses because, I assume, that’s where they do wine tastings. Keep going and we got to the indoor dining room which had a glass wall to some of the vineyards and the outside patio tables, which were all covered with white cloths. Windows in the bar area looked out on more vineyards and unclothed patio tables. Quite an operation and more staff than diners. They offered one tasting menu with some optional supplemental courses and an option for the main course with an additional charge. Wine pairings were offered with extra charges for wines to go with added courses. The basic tasting was $225 per person with pairings adding $110 and with supplements you could easily add over $200. We chose the basic tasting with pairings and added the cheese course supplement. It was a beautiful setting and pretty food but for the drive and money I way preferred Six Test Kitchen. Continue reading →
exterior – 3075 Blue Rock Rd, Unit B, Paso Robles, CA 93446
Six Test Kitchen is in a place called Tin City and run by a very talented chef Ricky Odbert. Named because Chef started the venture in his dad’s garage as a six seat pop-up. Now it’s in a commercial/retail development of tin buildings, what else? Inside it’s anything but tin though. Twelve very lucky people are seated at a beautiful counter and receive a tasting menu that’s beautifully presented and prepared. Chef Odbert is tremendously helped by the talented sommelier John Seals who designs pairings for the meal but also can suggest some wonderful interesting bottles to use instead. The guests are staggered in their seating times so you may not be eating what the person beside you is. One of the four chefs working in the open kitchen present and describe your courses and I was lucky to get a printed menu following the meal to help me with my scribbled notes. It was a really fabulous evening and one I’d suggest to anyone traveling in the area, but reservations are popular so book early. They’ve had one Michelin Star since 2021 and were the first restaurant in the area to receive one. Continue reading →
