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Paso Robles: Artisan

1401 Park Street , Phone: (805) 237-8084
www.artisanpasorobles.com

Reviewed by: Colleen from CA (moderator), review #2381

When: 2007

Loved the food and service at this restaurant! A sophisticated menu - very well executed.

Directions: Just around the corner from the downtown city park. Map and directions on website.

Four of us were in town for the weekend, and wanted to treat ourselves to a nice dinner. We stopped by Artisan about 11am on Saturday to check it out, and liked it enough that we decided to try for a reservation that night. They were booked (except at 5:30 ... uh, no thanks), but put our name on a waiting list and told us to check back later in the afternoon. They called us at about 4 and said they had an opening at 8:30 - we grabbed it!

We wandered in at about 8 to a very lively restaurant and wine bar scene. The hostess checked the table situation, and was able to seat us right away. Our table was in the middle of the restaurant, and it was fairly noisy. There were a couple of large (12+) parties contributing to the noise; once they left it was more comfortable.

To start, we ordered 1 glass of champagne, 1 glass of wine, bottled water and three appetizers: crispy calamari, ale battered gulf prawns on a bed of smoked almonds and green beans, and seared yellow fin tuna tartare with fried green tomatoes ... when was the last time you saw them on a menu in California??

Everything was superb!! We snarfed it all down (including the extra order of out-of-this-world juicy and tasty prawns that came to the table) and practically licked the plates clean.

Temporarily satisfied, we then ordered three entrees: Venison Wellington (tender and flavorful), Angus Rib-eye with blue cheese fritters (delish!), and pan roasted sea bass with lobster risotto (also yummy). Notice how we skipped right over a salad/greens course? Yep, direct from fried food to meat! Oh, everything was so good my mouth is watering just thinking about that meal.

Wait a minute - we *did* have a vegetable course! David and I agreed that we "needed" to try the Garlic Herb Shoestring Fries with house made ketchup. We felt much healthier after eating them. :D

Onward to dessert! Yes, we all managed to "save room for dessert" ... Initially our order was limited to the creme brulee trio and profiterole sundae. Before our server left with the order, I hinted strongly that the Meyer lemon cheesecake would be warmly welcomed by me, so it was added, too.

We tasted the desserts and all I can say is WOW. The plates were passed around the table to sounds of mmmm and oh and ah ... and a few elbows were jabbed to keep certain plates circulating. :D I don't even like creme brulee, but if you're gonna be ordered to "just taste it!" - this is the place. That dish also had these bite-sized pecan pie filling-like squares that were incredibly good.

All in all, a fabulous dinner. Total for the meal (including $10 corkage fee for a bottle of wine we brought) was just over $200 without tip.

We were impressed by the sophisticated menu, truly outstanding food, attentive but not hovering service, and the friendly attitude of the staff. As we were leaving, we saw the Executive Chef/owner Chris Kobayashi at the bar. He smiled and waved to us and said thank you and good night. We will be back!

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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