A Fun Afternoon at La Cosecha in Paso Robles

We enjoyed a fun afternoon at La Cosecha in Paso Robles, Carol and Santos MacDonal’s other restaurant. Their first restaurant in town, Il Cortile has been a stunning success since opening and La Cosecha is quickly finding it’s way into many of the hearts of Paso Roblans. Situated right across from the town’s central park, it offers an eating bar facing the street that is basically outdoors yet sheltered under an awning. It’s a perfect place to sit and people watch while enjoying a warm summer day!

We were greeted by their restauranteur and host, Sherman. It is always a delight to see his friendly smiling face and converse about the current local happenings. Sherman is dedicated to the MacDonal’s and shares the same vision regarding a quality dining experience for their patrons.

On the weekends, they offer a custom Bloody Mary menu where you can select your own choice of ingredients. It starts with a selection of numerous vodkas at a reasonable drink price of $7. You can select one that is more premium for an additional $2, certainly still reasonable, but unnecessary since you are mixing it with tomato juice anyway. The garnishes they offer are plentiful and yummy! I decided upon celery, lime, blue cheese olives, bacon and their “spice it up” selection to  give it a little punch. It was fantastic especially the bacon which was a thick, meaty, sugar cured slice of deliciousness.

The Tortilla Soup which was our first course was not your typical version of an either watery or over-thickened soup lacking flavor. This was a bowl of a heavenly robust blend of flavors constituting a wonderful soup with perfect texture and minimal garnishes; just enough to finish it off. 

We were ordering from their weekend Brunch menu which offers a small selection of starters, salads, sandwiches, breakfast items and entrees. It was near the end of the afternoon, so we decided to chose fish selections from the entree list.

The Grilled White Fish entree was Seabass served with an heirloom tomato white wine sauce, pureed white sweet potatoes and a side of steamed cauliflower and krispy kale. The sweet potatoes are a signature item of Santos’ and are  creamy and perfect every time! I liked the combination of the cauliflower and the kale as it was good and a little different. The sauce on the fish was delicious. My only complaint is that the fish was a little well done. Although I loved the char on the outside, Sea Bass should be slightly underdone to keep the moisture intact and this fish was not, so it was a bit dry.

The Salmon, however WAS cooked perfectly! The red bell pepper sauce was not one that I would have thought paired well with salmon, however it did, and it was yummy. The dish included the same vegetables and a requested side salad in lieu of a starch. The leftover salmon was even delicious the following day!

Feeling full from the meal, we did not opt for dessert. However, we have eaten at La Cosecha many times before so I can share a few of my favorites from their regular menu. Their fried calamari with aji amarillo (a peruvian yellow chile pepper) and jalapeño aioli is scrumptious! The sauce is one of the best accompaniments I’ve had with calamari and I’ve eaten it everywhere! The pan seared scallops are amazing and the braised buffalo short ribs are delish! That is just to name a few. The best thing I like is that they serve small plate portions. That way you get to enjoy a variety of flavors from different dishes and don’t walk out feeling remorseful that you have stuffed yourself beyond control.

It is wonderful to have these two exquisite restaurants in our small town and we thankfully patronize them whenever we can. They are always my first recommendation to out of town guests, as I am confident that it will result in an enjoyable experience!