(Photos by Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times; Typography by Los Angeles Times Staff)
Paso Robles goes chic: 17 new things to do in the postcard-worthy town this fall
- Paso Robles, the wine-making center of San Luis Obispo County, has been growing and diversifying.
- More than 200 wineries and tasting rooms operate in the area.
- Along with new hotels and restaurants, attractions like Tin City and the Sensorio light show have gained ground, along with a downtown jazz club and a motorcycle sidecar tour company.
In the last 100 years, Paso Robles has been a hot springs retreat, a cattle ranchers’ town and a haven for upstart winemakers.
And now, as a wine critic might say, it’s a startling blend, with overtones of rising ambition, widening recognition, Southern California money and booming weekend visitation.
Around town, the winery count has passed 200, and many visitors are realizing that you can do much more than eat and drink well. That’s doubly true during fall harvest, when the local social calendar fills with special events.
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Once you’ve made the 200-mile drive up U.S. 101 from Los Angeles, you can hear jazz in a snug basement club, sleep in an elaborately customized shipping container, get champagne and caviar from two separate vending machines, and roar past vineyards in a motorcycle sidecar.
No? Instead maybe tour a winery with its own railroad and airstrip (Halter Ranch), then stand on a hilltop at Sensorio among thousands of changing lights as oak trees loom in silhouette.
Or you can stay focused on the grapes and spend a few days tasting Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Rhône blends or some of the other wine varieties that turn up in the area’s 40,000 acres of vineyards. (Though some winery tasting rooms have bumped their fees up to $50, most fall in the $20 to $30 range.) Whatever you choose, the cool, foggy beaches and pine slopes of Cambria are only 30 miles west on Highway 46.
Moreover, I’d bet that Paso Robles is likely to surprise you. I tested this idea in late summer with a pair of visits, aiming for businesses and attractions that have opened or changed dramatically since 2019. My favorite were the 17 you see here.
There’s more to be found and more coming. The Restaurant at Justin has won a Michelin star and Michelin green star three years running. The 151-room AVA Hotel is due to open downtown in summer 2025, about the same time as a Marriott Residence Inn outside town. Many say Allegretto Vineyard Resort, which opened in 2015 and includes a 171-room hotel, restaurant, spa, conference venue and sonic labyrinth, helped spur a greater range of offerings at the area’s wineries.
Meanwhile, plenty remains from Paso’s plainer days and ranching heritage: the livestock sales at the California Mid-State Fair every summer; the extensive hat and boot inventory in the Boot Barn; the free tastings at Eberle Winery; the Saturday morning farmers market in Templeton Park; and the Paderewski Festival (this year Oct. 31 to Nov. 3).
That last event celebrates the composer, Polish prime minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who came to these parts more than a century ago to soak his arthritic hands in the hot springs of Paso Robles. He wound up buying more than 2,800 nearby acres and planting fruit, almonds and zinfandel grapes.
That’s right — a Polish pianist/politician was a prime Paso pioneer. Too bad he never saw the nine-foot Steinway in Libretto jazz club.
Showing Places
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Sip, dine or ride at Halter Ranch Winery
San Luis Obispo Winery
Out at Halter Ranch, the luxurious flourishes keep multiplying. The 2,700-acre property, which sits about 12 miles from downtown, includes a 256-acre organic estate vineyard; a glass-walled tasting room neighbored by a lunch restaurant called Alice; a scattering of contemporary sculptures; a covered bridge; and Halter Ranch’s own two-mile narrow-gauge railroad, which this year opened to the public on weekends. (It’s an hourlong ride for $50; wine club members get discounts.)
Oh, and the runway. Since 2021, the ranch has opened an airstrip so that private pilots can zip in and out with their well-heeled passengers. Over our lunch at Alice, my wife and I watched a landing.
“Somebody wants wine real bad,” drawled a man at the next table.
The vineyard views from the restaurant and tasting room are classic. Alice’s main dishes are $25 to $40. (I can vouch for the grass-fed beef meatballs with Pecorino Romano, San Marzano tomato pomodoro, market peas and arugula.) Wine-tasting (reservations required) starts at $35 each.
The property also includes two rentable homes, Land Rover tours, winery and cave tours, at varying prices. Halter Ranch, which has sibling properties in Temecula and Fredericksburg, Texas, has been owned since 2000 by Swiss magnate Hansjörg Wyss.
Oh, and the runway. Since 2021, the ranch has opened an airstrip so that private pilots can zip in and out with their well-heeled passengers. Over our lunch at Alice, my wife and I watched a landing.
“Somebody wants wine real bad,” drawled a man at the next table.
The vineyard views from the restaurant and tasting room are classic. Alice’s main dishes are $25 to $40. (I can vouch for the grass-fed beef meatballs with Pecorino Romano, San Marzano tomato pomodoro, market peas and arugula.) Wine-tasting (reservations required) starts at $35 each.
The property also includes two rentable homes, Land Rover tours, winery and cave tours, at varying prices. Halter Ranch, which has sibling properties in Temecula and Fredericksburg, Texas, has been owned since 2000 by Swiss magnate Hansjörg Wyss.
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Sleep at the rustic-chic Farmhouse Paso Robles
Paso Robles Hotel
This is a classic mid-century motel, redone in 2023 to underscore the “farmhouse” vibe — white walls, red tin roofs, little front porches and lots of olive and citrus trees. Inside, youâ€ll find fancy details, from 50-inch TVs to Moroccan rugs, but no pool.
The 26 rooms were built in about 1947 and most are snug (220 to 225 square feet) but have exposed beams above, which helps. Also, the rooms are shared among a dozen buildings on the property, so there aren’t so many shared walls. There’s a central fountain, a fleet of beach-cruiser bikes you can borrow and a few fire pits. (Should we offer a prize to the reader who can find a boutique hotel without fire pits?)
In October and November, rates start at about $400 nightly on weekends, $169 on weeknights.
The 26 rooms were built in about 1947 and most are snug (220 to 225 square feet) but have exposed beams above, which helps. Also, the rooms are shared among a dozen buildings on the property, so there aren’t so many shared walls. There’s a central fountain, a fleet of beach-cruiser bikes you can borrow and a few fire pits. (Should we offer a prize to the reader who can find a boutique hotel without fire pits?)
In October and November, rates start at about $400 nightly on weekends, $169 on weeknights.
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Walk along the Salinas River
Paso Robles Trail
The Salinas River Walk is still young and a little rugged, but it’s a great idea. Right now, it’s a 2-mile flat trail along the Salinas River (which basically separates Paso east from west), heading south for River Road and 13th Street. Eventually, it will be a 30-mile route reaching from San Miguel (north) to Santa Margarita (south).
Strolling or pedaling through (it’s open to bikes), you see riparian vegetation and might glimpse a mule deer. Start or finish at 21-acre Larry Moore Park and you’ll have access to a playground, picnic tables, restrooms, barbecue set-up, basketball court and soccer field.
Strolling or pedaling through (it’s open to bikes), you see riparian vegetation and might glimpse a mule deer. Start or finish at 21-acre Larry Moore Park and you’ll have access to a playground, picnic tables, restrooms, barbecue set-up, basketball court and soccer field.
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See the lights (and geometry) at Sensorio
San Luis Obispo County Attraction
Q: Look at the glow of those hills along Highway 46 on the eastern edge of Paso. Are they growing radioactive grapes out there at the Sensorio vineyards?
A: Not to worry. Sensorio is not a vineyard or winery. It’s an artist’s light installation with thousands of solar-powered fiber-optic points of light, atmospheric music, snacks and drinks, and it’s enormously popular despite hefty prices. There’s no better acreage in Paso for harvesting Instagram images.
Artist Bruce Munro unveiled this project in 2019 with “Field of Light,” a 15-acre installation illuminated by 100,000 spheres with optic fibers inside. Later, Munro added 69 “Light Towers” made of wine bottles (with a powerful a cappella soundtrack by Ladysmith Black Mambazo), then two more works in 2023.
In May, Sensorio added “Dimensions,” a work stressing geometry, light, motion and shadows by an L.A.-based sculptural duo known as HYBYCOZO. In February, Munro is expected to add another large-scale work.
You could easily make it a three-hour stay. There are several bars, a kitchen making burgers and sandwiches, a taco truck, more than a dozen fire rings and an amphitheater with local musicians.
Sensorio is open Thursday through Sunday, September through December (with some exceptions around Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve). Adult admission starts at $65 for access to all of the installations, $45 for the Munro works, $30 for “Dimensions” alone. Check the Sensorio website for hours; they are adjusted as the time of sunset changes.
A: Not to worry. Sensorio is not a vineyard or winery. It’s an artist’s light installation with thousands of solar-powered fiber-optic points of light, atmospheric music, snacks and drinks, and it’s enormously popular despite hefty prices. There’s no better acreage in Paso for harvesting Instagram images.
Artist Bruce Munro unveiled this project in 2019 with “Field of Light,” a 15-acre installation illuminated by 100,000 spheres with optic fibers inside. Later, Munro added 69 “Light Towers” made of wine bottles (with a powerful a cappella soundtrack by Ladysmith Black Mambazo), then two more works in 2023.
In May, Sensorio added “Dimensions,” a work stressing geometry, light, motion and shadows by an L.A.-based sculptural duo known as HYBYCOZO. In February, Munro is expected to add another large-scale work.
You could easily make it a three-hour stay. There are several bars, a kitchen making burgers and sandwiches, a taco truck, more than a dozen fire rings and an amphitheater with local musicians.
Sensorio is open Thursday through Sunday, September through December (with some exceptions around Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve). Adult admission starts at $65 for access to all of the installations, $45 for the Munro works, $30 for “Dimensions” alone. Check the Sensorio website for hours; they are adjusted as the time of sunset changes.
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Look for room at the Stables Inn
Paso Robles Hotel
Yet another former motel reborn as a Paso boutique lodging, the 19-room Stables Inn embraces cowboy style and upscale amenities all at once. You’ll see antlers on one wall and horseshoes set into the walkways. The biggest suite is called a bunkhouse. Sheets are Egyptian linen and the flat screen TVs measure 43 inches.
One notable drawback: no swimming pool.
The inn, which opened in 2020, stands three blocks from Downtown City Park. Rates start around $160 on weekdays, $300 on weekends. Dogs are allowed ($25 per day).
One notable drawback: no swimming pool.
The inn, which opened in 2020, stands three blocks from Downtown City Park. Rates start around $160 on weekdays, $300 on weekends. Dogs are allowed ($25 per day).
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Turn back time at the Melody Ranch Motel
Paso Robles Hotel
This is a 1950 motel, run by the same family since about 1960. It’s profoundly old school — no website and minimal modernization. It’s also clean and affordable, with friendly staff, a modest pool and location on the main drag. My family has stayed here more than once.
It has 19 rooms, mostly priced at $100 to $200 nightly, a Bible in each. Reservations are taken by phone or in person. Check out the walls of the office and you’ll see the owners’ family.
It has 19 rooms, mostly priced at $100 to $200 nightly, a Bible in each. Reservations are taken by phone or in person. Check out the walls of the office and you’ll see the owners’ family.
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Check out the sights and lights in Downtown City Park
Paso Robles Park
Before you head for the hills (where so many tasting rooms await), make time for Downtown City Park. It’s the soothing green rectangle at 12th and Spring Streets with a playground, 1908 Carnegie library (now home to the Paso Robles History Museum), the occasional busker (which is new for Paso) and a farmers market next door on Tuesday and Saturday mornings.
Since last fall, the park has been under a new spotlight — actually, hundreds of them. After a new batch of holiday lights in 2023 seemed to boost energy and commerce, downtown leaders put up a new set of nonholiday lights in April.
The new lights dangle from 21 of the park’s tall trees, giving the park a happy glow after dark. Come November, they’ll be swapped out for holiday decorations, but the lights will return and the park’s future, it seems safe to say, will be brighter.
As you stroll past park-facing businesses, be assured there are tasty cookies at Brown Butter Cookie Company, all sorts of art at Studios on the Park; and plenty of gifts and home goods at Firefly and General Store Paso Robles. Also, be advised that when locals recommend you try Bistro Laurent, they’re talking about the longstanding, well-loved restaurant at 12th and Pine that’s now known as BL Brasserie.
The park hosts events throughout the year, including concerts, movies, car shows, Pioneer Day (Oct. 12 this year) and Harvest Wine Month, which fills October.
Since last fall, the park has been under a new spotlight — actually, hundreds of them. After a new batch of holiday lights in 2023 seemed to boost energy and commerce, downtown leaders put up a new set of nonholiday lights in April.
The new lights dangle from 21 of the park’s tall trees, giving the park a happy glow after dark. Come November, they’ll be swapped out for holiday decorations, but the lights will return and the park’s future, it seems safe to say, will be brighter.
As you stroll past park-facing businesses, be assured there are tasty cookies at Brown Butter Cookie Company, all sorts of art at Studios on the Park; and plenty of gifts and home goods at Firefly and General Store Paso Robles. Also, be advised that when locals recommend you try Bistro Laurent, they’re talking about the longstanding, well-loved restaurant at 12th and Pine that’s now known as BL Brasserie.
The park hosts events throughout the year, including concerts, movies, car shows, Pioneer Day (Oct. 12 this year) and Harvest Wine Month, which fills October.
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Eat and drink among small-batch innovators at Tin City
San Luis Obispo Tasting rooms and restaurants
Once, Tin City was going to be an industrial park about four miles south of downtown Paso. But about 15 years ago, a developer named Mike English and some rebel wine and beer people came up with something else. The result is a 20-acre constellation of mostly small-batch tasting rooms, breweries, distilleries, restaurants and food-and-drink businesses that will happily occupy you for an afternoon, an evening or both. Tin City proper (there’s also an annex) has about 40 tenants, including about 25 tasting rooms, many housed in cleverly adapted buildings with tin siding.
Don’t miss the triple threat posed by Etto Pasta Bar (lunch and dinner with an empasis on Italian dishes made from local ingredients); Etto Pastificio (a pasta factory where you can buy the fresh-made product); and Giornata Wines. Etto’s main dishes are $16 to $23, shareable dishes $38 to $90.
Two other popular spots are Field Recordings Winery and BarrelHouse Brewing Co., whose patio is a great place for live music on weekends, with plenty of room at the picnic tables. (There’s food along with the beer, so kids are welcome.) It’s only a few steps from there to Negranti Creamery, whose ice cream is made from sheep’s milk.
If you’re a gourmet ready to put yourself in the hands of a celebrated chef, perhaps the greatest surprise in Tin City is the Michelin star-winning Six Test Kitchen. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s a 12-seat dining room with a 12-course tasting menu conceived by chef Ricky Odbert, seasonally based, $235 per person. (Warning: No changes are made for vegetarians, vegans or people with gluten or dairy issues.)
Don’t miss the triple threat posed by Etto Pasta Bar (lunch and dinner with an empasis on Italian dishes made from local ingredients); Etto Pastificio (a pasta factory where you can buy the fresh-made product); and Giornata Wines. Etto’s main dishes are $16 to $23, shareable dishes $38 to $90.
Two other popular spots are Field Recordings Winery and BarrelHouse Brewing Co., whose patio is a great place for live music on weekends, with plenty of room at the picnic tables. (There’s food along with the beer, so kids are welcome.) It’s only a few steps from there to Negranti Creamery, whose ice cream is made from sheep’s milk.
If you’re a gourmet ready to put yourself in the hands of a celebrated chef, perhaps the greatest surprise in Tin City is the Michelin star-winning Six Test Kitchen. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s a 12-seat dining room with a 12-course tasting menu conceived by chef Ricky Odbert, seasonally based, $235 per person. (Warning: No changes are made for vegetarians, vegans or people with gluten or dairy issues.)
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Dine with distinction at In Bloom
Paso Robles Restaurant
I ate many good meals while researching this story, but dinner at In Bloom was my favorite.
The restaurant opened in 2022, serving contemporary California cuisine. Servers in the contemporary dining room urge guests to share small dishes, ordering two or three per person.
I started with mixed green salad (with savory granola); and a corn dip with Brentwood corn (known for sweetness), pepper jam, Crescenza cheese and sesame crackers. Later came cavatelli (with nduja paste and snap peas) and yukon gold potatoes with scamorza fonduta, pickled onion and smoked onion. Cleverly complementary textures and flavors. Startling freshness. Friendly, well-informed service and good-looking plates, too.
Most dishes are priced at $18 to $39, with meat and seafood plates up to $72. The menu thanks a dozen nearby farms for supplying ingredients.
The restaurant opened in 2022, serving contemporary California cuisine. Servers in the contemporary dining room urge guests to share small dishes, ordering two or three per person.
I started with mixed green salad (with savory granola); and a corn dip with Brentwood corn (known for sweetness), pepper jam, Crescenza cheese and sesame crackers. Later came cavatelli (with nduja paste and snap peas) and yukon gold potatoes with scamorza fonduta, pickled onion and smoked onion. Cleverly complementary textures and flavors. Startling freshness. Friendly, well-informed service and good-looking plates, too.
Most dishes are priced at $18 to $39, with meat and seafood plates up to $72. The menu thanks a dozen nearby farms for supplying ingredients.
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Swim in mid-century style at the River Lodge (and eat at Ciao Papi restaurant)
Paso Robles Hotel
The River Lodge is a born-again mid-century motel with Googie flourishes. In its new life, which began in April 2024, it’s a boutique lodging with a 21-and-over pool, poolside bar, restaurant, hot tub, fire pit and pet area.
The boomerang-shaped lodge holds 28 guest rooms. Most face their own little front lawn. The patio restaurant, Ciao Papi, offers brunch, lunch and dinner and an Italian Riviera vibe. (Try the pasta primavera, which features noodles from the nearby Etto Pastificio pasta factory.)
The rooms’ interior elements are just as much fun as the updated Googie design outside: window seats, fireplaces, custom furniture and neo-Western art. Bedside, instead of a Gideon’ Bible you get curated book selections including “Where I Was From” by Joan Didion, “The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin and “The 24-Hour Wine Expert” by Jancis Robinson.
The River Lodge’s name comes from the Salinas River, which trickles nearby, alongside U.S. 101. The vintage red MOTEL sign hovers above like a friendly emissary from the planet Googie. The most affordable River Lodge rooms are known as cozy kings (about 225 square feet). Weekend rates in through mid-November start at $454, weekdays as low as $169. (The hotel’s management, Nomada Group, is also behind the Farmhouse Motel.)
The lodge stands three miles south of downtown Paso, so you can’t walk much of anywhere. But by car, it’s a quick hop to Tin City, the town of Templeton, and the 20-plus wineries — along Highway 46 west.
The boomerang-shaped lodge holds 28 guest rooms. Most face their own little front lawn. The patio restaurant, Ciao Papi, offers brunch, lunch and dinner and an Italian Riviera vibe. (Try the pasta primavera, which features noodles from the nearby Etto Pastificio pasta factory.)
The rooms’ interior elements are just as much fun as the updated Googie design outside: window seats, fireplaces, custom furniture and neo-Western art. Bedside, instead of a Gideon’ Bible you get curated book selections including “Where I Was From” by Joan Didion, “The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin and “The 24-Hour Wine Expert” by Jancis Robinson.
The River Lodge’s name comes from the Salinas River, which trickles nearby, alongside U.S. 101. The vintage red MOTEL sign hovers above like a friendly emissary from the planet Googie. The most affordable River Lodge rooms are known as cozy kings (about 225 square feet). Weekend rates in through mid-November start at $454, weekdays as low as $169. (The hotel’s management, Nomada Group, is also behind the Farmhouse Motel.)
The lodge stands three miles south of downtown Paso, so you can’t walk much of anywhere. But by car, it’s a quick hop to Tin City, the town of Templeton, and the 20-plus wineries — along Highway 46 west.
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See history updated at the Paso Robles Inn
Paso Robles Hotel
This is the city’s oldest hotel, a survivor of fire and many a change of fashion since its debut in 1889. After a new owner took over last year, the inn renovated its grounds and its 98 rooms and suites, finishing up in September.
The new look aims to honor history with plenty of cowboy imagery and retains the hotel’s redbrick exteriors, but the landscaping is more lush and inside, the design is bright and bolder, with little SMEG fridges. Rooms start at 249 square feet. The 12 guest rooms in the hotel ballroom, now known as the 1889 House, have a more Victorian feel (and they’re 375 square feet).
The steakhouse and coffee shop are still downstairs. The Cattleman’s Lounge upstairs, looking down upon Downtown City Park across the street, is the place to be for the Pioneers Day parade every October. The inn has capped the hot springs that helped make the town’s reputation a century ago, but an ample pool remains and the inn still feels like the center of Paso civilization. (You can still soak in the pools at River Oak Hot Springs north of town; or in the rustic pool and pond at Franklin Hot Springs south of town.)
Fall rates at the Paso Robles Inn start at about $215 on weekdays, about $430 on weekends. Prices are higher and amenities are swankier at the inn’s next-door sibling, the Piccolo, which opened in 2019 with 24 rooms. Piccolo also has Paso’s only rooftop bar, Tetto.
The new look aims to honor history with plenty of cowboy imagery and retains the hotel’s redbrick exteriors, but the landscaping is more lush and inside, the design is bright and bolder, with little SMEG fridges. Rooms start at 249 square feet. The 12 guest rooms in the hotel ballroom, now known as the 1889 House, have a more Victorian feel (and they’re 375 square feet).
The steakhouse and coffee shop are still downstairs. The Cattleman’s Lounge upstairs, looking down upon Downtown City Park across the street, is the place to be for the Pioneers Day parade every October. The inn has capped the hot springs that helped make the town’s reputation a century ago, but an ample pool remains and the inn still feels like the center of Paso civilization. (You can still soak in the pools at River Oak Hot Springs north of town; or in the rustic pool and pond at Franklin Hot Springs south of town.)
Fall rates at the Paso Robles Inn start at about $215 on weekdays, about $430 on weekends. Prices are higher and amenities are swankier at the inn’s next-door sibling, the Piccolo, which opened in 2019 with 24 rooms. Piccolo also has Paso’s only rooftop bar, Tetto.
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Contain yourself, with style, at the Geneseo Inn
San Luis Obispo Hotel
The Geneseo Inn is an 8-unit hotel surrounded by 145 acres of vineyards of Cass Winery, and the rooms are made of solar-powered shipping containers. But there’s nothing rustic about it.
Most of the rooms are made up of two containers with a covered breezeway in between, so you’ll have close to 400 square feet and a balcony with views of the vineyards and surrounding hills. (There’s one suite, which is bigger.) White walls, abundant windows, no televisions. The units are elevated, with parking below. It opened in June 2020.
From March through November, most weekends are booked up with wedding parties. But in cooler months — and on weekdays year-round — these rooms are attainable, usually at $325 to $500 nightly. The inn (and Cass Winery) are about nine miles east of downtown Paso Robles.
Also of note: The inn’s rooms are named for songs, with subtle design details to match. Among the names: “Country Road,” “Changes,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “White Rabbit,” “At Last,” “Easy Rider,” “Ebony & Ivory” and “Gaia,” (a deep cut from James Taylor about Mother Earth).
Most of the rooms are made up of two containers with a covered breezeway in between, so you’ll have close to 400 square feet and a balcony with views of the vineyards and surrounding hills. (There’s one suite, which is bigger.) White walls, abundant windows, no televisions. The units are elevated, with parking below. It opened in June 2020.
From March through November, most weekends are booked up with wedding parties. But in cooler months — and on weekdays year-round — these rooms are attainable, usually at $325 to $500 nightly. The inn (and Cass Winery) are about nine miles east of downtown Paso Robles.
Also of note: The inn’s rooms are named for songs, with subtle design details to match. Among the names: “Country Road,” “Changes,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “White Rabbit,” “At Last,” “Easy Rider,” “Ebony & Ivory” and “Gaia,” (a deep cut from James Taylor about Mother Earth).
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Explore Paso Market Walk, the city's first food hall
Paso Robles Food hall
At Paso’s first food hall you can grab ramen, coffee, vegan cheese, gelato, burgers, olive, Neapolitan-style pizza, small-batch beer or (you knew this was coming) wine.
There are 16 food-and-drink-focused shops and eateries, along with an e-bike rental station. On warm days, you can also get out of the heat, because most of it is indoors.
You can also learn how to blend wines in a class at the Blending Lab, which opened in July in the building’s loft. Elsewhere upstairs, there are six rentable loft rooms and suites (400 square feet and up, $230 per night and up).
The Market Walk, which opened in August 2020 on busy Spring Street, is bracketed by two restaurants. To the south at 18th Street is Finca, known for Baja/Sonora-style Mexican food (including weekend breakfast tacos), and housed in a rehabbed Victorian home that once held a longtime local nursery. To the north at 19th Street is In Bloom, which opened in 2022.
There are 16 food-and-drink-focused shops and eateries, along with an e-bike rental station. On warm days, you can also get out of the heat, because most of it is indoors.
You can also learn how to blend wines in a class at the Blending Lab, which opened in July in the building’s loft. Elsewhere upstairs, there are six rentable loft rooms and suites (400 square feet and up, $230 per night and up).
The Market Walk, which opened in August 2020 on busy Spring Street, is bracketed by two restaurants. To the south at 18th Street is Finca, known for Baja/Sonora-style Mexican food (including weekend breakfast tacos), and housed in a rehabbed Victorian home that once held a longtime local nursery. To the north at 19th Street is In Bloom, which opened in 2022.
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Go French for dinner at Les Petites Canailles
Paso Robles Restaurant
Since opening in 2019, this sophisticated French restaurant has shown up on a lot of “best of” lists — for good reason. Its wine list is epic (57 pages) and the ratatouille brings vegetable flavors and textures together in spectacular fashion. For gourmets, there is a “trust us” menu — five chef-chosen courses for $108. For the rest of us, main dishes run $34 to $52.
The dining atmosphere (dinner only) is lively and welcoming, with concrete floors and high ceilings. Owner and chef Julien Asseo, born in France, is the son of L’Aventure Winery owner Stephan Asseo. Together the Asseos and friends are known fondly in town as Paso’s “French mafia.”
Reserve well ahead. And don’t miss the cool cow mural on the restaurant’s north exterior wall.
The dining atmosphere (dinner only) is lively and welcoming, with concrete floors and high ceilings. Owner and chef Julien Asseo, born in France, is the son of L’Aventure Winery owner Stephan Asseo. Together the Asseos and friends are known fondly in town as Paso’s “French mafia.”
Reserve well ahead. And don’t miss the cool cow mural on the restaurant’s north exterior wall.
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Roll with Third Wheel Tours
San Luis Obispo Sidecar tours
Here’s a new way to look at vineyards — seated in a two-person sidecar while a driver from Third Wheel Tours steers you up and down the backroads.
Chances are good that the wraparound views and wind in your face will give you a new appreciation of the landscape. The company started in 2022, using five custom-made sidecars attached to Royal Enfield motorcycles with 650cc engines. The sidecars can be snug in back, but there’s plenty of legroom for whoever sits in front, and the ride is smooth.
Tours begin at Cass Winery (which also has a tasting room, restaurant and the Geneseo Inn), about nine miles east of downtown Paso Robles. Several options are offered, the most popular of which is a two-hour tour of the Cass vineyards ($105 per person), including wine-tasting on site.
We tried the one-hour Explore Paso tour ($50 per person), which had us zooming the backroads with commentary by driver Frank Gonzales and a glimpse of the horse farm once owned by the late Alex Trebek.
“When you’re on a motorcycle, you see everything,” Gonzales said.
Most of the time you’re going about 25 mph (but it seems faster because you’re low to the ground and exposed to the wind). Kids aged 7 and older are allowed, and helmets are required for all.
Chances are good that the wraparound views and wind in your face will give you a new appreciation of the landscape. The company started in 2022, using five custom-made sidecars attached to Royal Enfield motorcycles with 650cc engines. The sidecars can be snug in back, but there’s plenty of legroom for whoever sits in front, and the ride is smooth.
Tours begin at Cass Winery (which also has a tasting room, restaurant and the Geneseo Inn), about nine miles east of downtown Paso Robles. Several options are offered, the most popular of which is a two-hour tour of the Cass vineyards ($105 per person), including wine-tasting on site.
We tried the one-hour Explore Paso tour ($50 per person), which had us zooming the backroads with commentary by driver Frank Gonzales and a glimpse of the horse farm once owned by the late Alex Trebek.
“When you’re on a motorcycle, you see everything,” Gonzales said.
Most of the time you’re going about 25 mph (but it seems faster because you’re low to the ground and exposed to the wind). Kids aged 7 and older are allowed, and helmets are required for all.
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Eat an ambitious bistro meal at Parchetto by the park
Paso Robles Restaurant
This black-tablecloth bistro, opened in July, delivers tasty Italian food with a California garden-to-table sensibility, but also a big-city feel, jazz on the stereo and abstract art beneath its old-school stamped-tin ceiling.
My snap pea soup at lunchtime was so fresh, it was startling. And the Italian sausage sandwich that followed was rich and hearty.
Parchetto, whose name was inspired by the park a block away, serves lunch and dinner everyday but Monday. Dinner main dishes run $35 to $55. Owners Santos and Carole MacDonal are the same team that’s been behind the popular Italian fine-dining spot Il Cortile on 12th Street since 2009.
My snap pea soup at lunchtime was so fresh, it was startling. And the Italian sausage sandwich that followed was rich and hearty.
Parchetto, whose name was inspired by the park a block away, serves lunch and dinner everyday but Monday. Dinner main dishes run $35 to $55. Owners Santos and Carole MacDonal are the same team that’s been behind the popular Italian fine-dining spot Il Cortile on 12th Street since 2009.
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(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Step down and listen up at Libretto jazz club
Paso Robles Jazz club
This jazz club, opened in 2021, lurks underground along one the city’s liveliest blocks — Park Street between 12th and 13th, which includes popular restaurants and bars like Fish Gaucho, Cane Tiki Room and Parchetto.
Once you step down into Libretto you see just how snug and stylish it is, with walls of stone, brick and wood and only enough tables and booths to hold 62 people. These are clustered around a stage that’s dominated by a nine-foot Steinway concert grand piano. (I can’t imagine how the delivery team got it into the room.)
Beer and wine are on the menu. For most shows (generally on weekends) there’s a $50 cover charge with no minimum order. There’s usually a first show at 6 p.m. and a second at 8 p.m. — which means that even if you choose the late show, you’re done by 10 p.m.
The club is co-owned by pianist-producer-composer Corey Jordan and Katelyn Smith, longtime locals who also opened AMSTRDM coffee house on 13th Street in 2020.
Think of Libretto as counterpoint to the 3,300-seat Vina Robles Amphitheater, which offers pop shows April through November. In this intimate setting, nobody talks during a song.
Recent and upcoming performers include singer Jane Monheit, pianist Matt Rollings and bassist Trevor Ware, whose quartet I heard in September.
“I just want to say before we get started that this is a really cool space,” Ware said from the stage. “You all have got something special here.”
Once you step down into Libretto you see just how snug and stylish it is, with walls of stone, brick and wood and only enough tables and booths to hold 62 people. These are clustered around a stage that’s dominated by a nine-foot Steinway concert grand piano. (I can’t imagine how the delivery team got it into the room.)
Beer and wine are on the menu. For most shows (generally on weekends) there’s a $50 cover charge with no minimum order. There’s usually a first show at 6 p.m. and a second at 8 p.m. — which means that even if you choose the late show, you’re done by 10 p.m.
The club is co-owned by pianist-producer-composer Corey Jordan and Katelyn Smith, longtime locals who also opened AMSTRDM coffee house on 13th Street in 2020.
Think of Libretto as counterpoint to the 3,300-seat Vina Robles Amphitheater, which offers pop shows April through November. In this intimate setting, nobody talks during a song.
Recent and upcoming performers include singer Jane Monheit, pianist Matt Rollings and bassist Trevor Ware, whose quartet I heard in September.
“I just want to say before we get started that this is a really cool space,” Ware said from the stage. “You all have got something special here.”
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