My wife and I recently traveled to Paso Robles to celebrate her birthday. We traveled there to go wine tasting. Drinking good wines automatically causes me to go from drinking mode to one of sipping and savoring instead. In that spirit, we dined al fresco at La Cosecha.
Parklets now line the downtown plaza area in Paso Robles. Due to the chilly weather that evening, tents and heaters were prevalent. Fortunately, our table was next to both a patio heater as well as a hot air blower.
Our server let us know an interesting story about their cocktail menu. La Cosecha’s three bartenders each prepare their best drinks to vie for the restaurant’s specialty page of their cocktail menu. The restaurant owner samples each of the drinks and decides which ones are incorporated into their cocktail menu.
Chef and owner Santos MacDonal hails from Honduras, spent many years working in high profile LA restaurants and more recently co-owns and operates nearby Il Cortile Restaurant. La Cosecha advertises Spanish and Latin American fare. While this holds true with the shareable plates, the menu leans towards Italian with pizzas and hearty entree selections like a grilled ribeye, lamb shank, and an Alaskan Cod.
My wife and I agreed that we were after the Spanish tapas experience and we selected a bunch of shared plates. While it is customary to order local wines, I went after the experience by selecting an Argentine Malbec from the Mendoza wine region. It was smooth and full bodied, with notes of blackberries.
Since MacDonal is from Honduras, I felt impelled to try the “Honduran-style” empanadas. We were rewarded with moist empanadas filled with seasoned ground beef. Our next dish was Seared Scallops and the scallops were nicely seared. What made this dish exceptional was the addition of mashed potatoes with a savory mushrooms parsley sauce.
Grilled octopus is beautifully presented on a bed of potato leek puree. It is topped with pickled red onions, micro cilantro and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. The octopus was perfectly grilled so that wasn’t chewy.
We finished off our meal with an espresso creme brulee and an espresso martini. It was a great finish to a wonderful day.
La Cosecha Bar and Restaurant, 835 12th St, Paso Robles, CA 93446; 805.237.0019
laconsechabr.com