Panolivo Restaurant
Paso Robles, CA 93446
Phone: (805) 239-3366
- Hours:
- Wed-Mon 7am-9pm, Tue 7am-3pm
Editorial Description for Panolivo Restaurant
Downtown's casual Mediterranean-influenced French bistro and bakery serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to area merchants, families and low-key tourists.
Insider Tips
What to DrinkThe wine list is extensive, and is dominated by local bottles, with some French selections as well. Corkage is $15 but waived with a per bottle purchase.
Save MoneyThe special weekly bistro menu offers a basic three-course prix fixe for only $22, but it's only available Sunday through Thursday. A special late-lunch/early dinner menu is served nightly.
The ExtrasThe restaurant is available for off-site catering, as well as small parties on-site in its private room.
User Reviews for Panolivo Restaurant
08/18/2008 Posted by PasoWineLovers
Our palettes were introduced to new and amazing fare this past August weekend in Paso Robles. It was our first visit to Panolivo, and it certainly won't be our last. We are regulars to Paso Robles at least twice a year, and had never experienced such delicious gourmet entrees in Paso Robles like this ever before. To be honest, we wished we lived even more locally (we reside in Orange County, CA), because we would visit every week. The four of us are serious "foodies," and everything was impeccable. From the savory appetizers (scallops & baked goat cheese) to the unique entrees (loved the Bison short ribs & sea bass) and unexpected desserts (Basil ice cream was amazing!), the tastes were very balanced and well thought-out. Our sincere compliments to the Chef, as we appreciated her personal visit to our table, as well as her demonstrated passion for Panolivo and its cuisine. We especially enjoyed the sweet breakfast pastries the next morning – a wonderful reminder of the night before.
06/17/2006 Posted by poivriere
We have eaten breakfast many times at the Panolivo in Paso Robles, and really enjoyed it. You can get a tartine beurré, and Béatrice's fromage blanc is delicious. Where else can you get a real French breakfast in central California? Plus they have real French pastry, baked daily. We always stop there when we pass through Paso. Then we saw some really bad reviews on this website, and were puzzled. We have eaten over 200 restaurant dinners in France, so we are pretty familiar with French cuisine, and felt we could review it intelligently. So we went there for dinner last night just to see, and it was outstanding! Starting out, the signature petit pain with olive oil and balsamic vinegar was the best we have ever had, both in presentation and in taste. Then we split an excellent salad of spinach with duck confit, crumbled bacon, toasted pine nuts, and French Roquefort cheese, and it was delicious. We then had the entrées: One of us had the lamb chops in a fig and port reduction. They were as rare as ordered, 3 thick little chops, and the sauce was outstanding. The other had a duck leg in peach sauce, with slices of peach. It too was excellent. Service was without fault, and the meal was not rushed. The wine list was as good as it gets, balanced between French (even a Savennières!) and California, with lots of wines we knew to be good, and no "dogs". We had the excellent Ridge Dusi Vineyards zinfandel. We finished with the best tarte Tatin we have had this side of the Atlantic, better than most we have had in France. Their pastry chef is truly Parisian! So why the bad reviews? Maybe, said our waiter, that they have had some turnover in chefs, with some of them just not working out. The current chef, Tony, seems to be fine. The only thing we found non-French was the serving sizes: they were huge! Oh, and we didn't have to wait half an hour for the bill, as you have to do in France. Now that the excellent Paris Restaurant has closed, Panolivo and Bistro Laurent remain as highlights of French cuisine in Paso Robles (of all places!), and we recommend them both. We also highly recommend the newly-reconditioned Adelaide Inn motel.
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