Creative Fine Dining in/near Cambria?

[mstinawu]

I'm looking to make a reservation for a special dinner with my man. Ambiance would be nice, but I am mainly looking for delicious, creative (possibly modern) food. I've been to the websites of a few places (Black Cat, Sow's Ear) and why does it seem like every plate of food comes served with steamed vegetables of broccoli, carrots and zucchini? Eek.

Perhaps I should be looking outside of Cambria? Any recommendations?

[mstinawu]

Just wanted to report back that we ended up at Cass House for a 8:00pm reservation last Friday. I have to say that the service, food, quality and ambiance was over and above my expectations. Shame on me for having little faith on little towns producing wonderful restaurants. I thought the food was fun, creative and the chef EXTREMELY accommodating to my meat and potatoes boyfriend. If I had to nick pick, pacing was a bit off in the middle of the meal and my lamb dish was completely over salted. But everything else including the awesome "bread flight" that came with our dishes was just great. Thanks for the recommendation!

[toodie jane]

Cambria is but a wee village; for creative/modern you will have to look elsewhere. Rest assured the vegetables are from local market farmers; likely you will not have had fresher unless from your own garden.

You will find more adventurous offerings in Paso Robles, about 25 minutes to the east, or at Cass House or Hoppe's in Cayucos, 15 minutes south.

[mstinawu]

I suppose if I can't get creative/modern. What about just creative/fresh/delicious in Cambria? It looks like a lot of restaurants there tout local veggies and seasonal menus. Which of those would you recommend?

[goldangl95]

I've heard the Black Cat is good, but I haven't been. Thomas Hill Organics, Il Cortile and Artisan are all excellent in Paso. Haven' t been to Villa Creek but heard good things.

[toodie jane]

Fresh Ginger is good, also tiny . Robin's is good, nice ambiance in a old home. Hoppe's is great, Cass House is great and pricey.

[syrahgirl]

Artisan is our favorite in the area! :)

[mstinawu]

Want to report back that we also stopped at Robin's for Sunday brunch. We sat in the outdoor patio on a perfect sunny day. The food there was just solid. Tasty, fresh, no fuss. Great suggestion, I would go back again and recommend others to go there too!

[browndogs2]

We haven't been to Cambria in 2 yrs., but we used to go a couple of times a year. Hands down, Wild Ginger was our favorite. Casual rather than fine dining & it is a very small restaurant, but we LOVED the food & have eaten there many, many times. Everything Deb puts on the plate is good, down to the garnishes. We will be returning to Cambria this summer & hope to find it as good as ever. A friend of ours highly recommends Madeline's but we haven't tried it. We also had a good experience at Indigo Moon, both for lunch & dinner. Again, that was 2 yrs. ago, though, at the most recent. The Black Cat was fine but not phenomenal. Same with Robin's - just fine.