The Paso Robles Guide: Best Places to Eat, Play, and Stay in Paso Robles, California

About

The Hatch is a rotisserie with a self-proclaimed comfort food driven menu, known for seasonal items and use of local ingredients. Also known for their bar, The Hatch has a large selection of small batch whiskey, along with craft cocktails created by an award winning bartender who uses local ingredients to make both signature and seasonal drinks. As a fairly small restaurant, The Hatch has an intimate feel and you can see all the drinks and food being made.

The Research

The Hatch was mentioned more than any other restaurant in articles written about Paso Robles. However, there are several other restaurants with just as high ratings, so our visit here was necessary to see if it was worth it’s online notoriety.

Our Experience

We sat at the bar during our visit to The Hatch which gave us a front row seat to the creation of the beautiful and intricate cocktails. We ordered the Mushrooms as our appetizer (per the recommendation of our neighbor at the bar), the Half Rotisserie Chicken with Buttermilk Dip and House Fermented Hot Sauce as our entree, and the Stone Fruit and Burrata for dessert. It was evident that the pairing of elements of each dish were intentional and thought through which produced unique and delicious dishes. Every person we interacted with at The Hatch was exceptionally kind and welcoming. 

Tips & Recommendations

Due to limited seating and the popularity of The Hatch, we’d recommend making a reservation at least one week ahead of time if you can. We called to make a same-day reservation and were not able to get a table until 10PM. Instead, we chose to sit at the bar which had a fairly short wait at the time. If you don’t mind being close to your neighbors, sitting at the bar gives you a front row seat to the creation of the craft cocktails while also avoiding a longer wait for a table.

The Competition

We also visited Fish Gaucho since it was also highly rated and was recommended to us by several locals. While we enjoyed our entire experience at Fish Gaucho, this restaurant did not reflect Paso Robles in any unique way like The Hatch did and we felt that this restaurant could have been located in any city. Not only did The Hatch reflect the values of Paso Robles with its use of local ingredients, but it also had an overall more unique and intimate experience that ultimately made it our top restaurant choice for Paso Robles visitors.

About 

Negranti Creamery is a Paso Robles local ice cream shop located in the Tin City district. In a desire to combine her love for food and animals, Alexis Negranti and her husband Wade bought a flock of sheep, which ultimately led to the creation of their unique ice cream shop. Many of the ice cream flavors are made with sheep’s milk from the Negranti’s flock, which is easier to digest than cow’s milk to those with lactose intolerance.  

The Research

When looking for the best dessert option in Paso Robles, we wanted to find something that most people would love and that was unique to the area. With only a few dessert options in Paso Robles, we only had a few options to consider and Negranti Creamery quickly rose to the top as one of our contenders.

Our Experience

Having never tried ice cream with sheep’s milk before, we were excited to taste it and also had a few questions about what made it different from cow’s milk. The employees at Negranti Creamery were very friendly, and explained to us the background of the creamery and how sheep and cow’s milk affect the ice cream differently. Most notably, people with lactose intolerance can usually enjoy sheep’s milk without discomfort. While sampling flavors from both types of milk, we were excited to see a coffee flavor that used Spearhead Coffee (our pick for best coffee shop). The shop itself is simple but cute,with both indoor and outdoor seating, and there is even a neon sign that is perfect for your Instagram photos. 

The Competition

Brown Butter Cookies is another highly-rated Paso Robles dessert spot that is also delicious and admired by locals. Their cookies have the perfect combination of salty and sweet that makes them truly irresistible. However, they close at 6PM* which prevents them from being a post-dinner dessert option for most people.

About

The Estrella Warbird Museum is an aviation museum that houses a variety of military aircrafts and vehicles—ones that you would only see in movies or history books.  There is also an automotive exhibit called the Woodland Auto Display, showcasing race cars, exotic cars, muscle cars, classic cars, and much more. The Estrella Warbird Museum is open Thursday to Sunday and on some Mondays, and tickets are $12 for adults with other pricing options available for children, students, and veterans*. 

‍The Research

While researching Paso Robles, it was evident that the Estrella Warbirds Museum was a gem of the town. It came highly mentioned in articles written about Paso Robles and was also highly reviewed compared to the competition.

Our Experience

The museum starts inside a small building where you pay the entrance fee and see a few small artifacts on display. Once we walked outside, our jaws dropped when we saw the different vehicles and planes on display. The outdoor part of the museum is on a large lot, and there are various different cars and planes that you would never normally be able to see that close. One of the planes even had a stairs next to it so you could climb up and look inside. Our amazement continued when we went inside to the Woodland Auto Display. It seemed never ending as we kept entering new rooms filled with different types of cars. We felt like we could have spent all day here. 

Tips & Recommendations

Make sure you have enough time to spend here. There is so much to see and you’ll want to make sure that you have 1-2 hours to devote here.  Also, since most of the museum is outside, be sure to consider the weather before you go. 

The Competition

The Paso Robles Pioneer Museum houses many historical artifacts from this town. While it is free admission, it is fairly small, and there isn’t nearly as much to see here as the Estrella Warbird Museum.  

*Price at time of publication.

About

When visiting a pricey town like Paso Robles, it can be difficult to find a budget room that doesn’t sacrifice quality, but Adelaide Inn is just that. With weekday rates starting at only $74*, this is one of the best deals in the area, especially for the quality. Adelaide Inn also has a wide array of amenities, offering their guests complimentary pastries and fruit in the morning, fresh cookies in the afternoon, a pool, a fitness center, and even micro golf.

The Research

We researched all the hotel options in Paso Robles, including other budget-friendly hotels in a similar price range as Adelaide Inn. To our surprise, there were not many other inexpensive lodging options in Paso Robles, and the quality and price point  of Adelaide Inn quickly made in a contender for this category.

Our Experience

Budget hotels sometimes lack in cleanliness and quality, but we did not find this to be the case during our visit. The room was very clean and did not seem to be lacking in any amenities or quality. The grounds at Adelaide in were well maintained and even had a koi pond and pool that made it feel like it was a more expensive hotel.

Tips & Recommendations

Since Adelaide Inn is arguably the most inexpensive hotel in Paso Robles, rooms book up fast in the busy months by travelers looking for a great deal. If you have your dates set for a trip to Paso Robles, don’t wait too long to book at Adelaide Inn.

The Competition

This is the only hotel worth recommending that we could find in Paso Robles that offers rooms below $100*.  Unless you are able to find a better deal on AirBnb, Adelaide Hotel does not have much competition in this category.

*Price at time of publication.

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