Annie and I took our first overnight away from our 13 month old son last week which I blogged about here…and one of the things we got to check out was a new restaurant in downtown Paso Robles called Second Press.
The actual name of the place is Second Press Wine Bar & Eatery but I’m pretty sure nobody will call it that…so Second Press it is. They are located right across from the park in the building that used to house Meritage Wine Tasting Lounge and I must say, they did a fantastic job (in my opinion) on the interior remodel. If you had ever been in Meritage you’ll know what I’m talking about if you go check the new joint out.
I like where they moved the kitchen to and I dig where they put the bar…good choices. Speaking of the bar, the bar top was pretty cool looking as you’ll see in the slideshow below. The kitchen is open to the restaurant which I think lends itself to a more fun dining experience.
The wine and beer list was solid, there are a couple photos of the menu below as well. We only ordered two food items, crab cakes and a pizza, both of which were great although the pizza won for me. I can easily see this place becoming a regular spot to hang out. I love how the building is perched, it’s above sidewalk level so if you’re near the windows you’re looking out over the park…pretty cool. As many of you know I am pretty damn fond of our downtown park.
The service was great. There was a girl at the door that brought us in and seated us at the bar and our buddy Austin was bartending (we didn’t know he worked there). The staff all seemed solid, it wasn’t crowded on the Tuesday night we went but there were probably a total of 10 to 15 people there while we were and all was well.
So that’s all I got for Second Press for now, I’d definitely say go check it out…I know we’ll be back. As of right now I don’t think they have a website but you can find them on Facebook.
As for the night away from Sammy…it was much needed but we’re hoping to make it a more regular occurrence now that we’ve got one under our belt. The first one was fun but I’d like a little more relaxation so we’ll see what we come up with for the second one.
Hey Hoot!!!
Second Press does have a website…www.secondpress.biz will bring them up. Not sure if you knew who came along to help start up Second Press but Ryan Swarthout is the exec chef and Eric Connolly is the GM…both standouts from Robert’s! We have only visited for the soft opening so the full menu wasn’t up yet but what we did have we really liked…our group of six even got to sit in the “VIP Room” which had sliding doors you could close and nice art work!
Wow Steve, sounds like you guys had a great night. We loved our visit. Hopefully they can keep it going, seems like one of those places that could really take off! Love the vibe in there and the overall feel of the place.
Thanks for sharing! I’ve been wanting to go and check it out, glad you had a nice date night out! Hope to see you guys soon.
Cheers, Sophia! Great place, go check it out. You should come by our pad some time or maybe we’ll swing by your place for Vine St. if you’re around.
I think I know where I’m going next time I pass through town…
Cool spot my friend…let us know when you go and maybe we can meet you.
Glad you guys got out and had the chance to check out Second Press. We loved it! We just happened upon it after it was open about a week. Eric met us at the door and explained how they’re going to make the first level into a lounge where people can just hang out and listen to a bit of live music on the weekends. You’ll be able to order food in there too, so there’ll be no need to move into the restaurant if you’re having a great time in the lounge. Our waiter was Cody and he was awesome! So were the two wines we had, neither of which were Paso (and we were a bit disappointed about that) but we got over it! We ordered up the crab cakes like you guys did & loved them. For the second course, we ordered the deep-fried brussel sprouts. Absolutely delish! Next time we head down there, we’ll try the pizza. ^_^
We loved the pizza, Diane. Interesting about the wine…from my recollection there was a bunch of local wine. Anyways, good place to hang out for sure. Mayber we can meet up there some time.
Sounds fun, Matt! Would be great to see you & Annie again soon. ^_^
Absolutely, Diane!!
Celebrated my daughters birthday here. Bunch of ladies having lunch. overall it was great. I love the décor, very plush. We had the VIP room and that was nice. Several friends were there on there own. Pleased with most everything. My daughter an I had the lobster pizza. Yum, so large we took home half. It was great reheated, too. Only downer for me was the black and white bread pudding. It tasted more like a chopped up brownie, not enough custard, no sauce. I’m going to make my own today. We will go back. Thought I tasted a bit of Roberts there and that’s a good thing, I love Roberts. Berry Hill has a great bread pudding.
Ferne, happy you enjoyed it. We have not had the bread pudding there. Maybe it will be different another time you go. We’re very happy with the place overall, as you are. Nice to have these options in downtown Paso Robles! 🙂