California Food and Wine Blog

Archive for the ‘Morro Bay/Cayucos/Los Osos’ Category

Thank you Travelzoo for another great deal on the central coast; 3-course meal dinner for two with wine and coffee at a cute Italian restaurant in Morro Bay, Ca – Giancarlo’s

We entered the restaurant to a friendly crowd with a wrap-around bar integrated into the kitchen and the dining area adjacent on the left. We were greeted by confused waiters and waitresses not accustomed to the busy night due in large part to the travelzoo vouchers that were expiring that week. We were asked to wait while they found our reservation and table, and a short time later a waitress hollered at us from across the room and pointed to a small table by the far wall. We laughed and awkwardly made it to our table and seated ourselves.

The special menu was not written down but instead memorized by the waiter which made for an interesting recital of about 30 options for appetizers and entrees.

We chose the recommended Mussles and Mushroom Polenta – both were very good and quite filling. The mushrooms in truffle oil were mouth-watering and the mussles were quite hearty.

Cozze mediterraneo  
mediterranean style roasted 1 lb of mussels – lemon – garlic – olive oil – tomato – basil

Crostini di polenta ai funghi  
Crispy polenta topped with a mix of mushrooms drizzled with truffle oil

For our entrees I ordered the Crab Ciopinot and Nathan ordered the flank steak – both options from the travelzoo special not on the regular menu. There was some confusion with silverware and utensils for the crab which made for some messy eating, but the flavors of the ciopinot and the succulant scallops were worth the struggle. I ordered an oaky chardonnay which paired wonderfully with the rich fish and breads.

Crab Ciopinot

Nathan enjoyed his flank steak very on the rare side, but I found it a bit bland. His waiter recommended a Pinot Noir and exclaimed that ‘If you don’t like it I promise to drink it!’ It was a little young and not the best recommendation, but Nathan kept it and didn’t take him up on his offer.

Flank Steak

Just for kicks we ordered a couple shots of Grappa which was quite the experience

Grappa!

and saved room for dessert ordering a chocolate souffle a la mode. We sipped our coffee and waited for dessert but the check came first and 20 minutes later when they were wishing us a goodnight we realized they’d forgotten our dessert and then found out they were out of it anyway. Instead we got a rich 3-layer ice cream with cake and chocolate mixed into it. Silverware again came 5 minutes after the dessert, but the dessert was quite good and we did our best not to lick the plate.

As we left the restaurant we got friendly goodbyes and thank yous from everyone behind the bar and kitchen, and our waiter was very friendly and wished us a good night.

The service and flow of dinner was definitely shakey but it sounds like it was due in large part to the inexperience at handling such large guest traffic or preparation for specialty menus. The pricing was reasonable with about $15-$25/entree and with our travelzoo deal we saved over $50 in wine and great food.

Taste: 4.5/5

Value: 4/5

Service 2.5/5

Overall: 3.5/5

It was a beautiful day in Morro Bay with our dog, so we wanted to find a place that was dog-friendly and we could enjoy the weather. On Fridays Dorn’s has red clam chowder, so that tipped them in our favor.

We grabbed a great table on the patio where we could still hear the seals from the pier and had just the right amount of shade from our umbrella. Our waitress and water service was very frequent and friendly, and the dogs were happy too!

I ordered the Cobb salad and it was perfectly refreshing with lots of meat, avocado, blue cheese, and really couldn’t believe how much food it was. Our lunch was served with fresh sourdough bread and butter and lemon-flavored water. Nathan and I shared a bowl of the red clam chowder; it was creamy and the clams had just the right consistency.

The menu is a little on the pricey side with dishes ranging between $9-$15 but overall still very reasonable for the quality and quantity of the food. Definitely recommend on a nice day!

Overall Rating:

http://www.dornscafe.com/