Fish Gaucho opens with Baja-style Mexican food
A sign above FishGauco beckons diners to downtown.
Pappy McGregor’s owners opened new Paso Robles restaurant
Update: Fish Gaucho is now open for business every evening. Lunches will be offered starting on Monday.
Original story: The owners of Pappy McGregor’s are bringing a taste of California Mexican cuisine to downtown Paso Robles with the opening of their newest eatery, Fish Gaucho. Donovan Schmit co-owns Pappy McGregor’s in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles with his cousin, Troy Larkin. He said the duo’s latest venture will feature fresh fish, various taco offerings, a tequila bar, and more in what he calls a “family-friendly environment.”
“Our favorite food is Baja-style Mexican,” Schmit said. “It’s healthy, everything is fresh, and there are a lot of seafood dishes. We cook this way a lot at home and it’s the favorite type of food of our chef, Chris Beckett.”
Beckett will be moving from his current position at the SLO restaurant kitchen to run the Fish Gaucho kitchen, while Matt Hanson will serve as the dining room/bar manager.
The idea for their new venture came about last September, Schmit says, when the cousins were spending time in Playa del Carmen, south of Cancun. While enjoying the fresh food offerings of the area, they thought, “We need something like this in Paso.”
Set to open in early to mid-June, the restaurant is located on the corner of Park and 13th streets and has been undergoing major renovations for the past several months. Previously occupied by a Renditions Interiors, the space has been updated with a full commercial kitchen.
The inside of the restaurant is currently being remodeled.
Schmit describes the interior as “elegant, colorful, happy and quite unique” – the bar is concrete with a polished, cobalt blue top and the entry chandelier has glass-blown fish hanging from hooks. The furniture, hand-crafted in Guadalajara, arrived last week.
“We wanted it to be bright and full of energy,” Schmit said.
The bar boasts draft and bottled beers, hand-crafted, seasonal cocktails, local wines and, of course – tequila. Currently, Fish Gaucho is set to open with 85 different tequila offerings for customers.
“We are passionate about tequilas, so we wanted to have a great tequila list,” Schmit said. “We are also going to have fresh-squeezed margaritas with unique flavors like watermelon-mint or charred jalapeno-pineapple. They’ll be the type that you find down in Mexico with a new twist.”
Fresh salsas, ceviche, lobster, scallops, tacos, tequila, and more – just in time for summer dining in downtown Paso Robles.
Fish Gaucho, located at 1244 Park St. in Paso Robles, serves lunch and dinner daily. View the menu at www.fishgaucho.com. Schmit said they will be accepting applications for front and back of the house positions leading up to the opening; stop by Mon-Fri to inquire.
This hand-crafted bull will have a prominent position overlooking the bar in the new restaurant.
Comments
