Peruvian restaurant opening in Paso Robles
Jackeline and Nicola Allegretta will open Mistura in Paso Robles at River Oaks Hot Springs this month.
Mistura is slated to open the week of Thanksgiving
Mama’s Meatball, Haute Catering and Nico Farms owner Nicola Allegretta and Jackeline Ortiz De Zevallos-Allegretta are opening a new restaurant in Paso Robles at the River Oaks Golf Course, 700 Clubhouse Drive. It’s not just any restaurant, it’s a Peruvian restaurant.
“I married a beautiful Peruvian woman — I love her and love her cuisine,” Nicola said. “I love her cooking but she only cooks twice a year. … I’m opening this place for me and the people.”
Nicola said that the closest places to get Peruvian food is in San Francisco or Los Angeles, so he’s looking to fulfill a hole in the culinary industry locally as well as share the South American fare. Peruvian cuisine, he said, is a mixture of many cultures. Peruvian cuisine combines pre-Inca and Inca staples and food with the Spanish, Basque, African, Asian, French, Italian and British cuisine, which immigrants brought with them. It is a unique fusion of the culture, traditions and flavors of four continents.
Ocopa at Mistura restaurant.
“It’s completely different from other cuisine here. The whole thing became a mixture,” Nicola said. “It’s a mix of everything, Peruvian cuisine, which has been recognized as the best cuisine in the world.”
That mixture, he said, inspired the name of the restaurant, Mistura, which means “mixture” in Portuguese. Nicola, the chef, has been in the kitchen for the last two weeks with the restaurant’s other two chefs to define “things perfectly.” He said he decided to open a Peruvian restaurant because people have been asking him to open just such a restaurant, but, until now, he wasn’t ready. To get ready, he made many trips to Peru taste and study the food.
“Now we’re really prepared,” Nicola said.
Nicola grows most of the produce for all his restaurants and catering on his farm, Nico Farms, at SLO City Farm. He owns 16 acres of land there.
Quinoa salad
“We don’t use any pesticides,” Nicola said, adding that what they don’t grow themselves is purchased locally at such places as SLO Veg, SLO Natural Foods, Whole Foods, etc. “We’re going to have always fresh, local seafood. We try to keep what we have local … better for the future.” Not only is the produce local, but so is meat.
“We’re going to have a lot of stuff typical from Peru that people can really enjoy,” Nicola said.
The Allegrettas are new residents to Paso Robles, they recently moved into a home just two blocks from Mistura. “We’re walking distance from the restaurant,” Nicola said.
Mistura was originally expected to open Nov. 1, then it was pushed back to the second week of November. Then to Nov. 18, now, Nicola said. he’s looking at it opening the week of Thanksgiving.
For more information, go to www.misturarestaurants.com, like it on Facebook or call (805) 238-3333.
