Six Test Kitchen, Paso Robles

Even though Covid has really put a damper on a lot of things over the past year and a half, it did give me the opportunity to travel to places that maybe weren’t at the top of my list, but were places that I was contemplating visiting at some point. Paso Robles was one of those places. My parents have been raving about wines from that area for years, and we even got to try some of the wines when we were visiting them over the holidays. Since it isn’t that far of a drive, it seemed like a great way to spend a week over the summer as we could try out a lot of wines, and hopefully enjoy some amazing food.

Unfortunately, most of the places I attempted to go to turned out to be less than promising. Did I make bad choices? Was it covid issues? Or was the food in the area just not that interesting? I was beginning to think it might be the first or third options, but then we went to Six Test Kitchen. I booked it mostly due to the fact it was showing up on a lot of lists of best restaurants in the area, and partly due to the fact that there was only one available booking the entire time we were there, and I was experiencing large amounts of FOMO.

It turns out that Six Test Kitchen is very similar to my favorite London restaurant: Kitchen Table. There, you sit around the kitchen and watch the chefs prepare your food, and there is a great sommelier who has an amazing choice of wines. Six Test Kitchen is the same, with a much larger kitchen, and far fewer seats. Perhaps that is just the cost of real estate in Paso Robles vs. London. All I can say is that when I walked in, I thought the venue was absolutely gorgeous. It’s a tasting menu (that I had to pre-purchase), so don’t expect to go in looking for a la carte items. When I went, they also provided a supplemental caviar course, which of course, we had to try. They also have wine pairings, if that is your thing, as it is definitely ours.

I’m not going to go through it course by course, as there were far too many to go through, and in all honesty, most of them were absolutely fantastic. There were a few small amuse bouche bites that really did tempt my palate, and while they weren’t perfectly executed, there was a ton of flavor. The caviar supplement was definitely worth it as it was a very usual pairing with cucumber, and it really made me excited (and we were the only ones there who ordered it, so everyone else definitely missed out).

The stand out course for me was the chicken liver mousse. I watched one of the chefs prepare it, and it took absolutely ages, but it definitely was worth it. There was also an amazing chawanmushi dish made from house smoked fish carcasses that really gave it a fishy, smoky richness with a fantastic buttery finish. It’s making my mouth water just remembering it now.

The meat courses were executed with an amazing amount of skill and intricacy. And really, the wine pairings went fantastically. There were some local central California wines, but also a lot of interesting wines from Europe. The dessert courses really ended the meal nicely, with a light berry dish followed by a rich ice cream and banana profiterole, finishing with a chocolate mushroom cookie.

The whole meal was amazing, and we got to chat with the chef about food after which is always a bonus in my book, as well as getting a few wine tips for wineries in the area. The whole experience definitely made our trip end on an extremely high note. A few months later, the restaurant was awarded their first Michelin Star and honestly, I can see why it happened. It was definitely an amazing experience in the area, and while I wouldn’t travel to Paso Robles to just go there, I’d definitely try to book it ASAP if I knew I was in the area, although checking their reservations now, it seems they fill up very quickly. So if you are planning a visit to the area, definitely book early!

Score: 5/5
Recommendation: I say always get supplements and the wine pairings are superb

Six Test Kitchen
3075 Blue Rock Rd Unit B
Paso Robles, CA