The Seared Sea Scallops ($24) come served atop a bed of pearl couscous in a colorful and inviting presentation. Desserts change often at the Black Cat Bistro and include inventive treats like this Strawberry Napoleon, right.
Deborah Scarborough, chef and owner of Black Cat Bistro, attended culinary school but spent a decade as a sit-com producer in Los Angeles before opening her Cambria restaurant six years ago. It’s obvious she brought some of her production talent, along with a decade of eating in Los Angeles’ best restaurants, to her quaint eating spot in Cambria.
Over the past six years, Scarborough has crafted a culinary style she describes as “global bistro.” “I like to combine things like Persian rice with California ingredients and Asian flavors,” she explains. Dishes like her Rare Seared Ahi ($22) exemplify this style. For added drama, her creations are presented like works of art on the plate, and entrees have layers of flavor and texture that often vary in each bite.
The first thing you notice when you walk in the door of this small cottage on Main Street is its size — it’s small. The bar area has only a half-dozen stools, and the three small rooms that house the restaurant (along with the tiny kitchen you can see from outside) only hold 42 people. But the room size also makes for a very private dining experience, and the warm colors and large windows make the space comfortable and cozy.
The menu isn’t extensive — rather, it’s just a handful of carefully selected appetizers and entrees, all chosen based on seasonal availability.
On a recent visit, my husband, Paul, started with the Cayucos Ocean Rose Abalone ($14). This mild-flavored mollusk used to be abundant on the Central Coast and is now raised by just a few dedicated ocean farms. The presentation of this dish was stunning, with the delicate shellfish dusted with a light layer of breadcrumbs and resting atop a bed of potato puree. The plate was completed with a pearlescent abalone shell.
I ordered one of Scarborough’s cheese plates. Each of the three choices features artisan cheeses from a different West Coast creamery. Mine was the Cowgirl Creamery St. Pat ($11 for two), featuring soft-ripened cheese from Point Reyes and matched with sweet walnut bread, a tart cherry compote and candied walnuts. It was a delightful way to get my taste buds ready for the rest of the meal.
The main course
For my entree, I had one of the restaurant’s trademark dishes, Three Cheese Baked Polenta ($17). This was a luscious lasagna of eggplant, mushrooms, spinach, cheese and creamy polenta surrounded by a creamy tomato sauce and sprinkled with pine nuts.
My husband had the Seared Sea Scallops ($24), which featured huge fresh scallops on a bed of pearl couscous. Cooked through to the point where the scallop’s interior was just warm, the taste was sweet and succulent, and the texture was silky. It’s rare to find scallops cooked so perfectly.
Scarborough adds new items to the menu every week or two, and she changes the whole menu with the arrival of each new season. She is just now perfecting dishes for her spring menu—something that takes her weeks to accomplish.
Leave room for dessert
Desserts are among those items that change often. On our visit, our choices were Strawberry Napoleon, Lavender Panna Cotta and Espresso Hazelnut Ice Cream. All desserts cost between $6 and $9, and I opted for the strawberries. The Napoleon was layers of light puff pastry with whipped cream and sliced strawberries. Simple and creamy, it was a refreshing end to a rich meal. Paul’s ice cream was ultra-rich and decadent, topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
With each item on the menu, Scarborough offers a wine suggestion, taking a lot of the guesswork out of selecting compatible wines. Her suggestions are by varietal; for instance for my polenta entree, the menu recommended a “red Rhône blend.” My Robert Hall Rhône du Robles turned out to be an ideal pairing.
The wine list at Black Cat Bistro just received the Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for the fourth year in a row, and once you finish scanning the list of 36 whites and 82 reds — from all over the world—you may understand why. She also has a solid offering of Central Coast wines from Paso Robles and Edna Valley appellations and has 21 wines available by the glass ($6 to $12). The corkage fee is $15.
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