Inside the exclusive Paso Robles restaurant that serves only 16 guests a night — at $200 a pop
With the curtains drawn and the windows darkened, Paso Robles restaurant Somm’s Kitchen looked unassuming from the outside.
But inside the restaurant, chef and sommelier Ian Adamo led a fascinating party, where 16 strangers sat together at a curved bar for a night of good conversation, extravagant food and an array of intricate wine pairings.
Somm’s Kitchen strays away from the traditional dining experience: The restaurant serves eight courses and 16 wine pairings to one group of guests each night.
Within that model, Adamo strives to bring people together to taste world-class wines paired with food in a communal setting.
Somm’s Kitchen is one of a few Michelin-style experiential dining opportunities in SLO County, alongside Paso Robles’ Six Test Kitchen and the Restaurant at Justin — though notably, Somm’s itself has not yet been recognized with that coveted Michelin star in its 10 years of business.
“If I got one tomorrow, I’d be happy to have one,” Adamo said of the Michelin rating. “But my restaurant doesn’t ride on that — it’s just about making people happy.”
It’s typically open Thursday through Saturday, although it’s open daily during the holiday season. A lunch experience is often offered on Saturdays and Adamo occasionally hosts other special events throughout the year.
All of it is also obviously done by reservation — and the restaurant is regularly booked out for two to three months at a time. Tickets to the restaurant average around $200 per person, with gratuity included.
So what makes Somm’s Kitchen such a unique San Luis Obispo County dining experience? It really comes down to its chef.
Paso Robles chef’s humble background fuels passion for food
Adamo grew up in an Italian-Irish household in Washington Heights in the 1980s.
“I didn’t come from much other than two hard-working parents,” he told The Tribune in a recent interview.
But his memories of big, family dinners during the holidays are what inspired his successful career in the food and wine industry, and eventually, Somm’s Kitchen.
Adamo is the one-man heart and soul of the restaurant.
He channels his expansive knowledge of wines and Michelin-style dining — earned during his time working at James Beard Award-winning restaurants — into his kitchen, where he thinks up the menu, pours the wine and cooks and serves the food.
Adamo also spends around 18 weeks out of the year traveling the world, learning and teaching about wine in bucket-list destinations like the Serengeti, Bora Bora and soon, Antarctica.
He then brings that experience back into his restaurant, offering exclusive, international wine pairings to guests each night.
Adamo said he wants guests to learn about their palates in a comfortable setting with good company.
“I just love cooking things slow and just preparing for days, anticipating who’s coming,” Adamo said.
“I hope that, because we’re so small and the kind of spot you don’t go to every night, that the customers are looking forward to it as well — that they mark it on a calendar three months ahead of time. Every day there’s the pressure and excitement to turn this into a family dinner.”
What is it like inside the Somm’s Kitchen experience?
During a recent Tribune visit to check out the establishment, Adamo greeted each diner at the door, before personally ushering them to one of 16 seats at the restaurant’s central, curved bar.
Before each diner was a place setting and two wine glasses.
At the start of the meal, Adamo took the time to get to know each person at the bar and introduce them to the rest of the room.
Guests included out-of-towners returning to Somm’s for the fourth or fifth time, locals visiting the restaurant for the first time and professionals from within the Central Coast wine industry.
From behind the bar, Adamo poured each guest a glass of wine and explained how the experience would play out. He then introduced the first course — vanilla-smoked Dungeness crab with vegetable ceviche, curry and chili. The meal was paired with a 2019 Dilecta 100% pinot noir and a 2002 J. Lassalle special club champagne.
Adamo spoke in depth about the tastes, textures and acidity of the wines, as well as the ingredients and processes used in the production of the food.
This pattern continued throughout the night as guests enjoyed a series of local and international wines paired with intricate dishes, including a three-day tomato soup made with roasted, smoked and juiced tomatoes; a two-day sous vide prime filet with a duck confit jumbalaya; and dates stuffed with mascarpone cheese.
The dinner included several personal touches, including a birthday serenade and an honorary celebration of two guests’ late mothers.
Upon the conclusion of the final course, Adamo once again thanked his guests.
“I’m so thankful for my life and this restaurant,” Adamo said. “You’re giving me one of your nights ... there’s no place on planet Earth that, for the price, you can get these wines side by side.”
Diners commended Adamo for the experience.
“You made this so not overwhelming,” one guest said.
“And fun!” another chimed in.
Alison Bakewell, from the Monterey area, was one of the night’s attendees. She said she’s eaten at Somm’s Kitchen at least four times and has another reservation booked in June.
“Every time we’ve gone, it’s been fabulous,” Bakewell said. “Ian is a fabulous chef, the dinner is always well-thought-out and inventive and really beautifully prepared. It’s just a fabulous experience.”
Jim Neitz, a partner of Truss Wines, was also at that night’s dinner.
He described Somm’s as the “nexus of the high-end wineries” in Paso Robles.
“Probably more than anyone, Ian understands what’s happening in the industry,” Neitz said. “And more importantly, he supports it and he’s passionate about it. ... If you’re coming to experience Paso Robles wine country, an evening at Somm’s Kitchen is the best gateway.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
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