SLO County castle has a moat, alligators — and a brand-new restaurant. See inside
At a new restaurant in San Luis Obispo County, guests can dine like royalty.
A sweeping, castle-inspired estate in the heart of wine country is now the home of the Anderson Paso, featuring a new restaurant, bar and event space.
Located at 3090 Anderson Road off Highway 46 West, the Anderson is housed at the former location of Eagle Castle Winery, and later, Tooth and Nail Winery. The site is owned by local real estate developer Covelop.
The property features a massive fortress-style building, complete with a water-filled moat, fake alligators and the newest residents— a mother duck with 11 fuzzy ducklings who decided to make the moat their home.
The property’s new restaurant will serve up “elegant California dining” with a “subtle Southern influence,” its website said, and its bar will feature beer and craft cocktails in addition to rotating wines produced by Fortress Custom Crush — a winemaking business that is also housed on site.
The space hosted its first event last fall, and the eatery is set to officially open on Thursday, after soft launching over the weekend.
Heather Muran, a marketing director and portfolio strategist for Covelop, described the restaurant’s opening as “a chance to really spread our wings.”
She said on Tuesday that tables were already filling up with reservations.
“It’s going to be really solid,” she said. “I think this weekend is going to be really fun.”
What’s on the menu at the Anderson Paso?
The menu at the Anderson will be a fusion of flavors inspired by Chef Logan Ring’s background in the American South, the Caribbean and Korea.
Ring hails from Illinois, but moved to the southeastern states before taking contracts with Club Med resorts in the Caribbean. He also took and English-teaching contract in Korea and later worked as a sous chef in Manhattan before opening up a barbecue catering company.
Eventually, he made it to the Central Coast, where he was hired as the head chef for the Anderson and got to handcraft the menu, doing tastings with leadership to gauge the most popular dishes.
“The menu ended up kind of becoming a fusion of ... some of the Caribbean and Korean flavors from my travels in the past, mixed with a little bit of the southeastern food,” he said.
Some of his favorite items on the menu include shrimp and grits, which uses chorizo rather than the traditional andouille sausage, and is finished with a chili crisp, as well as the burger, which includes a thick, seared patty with American cheese, sliced onions and pickles, he said.
He also mentioned the pork porterhouse, finished with a Korean gochujang glaze that caramelizes before being served.
“That seems to have been a really popular dish so far,” Ring told The Tribune.
Inside the restaurant is also the Fortress Bar, which will feature craft cocktails and beers.
The bar will also serve as a collaborative tasting room for a variety of different wines produced by Fortress Custom Crush. Visitors who want to enjoy a wine tasting with their meal can choose between different flights of Central Coast wines and can purchase bottles from those various brands, said director of winemaking Jeremy Leffert.
“The Anderson is a place where people out tasting wine in Paso Robles can come taste multiple brands’ wines, under one roof, from as far south as Ventura or Ojai, and as far north as San Benito County,” he said.
“It’s a pretty unique model,” Muran added.
According to Muran, the restaurant will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Monday, with final seating at 8:30 p.m.
The Anderson offers new Paso Robles event space
In addition to the new eatery, the Anderson also serves as an event space.
Events director Azurae Shults said the team is looking to host weddings, corporate events, meetings, festivals and tastings in its event hall, located just across the building’s expansive entrance from the restaurant.
Events held at the Anderson can also take advantage of the kitchen, which will be serving food for both events and the restaurant simultaneously, Shults said.
She added that she’s excited for the future of the business.
“I think it’s a really exciting change for this property,” she said. “ ... Being able to, you know, blossom into this whole new perspective, not just having a tasting room here any longer, but really, you know, anticipating the excitement of being able to come here with your friends, with your family, enjoy a meal, host a celebration of some sort,” she said.
Additionally, Shults hopes to see out-of-towners come experience what the Anderson has to offer.
“The goal is to put us on the map as an option for people who are seeking something really unique and special,” she said.
