BL Brasserie (formerly Bistro Laurent) - Paso Robles, California

Dan Rawlins

Absolutely fantastic restaurant! The food and service are both off the charts. Reservations required and recommend booking well in advance. The wine list is impeccable and expansive, and Marc the host is incredibly knowledgeable with recommendations based on food ordered. The escargot and oysters were great on our last visit, as were the peach Melba and rice pudding desserts. Dinner specials rotate and haven't had a bad one yet.

K Lee

Traditional french bistro. Boulliabase lunch had a nice broth, salmon, mussels, and vegetables in it. Servers were attentive and managed our large multi-table group well. Parking was free immediately outside around the town square. Good wine list and shop/club immediately next door. Call for reservations.

John Hornick Chef’s Apprentice

Our second visit here was as good as the first. We enjoyed our first visit on the patio but it was a little warm for Al fresco dining this time. But the dining room is a great space, full of fun French aperitif and theatre posters and wooden wine crate panels. I totally forgot to photograph our dishes, but we had a great dinner of escargot, mussels, hanger steak with red wine sauce, and frites.

Paul „Paulinho“ Cardoso

We were fortunate to secure a last-minute table at BL Brasserie, and we were grateful for their accommodation. I was particularly excited to find quail on the menu, while my partner couldn't wait to dig into the Mussels with French Fries.

The quail arrived, and although the meat was tender and delicate, there was a significant disappointment in terms of flavor. It had been coated in an overly sweet honey glaze that tasted overly candied. I ended up trimming off the small drums, but the thighs and wings were too sweet to enjoy. Surprisingly, the substantial portion left on my plate went unaddressed by the staff, which struck me as odd.

My partner's mussel dish seemed diluted, resulting in a broth with a thin, buttery appearance devoid of flavor—a significant letdown in our opinion. However, the saving grace of our dinner was the crispy crab risotto with prawn. They kindly split our plate for sharing, and every bite was truly delightful. Additionally, the fries were a highlight, impeccably prepared, fresh, and with a homemade taste. Despite some misses, the meal had its moments of excellence. ?️

Jacki Cardoso

We came here in a whim. The last time we were in Paso Robles, they had no availability, so we had high expectations. We came in around 6:30 and the restaurant was empty, but they said they had room for us even though the restaurant was mostly booked up for the evening. Our server came by promptly and gave us our water and bread. We started off with the egg mimosas ( deviled eggs), very good, not amazing but good. Then DH ordered the quail and I ordered the tried and true mussels with fries. We also ordered the crispy crab risotto to share. The quail came and was very tender and juicy, but unfortunately was super sweet, not a savory note there at all. It was like a dessert ?. My
Mussels were good as well as the fries, but unfortunately the white wine sauce tasted bland like dish water with a hint of onions and butter, what a shame. We were very sad about our dinner choices until the crispy crab risotto came. AMAZING and it totally redeemed our dinner. The risotto was shaped into a crispy round and was accompanied with 3 shrimp for each of us. The risotto was shaped like a round hashbrown and tasted wonderfully. The shrimp were well cooked and sauce looked rich, but was well balanced! This was the high point of our dinner!!!!
The service was very good and we were well taken care of. Stop by here and have the crispy crab risotto in between your tastings!! By the time we left, the restaurant was packed!

Gadi Aharoni

We were a party of 6. Excellent food. We had two of the specials: fish and lamb, and a couple of types of steaks. Everything was delicious. Wine by Asuncion Ridge was excellent. Service and atmosphere were good.

DJ [email protected]

Everything was delicious. Service was great and Chef was happy. Wine list great. Only issue was they used blue crab and not Dungeness. We will definitely return!

Pete Turrone

Classic French Bistro experience in the heart of Paso. Great wine list, reliably fresh oyster service, and fantastic beurre blanc. There's always a great fish of the day, but it's hard not to get the hangar frites every time. Love this place so much.