Paso Robles on a plate, poured right
Downtown Paso Robles · Paso Robles · Italian-influenced American, upscale casual · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 22, 2026
RagingWine reviewed Cello Ristorante & Bar’s wine list and gave it The Reliable — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
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Wingman Metrics
You're inside a resort, but the wine list doesn't feel like an afterthought coasting on location. The Paso Robles AVA gets top billing here, and that's exactly right — you're in the backyard of some of California's most interesting Rhône and Cabernet country. The list is approachable without being dumbed down.
The list runs 100-150 bottles and leans heavily on local Paso producers — Tablas Creek, Epoch Estate, Justin, and Daou all make appearances, which is the correct call when you're sitting this close to the source. There's enough reach into Napa, Sonoma, and Monterey to keep variety seekers happy, but the soul of the list is Central Coast and it shows. Where it falls a little short is in depth below the headline names — the supporting cast of smaller Paso producers feels thinner than it could be given the geography. Still, for a resort restaurant, it punches above its weight class.
Twenty options by the glass is a legitimately strong program — most resort restaurants phone this in with six bottles and call it a day. The selection rotates enough to stay interesting, and having a sommelier on staff means the pours aren't just whatever the distributor rep pushed that week. We'd like to see a few more adventurous picks in the glass lineup, but what's here is solid.
Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas — $$$
Tablas Creek's flagship Rhône blend is legitimately world-class and often underpriced relative to what it delivers. Drinking this a few miles from the vineyard at a resort restaurant is as close to a fair deal as you'll find on a list that otherwise skews steep.
Epoch Estate Wines
Most tables here are going to reach for Justin or Daou on autopilot — both fine, both safe. Epoch flies under the radar but makes some of the most serious Zinfandel and Rhône-style wines in Paso Robles. If it's on the list, order it before someone else does.
Daou Cabernet Sauvignon
Daou is everywhere right now — on every restaurant list, in every airport wine bar, in your uncle's garage fridge. It's a decent wine but it's also one of the most marked-up labels in California at the moment. You can find it for less almost anywhere else, and you're in Paso Robles — you can do better and more interesting for the same money.
Tablas Creek Esprit de Tablas + Wood-fired pizza
The Esprit de Tablas is a Grenache-dominant Rhône blend with enough acid and red fruit to cut through char and cheese without steamrolling the toppings. It's the kind of wine that makes a wood-fired pizza feel like a real meal, not just a snack.
✔️ The Bottom Line
Cello is doing the right things for a resort restaurant in wine country — local focus, sommelier on staff, a serious glass program — and it's mostly worth your time. The markup keeps it from being a destination wine experience, but if you're already staying at the Allegretto, this is absolutely where you're drinking tonight.
Downtown Paso Robles · Paso Robles · California / Mediterranean
Granada Bistro earns its place on the Paso Robles wine circuit — fair pricing, a genuinely local-focused list, and a bottle deal that's hard to argue with. It's not the deepest list in wine country, but it's an honest one, and that counts for a lot when you're already surrounded by the producers on the menu.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Seasonal Rotation
Acceptable
Madonna Inn area · Paso Robles · Classic American Steakhouse
The Gold Rush Steak House is a nostalgic, only-in-California experience where the décor and the prime rib are the stars — the wine list is a supporting character that does its job without embarrassing itself. If you're in it for the food and the atmosphere, you'll drink fine; if you're here for the wine, you're in the wrong zip code.
Plays It Safe
Steep
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Paso Robles · Paso Robles · Northern Italian
Buona Tavola is a genuinely good restaurant wine list in a town surrounded by great wine — it respects the local terroir, prices fairly, and makes smart Italian connections on the menu. Send your friends here and tell them to skip the Justin.
Solid Range
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Paso Robles · Paso Robles · New American / Farm-to-Table Comfort Food
The Spoon Trade has no business being this thoughtful about wine for a casual beach-town comfort food spot, and that's the whole point. If you're in Grover Beach and want a genuinely local glass with your fried chicken, this is a better bet than anything with a bigger wine list and a worse sense of place.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Downtown Paso Robles · Paso Robles · Farm-to-table California cuisine
Thomas Hill Organics is a taco joint with a Burgundy cellar situation — except it's a farm-to-table bistro with a Paso Robles all-star list. If you're eating in downtown Paso and you care about what's in your glass, this is your table.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
Southwest Paso Robles · Paso Robles · Wine Country Dining
Broken Earth is a winery first and a restaurant second, and the wine list reflects that fully — estate-only, approachable, and priced fairly for what it is. Send a friend here if they want a chill Paso afternoon with solid local pours, not if they're hunting for something adventurous.
Plays It Safe
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.