Novo Restaurant and Lounge
726 Higuera Street
San Luis Obispo CA 93401
(805) 543-3986
Dinner with Steve and Christine at Novo on Tuesday evening. Met at the bar, and chatted over a glass of wine each. They both had the Tangent 2007 Albarino, a local wine, which I've enjoyed before. The screwtop on the Tangent wines makes me happy. No worries about corkiness, all freshness. I had the Naia Naiades 2005 Verdejo, a Spanish white from the Rueda. It was nice, but showing its age, with a darkening golden color and slightly nutty aromas and flavors (oxidation).
We were seated in the downstairs dining room, which I'd never seen on previous visits to Novo. I'd always been seated outside on the multi-level creekside patio, under the great shade trees. That even worked in November, when the patio heaters kept us all cozy despite the fall chill. It's magical on the patio at night, and that would always be my first choice for an evening at Novo ... except on a rainy evening (as Tuesday's was). My second choice would be the front window bar. My third choice would be anywhere else in the the small upstairs dining area. And my last choice would be the downstairs dining room.
The food and wine are the same downstairs, and the seating is comfortable enough. But the low ceiling makes it difficult for the space to sing. So it doesn't. But it's reasonably appointed downstairs, and we were comfortable enough. And the food was certainly up to snuff. Novo is primarily a small plates, tapas-type restaurant. But there small plates are bigger than some big city tapas joints, so they are very easy to share at a four-top (or three, as we were yesterday). My favorites yesterday:
1. Do-it-yourself Lettuce (Romaine) Wraps with sliced beef, julienned sliced fresh vegetables, peanuts, sauces;
2. Thai Green Curry Chicken, served with chapati (that's how I ate it) and rice;
3. Fresh Shrimp Avocado Spring Rolls;
4. Lavender Lamb Chops.
The Calamari was OK, but a little heavily battered for my taste. The waitress raved about it, and we added it after our initial order was in. It still came out with the rest of our food. But Christine and I order Calamari everywhere, and while Novo's was OK, we probably wouldn't order it again. There's too much else to enjoy. The Chicken Satay was also OK, but arrived cold. Or I let it get cold on the table. Whichever. It was flavorful, tender, but a bit dry. Maybe more sauce would have helped.
We had a red wine with dinner, a Rhone-varietal blend from Four Vines, called The Peasant. That was really very nice. Rich, ripe, and not too tannic. I was concerned about how it would work at the table with some of the more delicate dishes (Spring Rolls, Green Curry). But it held up surprisingly well. The lower tannins were a good thing.
All in all, a splendid evening at one of our favorite restaurants. We were there for three hours, all told, from beginning at the bar to walking out the front door. That block of downtown SLO is looking a little dingy, with several empty storefronts. But Novo is a bright spot, and just a block or two other favorites, Big Sky Cafe and the new Ciopinot Seafood Grille.
Comments