Outstanding in every way! This girl can cook! try the Gnocchi appetizer and the scallops main course! wow.

My friend and were driving home from San Francisco and wanted to have a nice dinner so I began my search... What I found was the Black Cat Bistro I looked at the reviews and thought hmmm could it really be that good? And holy biscuit it was...this place is good enough for any big city let alone a small town! The only reason it got 4 stars is because its to far from my house in Malibu. We asked the waiter what he recommended and he couldn't choose. I had the arugula salad the gnocchi and the linguini and I can still taste every bite..! Why can't someone open a place like this in the Bu..?! We went early so there wasn't a rush. The service was great and the food was worth the drive. If you are even somewhat close get there you won't be disappointed. read more

Black Cat Bistro - New American Near Me - Cambria, California

Abalone was delicious, cooked to perfection. True farm to table, cozy atmosphere and great service.

I rarely give this rating out to a restaurant, but Black Cat Bistro warrants it. They were completely booked up on a Saturday night and we were lucky to get a spot at the bar when we arrived at 5:45 p.m. Wonderful, friendly, and fun wait staff. Every dish was incredible, but the mushroom & sage gnocchi are a must have. I loved that the menu lists suggested wine parings for every dish. Magical fun ending to a day spent at Hearst Castle. read more

My husband and I were on a delayed honeymoon and ended up spending the night in Cambria. We debated for awhile about where we were going to eat but settled on this place. Best decision we made the entire trip!! We both got appetizers which were incredible. He got the creamed cauliflower soup and I had their bruschetta. They were amazing!! We followed that with one of their wines each. Then we got the bay scallops and the chipotle Alfredo. Both were phenomenal!! The overall atmosphere and customer service was incredible. Whenever we had questions about what was in the dish (I'm always curious about amazing food!!) while some might say this place is pricey, it is the best meal that we had on our 4 day trip and definitely was not the most expensive!! Amazing place and I wish I lived closer so that I could return!! I would recommend to anyone looking for a romantic place for dinner!! read more

We ate here because of the yelp reviews but were very disappointed. Yes, the food is good, but not great, and the service was awful. The waiter was detached and seemed bored with his job, and the busboy was the same. They need to do a better job of hiring, or of training their staff. The portions were small and both my husband and I were still hungry when we left. I would not eat here again...there are better restaurants in Cambria. read more

The food here is delicious! My son had the gnocchi and the rare ahi and said it was one of the best meals he has ever eaten.

We loved the food, service, and ambience. Just a good place to be. Chipotle shrimp was outstanding and the scallops ...too good to describe.

Maybe it was the day at Hearst Castle or strolling along the seaside but I was enchanted with this restaurant my first visit. Reservations suggested. Amazing food, sprinkled with romance, comfort and imagination. I really enjoyed how they space everything out during the meal as some of their plates can be heavy and the service is just enough to make you feel pampered but not smothered. I don't order a lot of red meat but here I always do. I don't remember who I had dinner here with last but I do remember I was in love.....with their Soup Du Jour read more

This place was great...small,quaint & a littpe rustic but the food was delicious. Fried stuffed olives, duck & pork chop, creative menu and they delivered. Best food i had all vacation!!! read more

My husband and I decided to take a trip along the coast and made a reservation for dinner here, expecting to be wowed, given all the high reviews. Frankly we were pretty disappointed. We ordered the Gnocchi appetizer which ended up being five gnocchi plus sauce and garnish. Five. I understand that handmade gnocchi is a time intensive process but this seemed a little ridiculous. And the gnocchi was gummy, too. :-/ So we paid over $2.00 per gnocchi. Gummy Gnocchi. My husband ordered the 10 ounce rib-eye, quinoa, corn, cilantro, green onion, black bean sambal butter and I ordered the Braised Rabbit, olives , capers, prunes, kale, chevre polenta. Probably the best part of our entrees was the quinoa, which was light and fluffy and lemony without being tart. His steak was undercooked (we asked for medium rare, and it was on the rare side of rare. We sent it back, and it was returned to us charred and burnt tasting, with the inner meat being more on the medium-well side. We're also fairly certain it was sirloin, rather than rib eye, as there was no marbling or fat of any kind, in fact the meat overall was very lean - and the menu even said "fat is an integral part of the flavor of this cut". The rabbit was good. A little sweeter than I was expecting, but overall the meat was juicy and well prepared. For dessert we had the Salted Chocolate Carmel Pot de Crème, and it was ok. It was more a Caramel pot de Creme with a chocolate ganache on top of it with a layer of salted caramel. I was expecting more chocolate in the pot de creme. Service was kind of slow. They also committed a cardinal Pet peeve of mine - serving solid cold butter with bread. Overall I probably wouldn't come back the quality just didn't justify the price. read more

Excellent! The four of us had Valentine's Day dinner here. While in Cambria we also had dinner at Linn's and the Indigo Moon. Although holidays are difficult for restaurants, The Black Cat far surpassed our expectations for this special occasion. We were escorted to our table right at our reservation time. The staff was warm, accommodating and did not rush us. The decor is lovely, soft lights and music. The menu, which had excellent choices, was delicious. If you are ever lucky enough to spend time in Cambria, bypass all other restaurants and go to The Black Cat first. A perfect evening! read more

Looked a little frou-frou from the online menu but a friend recommended it and I'm super glad we tried it. Service was exceptional, and my swordfish special was perfectly cooked and delicious, with great clam chowder, and a good selection of desserts. It was the best meal I've had in a while. I would definitely come back and maybe next time be a little more adventurous in my dinner selection :-). read more

Fantastic find! Food was exceptional and service with a smile! Clam chowder is wonderful as advertised. Rack of lamb cooked to perfection and didnt have that "lamby" taste. Wife had the flat iron steak but ordered it medium and came more med. rare. They took it back with no attitude and refired in minutes and she loved it. Quaint little place and highly recommend. read more

Great restaurant, everything is delicious and done to perfection. We have been coming here since the restaurant opened in 2002, and wouldn't miss it on our visits to Cambria! read more

Took my daughters to the Black Cat Bistro after checking Yelp and Trip Advisor reviews. It is an old house converted into a restaurant and has odd little rooms as dining areas. The server was very nice but put in one of our entree orders incorrectly so we had to wait extra long for our food to come out. All the sauces on our entrees were too sweet. The pork chop that my daughter had was super dry and hard, when the waiter asked us how the food was we made him aware of this. Instead of making this and the other situation (wrong item put in) right management had him come over and tell us that they are going to check the temperature of the ovens. I think for the price this place is not a good match. Customer service is not one of their fortes and food is so so. Not a hater but telling you the truth. read more

My husband and I celebrated our 21st anniversary there. This was our second experience and we have enjoyed our meals both times. Great food and wonderful service. Will definitely come back again. Thank you. read more

Simply the best restaurant on the Central Coast. We had a lovely experience with the friendly and the food was out of this world. We travel all over the world and the Black Cat is in our top 3. The owner/chef even sent me a recipe that I requested. A must go to in Cambria! read more

A few weeks ago while staying in Cambria my husband and I set out for downtown in hopes of some wine tasting. We encountered closed doors at Moonstone Cellars (at 5:15 on a Saturday?) and were unimpressed with the lack of greeting we received after hanging out for 10 minutes in the Cambria Wine Shop. As we headed for home a bit discouraged, we saw the Black Cat Wine Bar sign and stopped by. Jason greeted us so warmly and when I asked him if we could do some wine tasting, he was so flexible and said "sure". He was a gracious host, sharing his knowledge of wine and giving us a brief history of the Black Cat. We were enchanted by the smells coming from the kitchen, but unfortunately were unable to stay for dinner. We can't wait to return to the Black Cat again and this time stay a bit longer. read more

This place may look small from the outside but the HUGE amount of flavors and taste more than make up for that. I have been here twice now and have found it nothing short of AMAZING each time. The food pairings with the wine suggestions were beyond what I could had ever wanted. read more

We ate here years ago & remembered a great experience. Our expectations weren't met on this trip. Menu was disappointing & frankly boring. We were looking for more interesting choices. Caesar salad with avocado didn't work. The arugula salad was fine. Sea bass (skin side up) was a mininalist presentation that didn't appeal. The duck was good but not exciting. The wine pairing (granache) was not robust enough for the dish. The room was hot & crowded. We ended up talking to neighbor diners on both sides because you couldn't help being part of each other's conversations. Finally, the service was efficient but distant. There was no personal connection. read more

Visiting Cambria for a long weekend, we settled on the Black Cat for my wife's birthday dinner. Started with glasses of sparkling wine for the occasion, and mentioned it to the waitperson. She comped the wine (and added a burning candle to my wife's dessert; fortunately, nobody sang "Happy Birthday"). We had pheasant and lamb -- both just superb, and done perfectly (lamb "medium" was perfect medium). Desserts also excellent, though my beignets were are little overfried. The restaurant itself is either cozy or over-close, depending on your attitude. Service was good. Cost somewhat high, but we loved the food. read more

I don't want to dump on the restaurant, but overhyped reviews don't help either. After reading good reviews, we thought we'd try it. The entrees were so expensive that we shared one and skipped the supposedly great wine. Our waiter was friendly and helpful and the food decent, but absolutely not to die for or go out of the way for. We enjoyed our steak dinner in Monterrey FAR more. read more

We had come here once before with our family and had a delicious meal that we would talk about for months to come. When we came down again for our anniversary we made sure to get a reservation for there again. This time was even better. We came a bit early for our 7 pm reservations but they were able to get us to a table no problem. It was a sweet little table by the fire place. Very cozy and romantic. We had the privilege of being waited on by Jason who was by far the best server I had ever had. When he found we were expecting he was quick to make good suggestions as to what I may like. As most pregnant women know, going to a restaurant can be a little frustrating because you're not allowed unpasteurized cheese and other things. Jason brought up that their Gorgonzola was pasteurized before I even had to ask. It was so nice and refreshing to know what I could order. I had the duck which was cooked to perfection and my husband got the shrimp pasta. Both meals were devoured and we had room for a delicious caramel dessert. We were also offered decaff coffee afterwards. Like I said, the food here was just as delicious the last time but it was Jason's great service that really made our anniversary a special one. I watched him give the same great service to the other tables. We left him a great tip and I still feel like we made out like bandits. Can't wait to go back again. read more

We really liked the black cat. We tried the crab relleno and ahi appetizers, which were both really good. I had the pork chop and loved it. My husband didn't like it as much as it has a strong balsamic vinegar sauce but I loved it. he had the scallops, which were good, but we don't eat overly rich or heavy sauces so the corn sauce was too rich/heavy for both of us. We both liked their unique preparations and it appears to be a great local spot which was fun. We would go there next time in Cambria! read more

Great atmosphere and staff. Food was amazing. This is not a burger joint! Bistro fine dining at its best and you get what you paid for. Besides, fried blue cheese stuffed olives can win anyone over! Great job Black Cat! read more

Our experience last night fell somewhere between underwhelming and disappointing. Maybe it was an off day (Sunday), maybe we're overly-picky foodie snobs from the Bay Area... but for a place that is alleged to be the "hands down go to" destination in Cambria, it left much to be desired. For a local comparison in a similar price range we had a far superior dinner the night before at Thomas Hill Organics in Paso Robles. Where to start. The arrival experience is funky and the setting is plain: in the genre of "small houses converted to restaurants" this building lacks architectural character but has a certain shall we say coziness due to its room sizes. Yet places as far-flung as The Raymond in Pasadena (Craftsman bungalow) and Cafe Beaujolais in Mendocino (Victorian farmhouse) seem to do better at capitalizing on their past. Unfair comparison, perhaps, but worth mentioning. Our waitperson was pleasant and cheerful, but we felt rushed throughout the entire experience. Out the door in one hour, start to finish, seriously? Granted, we passed on dessert (the unwritten menu had ho-hum choices, nothing seemingly seasonal), but one has to wonder if there was really another party for whom the table just had to be freed up at 9:00 p.m. on an early autumn Sunday. If we are spending nearly top dollar, at a minimum we expect a leisurely pace. Our appetizer course arrived way too fast to have been prepared to order. The tiny $18 portion of abalone had more batter than meat, all dwarfed by a pile of run of the mill mashed potatoes marginally improved by "grapefruit vanilla beurre blanc, hazelnuts, dulce salt". The dish arrived warm, which was actually better than the mushroom & sage gnocchi that were served luke-warm at best. The flavors probably would have worked well at the proper temperature, but the semi-congealed cream sauce did not do the dish any favors. This was topped off by the all-too-common faux-pas of the busser not waiting to clear all plates at the same time. I almost wouldn't have been surprised to hear "are you still working on that?" as if the slower eater at our table were struggling with some kind of onerous task. Contrary to what I read in another review, the first by-the-glass wine was a very generous pour. Unfortunately the mediocre local Sauvignon Blanc lacked in character what it made up in volume and overly-chilledness. A subsequent pour of a Viogner at the table came up short (it's hard to gauge depth in as glass from standing height), but the Syrah poured at the bar arrived just right. And both of these latter wines were quite good. Things took a turn for the better with the main dishes, although they arrived with cafeteria-like alacrity. My wife enjoyed the ahi. Although the outside lacked a bit of searing, the inner part was perfectly rare. The lamb shank was tender and flavorful, but a heavy hand with the cinnamon rendered the rich sauce almost cloyingly sweet. Again, one plate was swooped off the table as soon as the fork was set down, leaving the other diner to soldier on in solitude. As mentioned above, we passed on dessert (which was proposed way too soon, of course). At that point we just felt like giving in to the rush job and getting the heck out of there. OK, so these are all "first word problems", as the kids say these days. Trying to keep things in perspective here. There was nothing truly awful, and nobody got hurt. People around us (whose conversations we could hear a bit too much of, by the way) seemed to be enjoying themselves. We're not sorry we tried it out. But our takeaway impression is that they are trying a bit too hard to live up to their "name" reputation by resorting to culinary one-upsmanship rather than relying on basic high-quality ingredients prepared with fewer melanges of flavors. taken with the frankly unpleasant rushed service, the net result for us was over-priced, underperformed. read more

This place is really great. Not over the top but they put out a really classy plate of food. I started with the fried green olives, which were fabulous, and had a perfectly cooked lamb shank for the main course. Its a small place so i would highly recommend reservations. read more

Girlfriend and I took a trip from LA up to SLO for the weekend. After arriving in SLO around midday, we ventured a little more north up to Morro Bay and eventually ending in Cambria, which was a first for us both. We dug the row of shops on Main St., and after some wine tasting we were ready for dinner. We were fortunate enough to stop by the Black Cat right at 5:00pm, which was their opening time for dinner, and we were the first to sit. As others have said, yes, this is a converted house, and it adds to the charm. The staff was very courteous. We ended up ordering two veggie dishes (pasta and polenta), both of which tasted very fresh and flavorful. I don't want to add anything else beyond saying that this is place is good. Really good if you're from out of town. Stop by and enjoy an intimate dinner here if you have the chance. Just make sure you get there when it opens, or if you are lucky enough to snag a reservation. read more

Phenomenal! Attention to detail is what makes any business great. Example: while ordering, I said my husband and I were splitting two appetizers. When they came out, she situated them right in the middle. Sounds like not a big deal but it is. Servers who LISTEN set themselves apart and it's the little things that make a difference. Plus, most important, the food was fresh & delicious! My husband had the salmon and said he couldn't even tell it was salmon. Super fresh, not remotely fishy. read more

Wonderful! Wonderful service! They were quick and timely, went here after visiting Hearst Castle! Waitress was so kind she could tell my fiancé and I did not enjoy the cheese on our cheese plate so she made our dessert free of charge in place for the expense of the cheese! Very kind and very quiet and relaxing! I truly enjoyed myself. Menu has very limited options but I don't think you can go wrong. I got a stuffed pork chop and it was delightful. read more

I had the blue cheese and artichoke soup in a bread bowl and it was DIVINE. Their bread bowl is so tasty and fresh. Definitely recommend

Horrible, horrible horrible. Even worse than Robins. So bad. The steak was chewy the lamb was burnt and covered with cheap pancake syrup the porkchop was rare. I guess they want to try to sell 10.00 wine for 150.00. We got there at prime time on a major Holliday and wondered why we were alone it didn't take long to figure it out, that place sucked bad. And tried to charge over 200.00 bucks. read more

Great place if a little pricey. The crab lollipops were amazing. My ten year old is a fan of the chicken Piccata. She typically doesn't like options from the children's menu. Wife had salmon special and also scallops. That represents two visits. I have had lamb chops and hanger steak. Both were good but would probably skip the hanger steak next time. The mango sauce on that was a little bland. We have been too full for dessert. read more

Our family has been coming to Cambria every year for Thanksgiving week for at least the past 10 years. We were very excited to try this place since we had never been before. The customer service was great from booking our reservation to serving us our meal. Unfortunately, the food was not up to par with the customer service and certainly not worth the amount we paid for it. I ordered one of the most expensive dishes on the menu, a ribeye steak. I was extremely disappointed by the entire dish. I've had steak that tasted a hundred times better from places like Outback Steakhouse. The steak was not seasoned, not cooked the way that I had requested and the sauce that came with it was too salty. Quinoa and green onions were the sides that it came with and there was nothing special about them; they were so bad that I didn't even eat them. The thing I found the most odd is my dish was garnished with four black beans; why even put them on in the first place? This was the worst dish we were served and the 7 other dishes my family ordered were just okay, nothing to rave about. I would not recommend this restaurant as there are many other places in Cambria that provide quality food for a price that is worth it. read more

The food here is exceptional. Interestingly, our small group of four felt like there were not enough staff, leading to long wait periods between waiter check ins. The long wait periods were not that the waiters were not busy, just not enough of them. Two of our group had noticed the same service experience a couple of times previously. If not in a hurry.... give it a try! read more

One of the best restaurants we have ever eaten at! Some of the best food we ever tasted, nice atmosphere, very friendly and professional staff. When my boyfriend asked for his ahi to be without onion (meaning the salad), the chef remade the sauce especially for him, since it had shallots in it. The prices are not cheap, but considering the quality, it's great value. I had raw salmon with pickled watermelon, garlic and a great sauce. It was nothing short of heavenly! We recommend this place to anyone who finds themselves in the Cambria area and does not want to settle for overpriced mediocre food on the beach. It's the kind of restaurant you expect to find in Paris or any big metropolis with high quality eats. read more

Last night might have been just a bad night in the kitchen at The Black Cat Bistro. Our fault was that my husband and I were really hungry which caused us to not express our displeasure with our dining experience. It was a quiet Tuesday night and we were the first diners at 5pm. We ordered starters of crispy Brussel Sprouts and clam chowder. The orders came out quickly though the Brussel Sprouts were sitting in a deep pool of heavy oil and the ingredients in the Clam Chowder were so small as though the entire mixture had been processed in a blender. We should have put our forks and spoon down. We ate half of the servings and the remainder was was removed by the bus person. Our waiter returned with our entrees of shrimp fettuccine with chipotle sauce and shrimp scampi served with green beans that were swimming in the same heavy oil. The shrimp in the fettuccine dish turned out to be the same shrimp as the scampi entree. The only difference was that the scampi was sitting in a bowl of cream soup and fettuccine sauce was thickened. The flavor of the sauces were almost identical in both of the entrees. It was our Anniversary dinner and we didn't want to cause a scene. Unfortunately we were there to enjoy dinner. read more

Great little spot in west village! Very quaint environment with charming, warm fireplace and friendly, accommodating staff. Crab cakes were delicious start followed by grill salmon and stuffed pork chop with perfect wine pairing. Keep in mind they offer only great beer and wine, so you"ll need to grab cocktail elsewhere. Nice wine selections abound! read more

Today was a very good food day. We had dinner here tonight. Alan ordered mushroom/sage gnocchi as a starter. I ordered the tomato bisque, which came w/ ribbons of fresh basil, basil oil and chipotle oil. A tiny grilled cheese sandwich served as the crouton. Both starters were very tasty, as was the bread w/ a hint of thyme that came at the beginning. A foursome at the opposite end of the room included a woman who seemed quite knowledgeable about the chef and how she cooked. She was telling her companions that the chef uses milk rather than cream and roasts the vegetables to concentrate the flavors before pureeing them. Sounds good to me, and the soup was excellent. The gnocchi were very soft and the mushrooms tasty, w/ a meaty texture. We both ordered Black Cod as our appetizer. It was served over red rice, w/ a few sugar snap peas. It was good, but not the best Black Cod I've ever had, which can be transcendent. The texture was smooth and soft. I overheard the woman at the other table say it was local Black Cod, caught in Morro Bay. The best I've had has been up in Vancouver, BC, caught locally off Vancouver Island, I think. That's where I was introduced to it. Service was charming and efficient. Our hostess turned out to be our server and she worked hard covering all the tables in the room we were in and perhaps others, although she was ably assisted by a man who seemed more than a busser As we were returning to the B&B we talked about the respective ratings we would give the restaurants today and agreed Robin's was just a bit more special. read more