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    Ciao Papi at River Lodge

    4.2 (44 reviews)
    Open 12:00 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated 2 months ago

    Ciao Papi at River Lodge Photos

    CIAO PAPI AT RIVER LODGE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Hipster
    Casual
    Touristy
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Ciao Papi at River Lodge

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    Seabass, citrus glazed, polenta
    Hellie N.

    We decided to eat here after a long drive up to Paso Robles. A new restaurant within the renovated River Lodge motel, I ordered a "Pool side Hugo", a gin based cocktail with mint. It was so refreshing while sipping away next to their restaurant firepit. Food-wise, we ordered the roasted chicken, the seabass sitting on top of a bed of polenta, and we were served the ciao papi on the house. Everything was fresh and delicious. Service was friendly, the poolside view was great.

    Really delicious Holiday drinks and appetizers.
    Shannon M.

    Stopped by with some girlfriends for Holiday drinks and appetizers. We had heard so many good things about this place. It was a little chilly. You have to eat outside. They had lots of lap blankets we could use as well as overhead heaters. We had great service from Charlie. We felt like we had made a new friend. The appetizers and focaccia bread were so delicious. They were nice enough to bring us an extra order of bread as we just couldn't get enough. We will definitely come back, but might wait until it is a little warmer.

    View from the open air restaurant.
    Soraya L.

    Beautiful open air restaurant, food was delicious had pizza and Ceaser salad all very good. Customer service was great. Next visit I want to dip in the pool.

    Simple D.

    Kodi, Louie and Anthony (sorry if spelled wrong) were simply amazing. We had pool passes two days in a row at this lovely place. We ate amazing food had great liquid refreshments and some sun. The service, friendliness and professionalism exhibited with their servers was profound. Thank you!

    Mark M.

    Delicious pizza and the lettuce wraps were perfect! The setting is perfect. What a cool roadside hotel!

    Aaron D.

    Everything was fine except portions. The cheapest food a restaurant can make is spaghetti and they give children size portions. Check the photo. Is that worth $25+ tax &tip? The quality of food and atmosphere are amazing but you should never leave hungry after a $25 meal. There was so much sauce left over they could have included $.50 more spaghetti and given a good meal.

    Burrata arugula peach salad
    Tony C.

    The place is casual, by a motel pool. Warm even in the shade... The waitresses were friendly and helpful. The food was very good, with a limited menu.

    Manzanilla Salad
    A F.

    Hoping the Panzanella salad was vegan because I love this place. Super dog friendly and chill updates 50s vibe with a creative menu. Great service. Brave the elements and check it out when you're over downtown Paso. The hotel is adorable too! Would love to see vegan options highlighted on the menu.

    Daiana F.

    Food was delicious and fresh. The meatballs, pasta, and salad were dinner. Loved it all. The fries we had by the pool with some wine earlier.

    Electric Boots (tequila, grapefruit, jalapeno & strawberry) & Ciao Papi (espresso martini)
    Frugalista C.

    So happy to see what they've done with this hotel and restaurant! The ambiance is amazing! The food is interesting, but could use some fine tuning. The prices are a bit high for the portions, and the flavors could be punched up a bit. Both the Sea Bass Crudo and the Burrata Salad could have used more citrus, and the Electric Boots cocktail could have had a bit more intense flavor. The Ciao Papi cocktail was great. Hopefully they'll get the food a little bit more dialed in.

    Poolside dining

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Cara and Angie are so amazing!!! They went above and beyond and kept us laughing the whole time!

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    Photo of Matt G.
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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Lovely setting, attentive staff, extremely fresh selections. We had lunch but will make a point of returning for dinner ~

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    Ask the Community - Ciao Papi at River Lodge

    Are dogs allowed?

    No. Kids aren't even allowed outside of the immediate restaurant area.

    Do they have gluten free options?

    Yes they do

    Hi for your restaurant are customers also allowed to use the pool or public just open to the restaurant?

    Pool is for hotel guests only right now

    View All 4 Questions

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    4.3
    (320 reviews)
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    Took my husband for an after dinner anniversary cocktail. I had been once before with friends. We…read moresat at the bar and had a lovely experience. From the purse hooks underneath (always such an appreciated detail) to the footrest the host offered so I would be comfortable on a bar stool to the mixologist who made the best drinks, our experience was 5 star. We had the smoked butter pecan old fashioned and a grasshopper (aka dessert in a glass) and both were the perfect exclamation point to a lovely evening! My husband appreciated the decor of tufted walls and the monkey sconces are a fun touch. All the details are perfect. Definitely visit if you're in town. No photos because they take your phones, but you can get one in the library before you enter if you ask. Cheers!

    Let me just preface this by saying, I knew 'jack diddley' about this place till my cousin took me…read morethere, so I owe her all the thanks and praise for that. Then, of course, one would need to thank the bar for their drinks and presentations, which are awesome. You need a bit of showmanship to perform and serve at a place like this. Ok, here we go. Tucked away on a back street in Paso lies this interesting and very amazing venue. I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams going to a place like this, let alone what was inside. To be honest, I at first felt like I was entering the twilight zone, the first time I came here. In the back of my mind, I was thinking, " Is this what it felt like going to something like this during prohibition times? Now, in this post, I will not share all about your entrance, etc., into this place, as that takes the fun out of it, but I must add that if you are in the Paso area, this is a must on your list. Let's go back and recreate yesteryear, a very intimate and very exclusive, club-like atmosphere. You never know who is watching you; it's all that mystery. Does it feel a bit like the game CLUE"? You tell me. :-) Just remember this: speak easy, abide by their rules, speak quietly, and have fun!

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    Wine Shine & Tin City Distillery

    Wine Shine & Tin City Distillery

    4.7
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    Wow! This place was a great stop for those discerning spirits drinkers. It was hopping outside…read morewith the younger crowd getting the mixed drinks and hanging outside in the beautiful weather. I was more interested in sampling their collection and it did not disappoint. The host was gracious to let us try several bottles of gin, vodka and bourbon. Personally, to my surprise, I liked the really deep and rich flavors of their top shelf bourbon. The Chocolate Love vodka was quite the surprise. My friend loved it and I had to get at least one bottle through I really should have gotten three. Great vodka flavors with a nice hint of chocolate. Personally, I recommend going inside to get the full service tasting and go outside for a cocktail to enjoy during those wonderful last afternoons.

    I have been going to tin city for years. and I I've just now spotted this distillery that has been…read moreestablished for over 12 years! Tucked in the middle of tin city you will find this distillery that offers both inside and outside patio seating. The distillery offers two bars: an indoor/outdoor bar and a more formal indoor bar. The distillery offers both tastings and mix cocktails. The cocktails are solid in taste and amount of alcohol! Plus you can buy their products! Gin, vodka and whiskey can be had there! I also appreciate the great staff! Solid knowledge of the distillery process and their products. On the weekends parking can be challenging but across from tin city you can find an overflow parking lot.

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    Scrumptious craft cocktail from Tin City Distillery
    Scrumptious craft cocktail from Tin City Distillery
    Tin City Distillery Bourbon - 80 proof ($65)
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    Enoteca

    Enoteca

    3.9
    (222 reviews)
    0.0 mi
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    What an absolute gem of a find to kick off a wine country morning! Sometimes early morning vibes in…read morewine country can feel a little stiff or sleepy, but walking into Enoteca completely reset the bar. The hospitality here matches the warmth of the central coast perfectly. The staff went above and beyond to make me (a solo diner) feel welcome right out of the gate. Jim behind the bar is a master of his craft, he shook up a spectacular Bloody Mary with a perfectly executed salted rim that brought the perfect amount of lingering heat & spice. It absolutely delivered that ideal morning energy! My waitress, Edith, was a delight: attentive, genuinely friendly, and pacing the meal beautifully. As for the food? Outstanding. The Avocado Toast is an elevated masterpiece. The goat cheese was incredibly lush and super creamy (none of that chalky, hard texture you sometimes get), layered perfectly with vibrant pickled red onions, tomatoes, and beautifully fluffy scrambled eggs over a bed of fresh greens. ( I hit it with a dash of pepper and hot sauce) The real star of the show, though, was the side of pork sausage hands down my favorite part of the entire meal. It was incredibly savory and juicy. Paired with a bowl of exceptionally fresh, sweet fruit to balance it all out, it was the ultimate gourmet fuel ahead of a day of drinking. If you want amazing food served with genuine smiles, this is your spot. Thank you, Jim and Edith, for making my morning! We will absolutely be back.

    So we don't go out very often and we were very excited to be here. If I had booked the reservation…read moremyself, I would have asked the price of the prefix menu, so we were quite shocked to see it at $100 a person. We had a male server. I'm not sure if he was also the bartender or not but he took an incredibly long time for us. He'd take our first order and wouldn't return with food until 30 minutes later, and that's how it was all night. I don't really remember him checking on us but maybe 3 times the whole night. From start to finish we were there almost 2 1/2 hours. We had a few complaints, things that never should have happened... but the food was really good. But for $100 a person it was kind of a slap in the face. Absolutely ridiculous! This place is extremely short staffed. It doesn't make for a relaxing evening when you see the lack of staff running around with their heads cut off.

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    Enoteca
    Enoteca
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    Pappy McGregor's

    Pappy McGregor's

    3.6
    (827 reviews)
    2.7 mi
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    Such a fun place with great food! They have a huge space I can imagine gets filled up on weekends…read moreor game nights. Came here on a Wednesday night and had the room almost to ourselves. Everyone from the hostess, the servers, and the bartenders were super kind. We both got the Short Rib Jalapeño burger, hers was lettuce wrapped. We got side salads instead of fries, she got french onion soup and I got the chili. To start off the salads were good, nothing special but not bad at all. The chili was exceptional, very good flavor, meaty with chunks of ribeye, and a ton of cheese and red onions just how I like it. The French Onion soup was delicious, covered in cheese, and very rich. Now the burgers.....they were phenomenal tbh. The cheese was so melty and mixed with the aioli so nicely plus a little kick from the jalapeño. The patty was cooked nicely leaving it juicy, and the short rib on top was perfect. I would come back for this burger! They have some fun cocktails too, we both got a smoked maple old fashioned. They bring it out with smoke in the glass, you can certainly taste it!

    This was my second visit to Pappy McGregor's in about six months. It had been recommended by…read morefriends who live in the area, and my first experience was solid enough that I was looking forward to coming back. On my first visit (evening), we walked in without a reservation and were quickly seated at the last available table. The place had a lively atmosphere, and it looked like part of the space turns into more of a dance floor later in the night. I had the French onion soup, raw oysters, and the pot pie, all of which were good. The pot pie in particular is something I would recommend. This most recent visit was for lunch on a weekday. There were plenty of open tables, and we were seated right away. Parking was easy, which is typical outside of busy weekends. The experience this time around was more mixed. We wanted to order oysters Rockefeller, but they were completely out of oysters, which was disappointing. I ordered a black and tan, which tasted fine, but it came with a design on top that I wasn't expecting. Not a big deal, just different from what I had in mind. For food, my girlfriend ordered the blackened salmon and said it was good. I went with the corned beef and cabbage. The corned beef itself was flavorful and served over mashed potatoes, which were well done. The cabbage, though, wasn't what I expected. Instead of a more traditional preparation, it was grilled with char marks and topped with au jus. The texture came out a bit rubbery and didn't really absorb the flavor well, which made that part of the dish underwhelming. Service was okay but not great. My water ran empty at one point, and I had to ask for a refill. We also ordered boneless wings as an appetizer and asked for extra ranch, which didn't come out until we reminded the server. The biggest issue, though, was something I noticed from our table with a partial view into the kitchen. An employee had their shoe up on a shelf that appeared to be holding clean dishes, which didn't come across as sanitary. I also saw food being adjusted on a plate by someone who didn't appear to be the cook. I can't speak to what's happening behind the scenes in terms of handwashing or procedures, but visually, it raised concerns. That part of the experience honestly left a bad impression. Between that, the missed items, and some inconsistencies with the food, it changed how I feel about coming back. My first visit had me excited to return, but after this one, I'm not sure I would.

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    Pony Club Bar

    Pony Club Bar

    4.1
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    2.6 mi
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    We walked in to Pony Club hoping to grab a warm tea and beer after walking around in the cold night…read moreair. We were greeted by a friendly server named Sara (hopefully, I recalled her name correctly). Before we were seated, I asked if they had hot herbal tea and she said they definitely did. Although hot tea wasn't part of the bar menu, she went out of her way to accommodate my request. She even had to get the hot water from the hotel. She was so sweet! The bar lounge wasn't overly large but they did their best to accommodate their patrons. Before we finished our drinks. some new patrons walked in and they had to be turned away since the lounge area was already filled. We kept our visit short so they could accommodate more patrons. I'm sure the food they offered would have been delicious but we had already eaten dinner. The sticky toffee pudding sounded like it would have been wonderful! Perhaps we'll be able to stop for dinner or a casual bite to eat next time we're in Paso Robles! I hope others enjoy their visit with Sara and the other staff at Pony Club too!

    Fun evening at Pony club bar with our friends from Sculpterra winery. Paul the wine maker…read moreentertained us with accolades of his amazing wines . We enjoyed the vionier, mega focus and reserve Cab that we paired with the chocolate cake. We love his wines and we be enjoying the upcoming winery events.

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    Pony Club Bar at Hotel Cheval
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    Ciao Papi at River Lodge - pizza - Updated June 2026

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