The food and wine pairings are spot-on, the service is excellent, and the restaurant has a wonderful energy to it. If you find yourself in Paso on a wine-tasting adventure, Les Petites Canailles is well worth your time. 

About the Owners

Julien and Courtney Asseo, the owners of Les Petites Canailles, know a thing or two about high-quality food and wine. 

If the Asseo name is familiar, that’s because Julien’s father created L’Aventure wines in Paso Robles and quickly grew the winery into one of the most respected in the region. Courtney also comes from a respected food family. Her family, based in North Carolina, created Mays Meat Processing in the small town of Taylorsville, North Carolina. Mays Meat Processing is unique in the food landscape, as it’s one of just a handful of family-owned and operated slaughterhouses in the United States. Most of which are owned by five-multinational corporations. 

The restaurant’s name, which means “The Little Rascals,” is a tribute to the couple’s three children.

The Atmosphere

The dining room at Les Petites Canailles is clean and crisp. The white walls are adorned with a simple mural that reads: You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together.

Selections from the wine list are beautifully displayed in a built-in wall wine cabinet, windows line the adjacent wall, and a large skylight in the ceiling allows natural light to fill the dining room during the day. If you enjoy sitting at the bar, like we do, you’re in luck. Les Petites Canailles has a lovely little L-shaped bar, and we found the service excellent here.

The restaurant itself is elegant, but rustic, and the vibe here is very welcoming. Diners can watch the chefs work in the open kitchen, and the dining room fills up quickly as the evening progresses. Once we tell you about the food, you will understand why.

The Food

There are several ways to enjoy the offerings at Les Petites Canailles. The restaurant has a nightly, seasonally-inspired five-course tasting menu with an optional wine pairing. At the time of this post, the price per person for the tasting menu was $98, with the wine pairing an additional $80 per person.

Vegetarian diners are embraced at Les Petites Canailles, and the kitchen is happy to make accommodations for guests who prefer plant-based dishes.

If you’re not in the mood for the prix-fixe menu, or you simply want to stop into the restaurant after a day of wine tasting in Paso Robles, the a la carte menu is filled with options. Small bites include artisanal cheese boards and caviar service. Heartier appetizers like steak tartare, leeks a la plancha, and spring peas with burrata are enticing. French food lovers might also gravitate towards the moules-frites, roasted lamb loin, or steak au poivre.

The Wine List

Les Petites Canailles has a robust wine list with a terrific (and expansive) selection of wines from around the world. Given the owners’ ties to France, and Paso Robles, these regions take center stage. And, naturally, a large section of the wine list is dedicated to Julien’s family winery, L’Aventure

If you’re considering bringing a bottle to the restaurant for corkage, keep in mind Les Petites Canailles’ corkage policy: 

The corkage Fee is $30 per 750ml bottle, with a 2-bottle maximum. If you purchase a bottle from their list, they waive the corkage fee per bottle. There is a $60 corkage fee per 1500ml bottle. The restaurant will not open bottles that are represented on their wine list, so take a look at the in-house selections before you go.

Dining Experience

There were so many things we loved about our dinner experience at Les Petites Canaille. Here are a few of the highlights from the evening. 

Chilled Pea Soup & Pinot Blanc 

The Chilled Pea Soup was a vibrant green color, just the kind of color you associate with spring. The addition of mint oil added another layer of refreshing flavor. This palate cleanser was the perfect way to start the tasting menu and paired well with the crisp Pinot Blanc from Domaine Ostertag (a Kermit Lynch selection). An excellent combination.

Halibut Crudo & Chenin Blanc

There were so many colors, textures, and flavors going on the plate there. Pink grapefruit and fresco chili added acid and heat, while ginger and buttermilk pickled cumquat added a creamy tang. 

A 2016 Domaine des Baumard Clos du Papillon Savennieres from Loire was wonderful with this light dish. This Chenin Blanc had bright lemon zest and tang that paired well with the dish’s many layers.

Asparagus Salad & Scheurebe (grape variety)

Scheurebe is an aromatic white German grape that is a cross between ​​Riesling and Bukettraube. This is the first time we’ve tried this rarely imported grape, and we were pleasantly surprised by the wine’s citrus-herb profile.

The 2021 Pfeffingen Scheurebe was an unexpected surprise, and we loved it with the clean flavors in the asparagus salad. This is definitely a grape variety we would have again.

Scallop with Sweet Potato & Napa Valley Rosé

We’ll just come out and say it: this might be the best scallop we’ve ever had. Beautifully plated and served on top of a sweet potato puree, this dish was perfect. The salinity of the scallop worked so well with the earthy sweetness of the sweet potato. 

The scallop was paired with Amuse Bouche’s Prêt à Boire wine, a lovely Napa Valley rosé by Heidi Barrett. Heidi is a legend in the wine community. She was responsible for creating Screaming Eagle and for using her talents to amplify Dalla Valle Cabernets. Her husband, Bo Barrett, has been the winemaker at Chateau Montelena since 1982.

Steak & Cabernet Blend

In theory, steak paired with Cabernet should be a pleasant match, and while each was good on its own, together, things were just a bit off. This Paso Cabernet from Arbuckle Ridge was too sweet for the steak, and overall, it was a miss. Not to say that the dish was bad. In fact, it was still very good; they just didn’t go well together.

For dessert, we enjoyed a savory blue cheese with Chateau Roûmieu-Lacoste Sauterne, also imported by Kermit Lynch. It was just the ending this spectacular meal needed.

Closing Thoughts

In our opinion, Les Petites Canailles is one of the best restaurants in Paso Robles. The atmosphere was great, the service and staff were very good, and everything was top-notch all the way around. From everything we experienced, it’s easy to give this restaurant 5 stars. 

One last playful touch that’s worth mentioning: the bill arrives in an old paperback book, and guests are encouraged to write a little something to future guests that dine. There were some colorful notes on these pages, and it added to the fun, lighthearted vibe of the experience.