I visited Palomino's, Chef and Restaurateurs Paul, Carl, and John Palomino's latest venture.  They also own the popular 609 Grille. I asked Paul why he decided to open Palomino's.

"I wanted a larger place.  This restaurant is a lot bigger, plus we have a patio here, which is nice.  People love to dine outside and now I can give them that option.  We've only been open three months, and were still making changes to the decor, but it's really coming along.  We serve both lunch and dinner and once the weather starts warming up we'll have live music on the patio."

I also spoke with Chris St. Louis, Chef at Palomino's.  Chris explained that Palomino's specializes in Euro-Asian cuisine. "While there are quite a few places specializing in California cuisine, there is probably only one other place doing Euro-Asian, locally. 

Chris graduated from culinary school in Portland, Oregon and has worked in prestigious restaurants all throughout California.  Most recently he worked in Las Vegas, Nevada to try a different type of environment.

"I moved to Las Vegas because I wanted to experience high volume.  I felt it was necessary to my development as a chef, but my first love is fine dining and that's why I am at Palomino's. Paul, whom I've known since we were kids, knew that I was coming back to Fresno to be with my family so the timing was perfect. Paul and I work well together and I can be really creative here.  The most important thing is to create delicious food, but it’s also about beautiful presentation." 

(Chef Chris St. Louis pictured right)

And the buzz has been great. It's been packed every night and reservations are necessary. I like the Mediterranean decor and the enclosed patio is beautiful with lots of greenery and a fountain.  The menu, while not large, is eclectic. I spoke with a few of the patrons and they said the food is wonderful.  I can vouch for this.  I tried the soup of the day, Chicken Florentine, and I loved it.  It seems that a lot of broth chicken soups are either bland or just too salty, but the one at Palomino's, with spinach, mushrooms, and carrots was a wonderfully balanced blend of flavors.  Absolutely delicious.  I then had the Tempura portabella mushrooms dressed with reduced balsamic vinegar, and shaved parmesan.  What was unusual was that, while most balsamic reductions can often be overpowering, Chris's reduction was light and just slightly sweet. Very very good. I asked Chris about some of the more popular dishes.

"The number one dish here is the Pan Seared Salmon with garlic smashed potatoes, sautéed veggies, with a stone fruit salsa,with mango and balsamic sauce.  Our guests just love it, but all the menu items are great sellers."  And after looking it over I'm not surprised

The wine list is excellent with each wine chosen for how it will compliment specific items on the lunch and dinner menu.  Located at 805 E. Olive in Fresno Palomino's is a great place for lunch, dinner, or just cocktails.

For reservations or more info call 559-237-1033