Thanks for the heads-up this was going to be my next place to try in Cambria. I know they have recently changed owners, so maybe it won't be as good now. We have always had very good meals at the Sow's Ear Cafe. I think they changed owners also a couple of years ago and not a thing changed.

I hate to see someone destroy the reputation of a really wonderful restaurant. I'm not sure what happened to you on your visit, but my husband and I love the Black Cat and recommend it to many people and go often. The old house with burning fireplace when you walk in is pretentious?? I just don't understand that. I love fine dining in San Francisco, but for our area, the Black Cat is one of the best and certainly warm and friendly with excellent french/california cuisine. And the local wine list is also excellent. Desserts are fantastic. Like I said, this is a fine restaurant. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. But I do hope others do not disclude it because of this message. I go all the time- much more often than the one time you went. Maybe someone else can reply to this post also.

I agree with Gourmand's reply - it's too bad to hear someone disparage this excellent restaurant. I am sorry to hear you had a bad experience. My husband and I ate at the Black Cat earlier this month and could not stop talking about it. We found the menu refreshingly creative with an great focus on fresh ingredients. The food was delicious and we enjoyed a stunning and reasonably-priced local wine. The ambience was warm and romantic. We were served by two people - a woman who was quite unprofessional (sloshed the wine into our glasses in the most amusing way) and a man who was excellent and appeared to picking up her slack. Perhaps you had the woman server? Until recently, we had lived in San Francisco for the last 10 years and found Black Cat's food to be on par with some of our SF faves (e.g. Delfina, Andalu, 2223, etc).

I am the owner of Black Cat and I wanted to just say how much I appreciate the support of the two positive posters here. I do remember this guest, because it is unusual for us to have an unhappy diner, and nothing I could do seemed to make her happy. I even offered to have her come back as my guest and she said she would and then posted that awful review on two different sites. Sometimes I think that people don't know how much that will effect someone - personally and professionally. But it is very true that you can't possibly please everyone, but we sure do try. I wonder who it was on my staff who sloshed your wine! Yikes! Thanks again and hope to see you soon!

Thanks for the response, Deborah. We were in Cambria last month, just for the day. We were considering seroiusly trying the Black Cat but opted for the Sow's Ear just because we have so many happy memories there. It was great, as always.

When we get a chance to spend more time in the area, we will definitely try Black Cat. Happy Holidays! :)

Wow I live in San Francisco and last time we had the most amazing meal at the black cat. We were highly impressed by the flavors. We tried sow's ear and thought it was horrible. I would rather eat at Robin's or Brambels than ever step foot in that place again. Very bland fish and the vegies were like something you would get on an airplane. We plan on going up this Saturday to stay the night and have dinner there once again. Hope the food is as delightful as before. If so will post a comment.

ruby

Couldn't disagree more strongly with this review. Was just in Cambria over the holiday weekend, knew NOTHING of the area and decided to drop in on the Black Cat. It was 8 PM on a holiday Saturday, and the hostess/manager (I guess it was Deborah) made us feel totally welcome and found us a table after only a few minutes at the bar.

I found the atmoshpere to be totally charming and relaxing, with none of the forced cutesiness so prevalent in the area.

Our service WAS slow, but we understood, the place was absolutely packed - the server apologized and bought us a round of wine - problem solved, EXACTLY how it should be.

Great selection of local wines, great food - suprising for the location, as the reviewer from San Francisco said, we are from Los Angeels and have been to many of the great restuarants here, Black Cat compared favorably to them.

Just wish I had gotten a t-shirt!

Our next visit to Cambria will include dinner at the Black Cat! Can't wait to finally try this place. :)