I’ve always said that restaurants with an amazing view often have a hard time pumping out amazing food. The idea being that the real estate is generally too expensive to get quality food. Nonetheless, I’ve been proven wrong a number of times and hoped Pacific Coast Grill in Cardiff by the Sea would by another in the latter category.
While the menu was dominated by seafood and had a few terrestrial animals as well, there was a pasta dish that was pretty much begging for me to order it. It was a Lobster-Bacon Carbonara and while the bacon part may be redundant (pretty much all carbonara has a bacon-like element), I was very excited for almost all of the rest of it. There was an “heirloom tomato compote” but I couldn’t decide if it would be a sauce or chunky tomato situation so I let it slide.
Unfortunately it turned out to be a chunky tomato situation, but I was able to avoid it pretty easily as I made my way through a dish that nearly lived up to my lofty expectations of it. The lobster tail was no slouch, being big, juicy and flavorful while avoiding being rubbery. The sauce was nice and rich, being a glorious combination of egg, cream and bacon. Could there have been more bacon? Yes, but that’s ummm always the answer.
It’s not always good when a place tries to fancy up a classic comfort dish. That was not the case with Pacific Coast Grill’s take on carbonara. Now, if they could replace that tomato compote with bacon, it would be a game changer. Oh and did I mention the awesome view?
