Artisan is located just two blocks from the Paso Robles town square.

Since Paso Robles has become known for wine culture, it made sense to incorporate wine bottles into the restaurant’s design. The airy space includes an open kitchen and artistic photos.

Seafood Chowder ($8) hosted flaky fish, plump mussels, smoky bacon strips and house-made black pepper crackers that were a serious step up from bagged oyster crackers. Creamy broth wasn’t too thick or rich.

Crispy Rock Shrimp ($13) salad featured crispy shrimp, thin, tangy pickled cucumber strands, sweet tangerine slabs and bitter radicchio strips. There probably could have been a bit less romaine and a little more sesame dressing, but the salad was fairly well balanced.

Hearst Flatiron Steak ($19) was a relative bargain, a lean slab that sported a winning char. The grass-fed steak was devoid of the buttery, fatty marbling associated with corn-fed beef, and my stomach was grateful for that absence. Accompaniments were all excellent, including caramelized shallots, cabernet butter studded with purple grape skins and a thatch of crisp sweet potato fries. At the base of the steak, we found impeccably cooked field greens.

Firm but sweet Laughing Bird Prawns ($15) were tossed with hand-rolled spaghetti that had good bite. Tangy preserved lemon strips, capers and cherry tomatoes provided strong acidity. Arugula and chile de arbol rounded out the dish’s flavor profile.

We were tempted by tangerine cheesecake, but felt too full to partake. Surprisingly, Michael Kobayashi sent us on our way with two Scharffenberger Chocolate Brownies that were airy, with an outer sugar crispness and crushed walnuts within.