Last week we were in Cambria and decided as hard as it was to try some new restaurants. With the exception of Indigo Moon, which we love and must dine at on every trip for our trip to be complete, we tried three new places. They were Las Cambritas, Madeline’s and Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill. We enjoyed them all.

After our wonderful wine-tasting and lunch at the Hearst Ranch Winery, we weren’t very hungry. It was already after 3 p.m. and we didn’t think we would be hungry for dinner. But, of course, at about 8 p.m. we were. We wanted something “light” so we headed over to Las Cambritas which roughly translated means “a little piece of Cambria.” We were promptly seated and soon our server brought some very good salsa and chips. My husband had a chicken enchilada mole and chile relleno combination plate. I had an al pastor taco and a chicken taco ala cart. Both our selections were delicious and the portions were plentiful, There are many types of margaritas to choose from as well as different brands of tequila. Between the drinks, chips, salsa, and our “light” meals we were totally satisfied with our meal at Las Cambritas. We enjoyed the atmosphere, and our server was very nice and checked to see if we needed anything several times. We definitely will be back.

Madeline’s. What can one say about the lovely Madeline’s? The wine is very, very good, and the food is delicious. We’ve long wanted to try this Cambria favorite as but previously mentioned just loved our other restaurants so much could never fit it in. This time we were making a bona fide effort to try some restaurants that were new to us. On this night we opted to dine about 45 minutes earlier than we usually do when we are on holiday. It was about 7 p.m. and we were seated right away though the restaurant was very full.

We had a very nice bottle of red wine. Sorry, I can’t remember what the name of our wine was. Our daughter dined with us this evening. She ordered the coq au vin, my husband had Long Island Duck Breast Pan-seared, topped with a fig reduction with scalloped potatoes and vegetables and I had the sea bass special. By the end of the meal, there was not an edible morsel left on any of our plates. Though we were pretty full, we could not resist the heavenly dessert, Chocolate Truffle Mousse Cake. Pure nirvana!

Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill. Wow! This just might be worth the wait. They don’t do reservations here. The night of our wine tasting we thought we would just go down the street from where we were staying on Moonstone Beach and it at this establishment but when we called, the hostess said there was an hour forty-five minute wait! We don’t do those kinds of waits so we went elsewhere. (See my tip for not waiting long at the Sea Chest in my previous Cambria Where to Eat post.) The next day we decide to try Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill for lunch. There was about a twenty-minute wait and we were okay with that. The food was awesome! Very large and delicious portions. I enjoyed wonderful tacos and my husband gobbled up two cajun shrimp and scallop tacos. We eyed what everyone was eating around us and it all looked fantastic! We would absolutely come here again but no, we would not wait nearly two hours to be seated.

Conclusion: We will just have to stay longer in Cambria so we can eat at all our favorite restaurants!