4 Best Restaurants in The Central Coast, California

Edging a ranch, citrus groves, and a seasonal garden that provides produce for menu items, the modest but cheery Boccali's attracts many loyal fans. When it's warm, you can dine alfresco in the oak-shaded patio and lawn area and sometimes listen to live music.

At barlike, tin-ceilinged La Cosecha (Spanish for "the harvest"), Honduran-born chef Santos MacDonal faithfully re-creates dishes from Spain and South America. Noteworthy starters include pastelitos catracho, Honduran-style empanadas in a light tomato sauce served with queso fresco (fresh cheese) and micro cilantro.

Homemade soups, potpies, and other farmhouse comfort foods share the menu at this spacious East Village restaurant with fancier farm-to-table dishes such as organic, free-range chicken topped with raspberry-orange-cranberry sauce. Also on-site are a bakery, a café serving more casual fare (take-out available), and a gift shop that sells gourmet foods.

This family-run diner serves some of the freshest food around. The seafood-heavy menu includes salmon burritos, Alaskan cod tostadas, superb fish tacos with mango salsa, and other dishes hailing from somewhere between California and Mexico.