Paseo at Myriad Hotel is a New Culinary Gem in the Highlands
The chorizo octopus starter at Paseo is as delicious as it looks. Photos by Kevin Gibson
Sometimes it’s best when you don’t quite know what to expect. Paseo is new enough that when I went seeking it for dinner recently, I wasn’t even sure how to get in. Fortunately, some employees at The Myriad Hotel, inside which Paseo is located, were nice enough to direct my fiancée Cynthia and me a couple of doors down Baxter Avenue to a small courtyard leading to the restaurant’s front entrance – which isn’t marked with any sort of signage.
We were greeted and seated when we arrived – we got there as they opened to avoid crowds because since covid, we have been those people – and the place essentially was empty. By the time we finished dinner at around 6:30, the place was pretty much full. And this was on a Tuesday. Apparently, word on this “new” dining establishment is getting around.
Chefs Jeremy Frederiksen and Mike Wajda have put together a menu that bears out the intense interest. Sourcing locally, the food is wood-fired, with the menu being cultivated to pair the method with the menu in the 154-seat restaurant, which has a modern-yet-cozy vibe, with rows of potted plants splitting the dining room in half, a view of the hotel’s orange-bedecked pool area and chairs that, as Cynthia noted, owe a slight nod to Mid-Century Modern.
While the menu isn’t particularly lengthy, with five sections – Starters, Sides, Pasta, Entrees and Paella – it’s diverse, making decisions difficult. We sort of knew what we wanted as our entrees but started with a pair of appetizers in a hummus brulee and chorizo octopus. (The Hamachi crudo tempted as well.) I also ordered an Old Fashioned (made with Knob Creek 9 Year), while Cynthia chose a non-alcoholic cocktail called In the Midst Spritz, made with Ritual “spiritless” gin, blueberry, ginger and other ingredients. There’s also a reasonably impressive bourbon list because, you know, it’s Kentucky.
The hummus was an ample serving topped with an onion jam, lightly charred, and served with fresh sliced vegetables and a thin Turkish bread that was akin to a slightly crispier naan, cut into triangles. The chorizo octopus, meanwhile, was a few pieces of wood-fired octopus, slices of wood-fired chorizo with patatas bravas. Cynthia wouldn’t touch the octopus (“I won’t eat anything that could potentially beat me at chess,” she says often), so that was all up to me. As I said going into the meal, when done well, octopus is delicious, and Paseo did this octopus dish well.
Waygu beef loin.
If you’re opposed to the somewhat spongy or chewy texture you might find when ordering octopus at a sushi bar, know that when you cook it, it can become quite tender, and in this instance, the wood-firing made the tips of the tentacles nice and crispy. Inside, the clean, white meat’s lightly briny sweetness offered a lovely balance. I could have had two of those and called it a meal.
The hummus was a fine option for table sharing, with plenty for everyone – to the point that Cynthia had some to take home.
For our entrees, Cynthia chose the Wagyu beef loin, while I opted for the seafood paella. (Yes, I know paella is traditionally a shared dish, but I was plenty hungry.)
When our dinners were served, I remarked at just how much care goes into presentation at Paseo. If you aren’t salivating when you walk in, you will be when you see the food. The octopus appetizer was particularly eye-popping. But Cynthia’s medium-rare steak was sliced and placed so that, well, if anyone at an adjacent table as the dining room began to fill up saw it, my guess is more were ordered. The dark red beef in the center contrasted the patatas and green, chimichurri-style drizzle for a most appetizing sight. And the flavors were bountiful.
The paella, with enormous head-on prawns and charred scallops topped with smoked trout roe atop the traditional saffron rice and garnished with greens, was equally as impressive. The prawns were firm and meaty, with the signature shrimp flavor accentuated by the crispy char, and the scallops were buttery, light and delicious. Be sure to get into the crispy lower layer of rice.
Before long, like a true couple of 12 years, we were eating off each other’s plates, which I get the sense is exactly what they hope for at Paseo. And when the subject of dessert came up, Cynthia decided to forego the last few bites of Wagyu, meaning I got to bat cleanup on the lean, tender beef. That dessert ultimately was a round pastry that resembled what might happen if a chocolate éclair married a cannoli. I was too full to even try it, but Cynthia wasted no time in removing it from the world.
Speaking of being full, at the end of the meal, Cynthia remarked, “I just want to go home and lay in the yard.”
Colorful. And I will not comment on whether, in fact, it actually happened.
All in all, dinner at Paseo was beyond enjoyable, from the environment to the flavors to the ample portions to our on-point server Holly. I’d recommend it to anyone and everyone, and I will hope to get back again soon.
