Located on the road to the Klimpton Hotel from the center of Pescadero is a natural food restaurant, Hierbabuena Restaurante y Hortaliza. Their slogan is “Grow it, Plate it, Eat it.” Opened in 2013, the restaurant has large gardens on the property, which you see as soon as you enter the walkway toward the restaurant and bar. They also partner with other local businesses to offer the freshest food in the area, with vegetarian and vegan options. Walking through the gardens, there are two buildings – an outdoor bar and dining room. Entering the dining room, I was offered the choice of a number of tables as it was late afternoon. The server brought over a large blackboard with the daily specials and provided me the menu and their craft cocktail list. The large dining area and kitchen was filling up fast with groups of families and children.

The menu offers soups, salads, grilled vegetables, vegetarian specials, enchiladas, pizza, calzones, ravioli and the fish of the day and arrachera. I decided to try the one of the soups of the day – French Onion and then the Fish of the Day, which offered the choice of two different preparations. I selected the mole and Pico de Gallo presentation. My server brought me a small cup of soup as a complimentary starter – tasty. The French Onions soup was a very good and traditional version, with bread covered in cheese on top and lots of onions in the broth. It was very good. The presentation of the Fish of the Day was very interesting. A large filet of white fish was sitting on top with a round bed of coleslaw and Pico de Gallo surrounded by the mole sauce covering the whole plate. The fish was flaky and fresh and the combination of the mole and Pico de Gallo enhanced the flavor even more. It too was excellent.

Overall, I was very impressed with Hierbabuena – great food, a very pleasant atmosphere, excellent service – a very positive experience.