Barley & Boar, or B&B, is so much more than its name. While Barley references beer and Boar is a nod to meat, the Atascadero restaurant is a brewhouse, distillery, and farm-to-table eatery all rolled into one.
Boasting chic décor courtesy of interior designer Lori Krivacsy of Paso Robles, house-made brews and distilled spirits crafted in collaboration with A-Town’s Tent City Beer, and full creative autonomy granted by parent company North County Restaurant Group, Barley & Boar promises a meal to remember.
Executive Chef Sean Deniz, sous chef Cordell Pheasant, and bartender Ezekiel Dubois from A-Town, along with General Manager Albert Silva-Flores of Avila Beach have joined forces on the new restaurant, which opened in May. The hot spot replaced Pair With Dead Oak on Entrada Avenue and is open for dinner, with lounge seating till midnight.
“B&B represents everything I love about the industry,” Deniz said. “This business has many aspects to showcase, especially with an open-kitchen design—the grit, the attention to detail, the freedom, the unity, the culture, and the ability to push limits. I’ve always envisioned cooking in a restaurant like this.”
The cuisine is fresh, seasonal, and eclectic.
“Cooking is a feeling, and it changes almost every day,” Deniz explained. “I couldn’t say that I prefer one cuisine or style more than the other. That mentality is pretty much how I create Barley & Boar’s menus. I develop ideas or inspirations based on what I would like to go out and eat at the time.”
Pheasant added that the menu all depends on the time of year.
“If the fishing is good or if someone brings me some venison they harvested, we may dish it up. Farmers’ markets are a huge inspiration,” he said. “Sean and I honestly write half our menus walking around the market like dorks laughing at each other. I love all cuisines and styles of food, and I’ve been blessed to get to work with most of them.”
Translated to Barley & Boar’s menus—which are revamped monthly and finessed daily—elaborate entrees feature beef, pork, poultry, seafood, pasta, and vegetarian options jazzed up with flavorful side dishes and sauces du jour.
July standouts include The Beef—slow-smoked short rib with fermented plum barbecue, buttermilk onion rings, sliced brioche, and pickled market vegetables—and The Fish—crusted halibut with mid-neck clams, chorizo, spiced ginger-carrot broth, and warm potato salad.
Most ingredients are sourced locally from partner vendors such as Mighty Cap Mushrooms, Stepladder Ranch & Creamery, Lazy B Hill, Bautista Family Farms, Mt. Olive Organic Farm, Back Porch Bakery, Hayashi Farms, Olea Farm, and Solvang Spice Merchant, as well as from livestock specialist Rancho Llano Seco in Chico.
The bar is an entity of its own, with creative drinks meticulously developed by Dubois, a former bartender at Guest House Grill in Atascadero, who loves meeting new people and making cocktails.
“Our cocktail list is an amalgamation of flavors that I love,” Dubois said.
A prime example is Maiden’s Blossom, a blend of unique yet complementary ingredients “centered around lychee, a flavor that often goes unused, at least where I’m from,” he continued. “There are dragon fruit popping boba at the bottom … and a smoke-filled bubble on top that adds an element of experience to the drink.”
Select beer and liquor are created in partnership with Tent City owner Kendall Bryson, “a fantastic brewer-distiller,” Deniz added. “He crafts our vodka and gin, and soon we want to start a whiskey and rum.”
The menu will change biannually, with seasonal specialty cocktails sprinkled into the mix.
“I couldn’t be happier with our team,” Deniz said. “We share a mutual respect for the ingredients and a genuine love for our profession.”
A self-taught chef, Deniz climbed the ranks at various restaurants in Santa Maria and the Five Cities area before landing a job in Atascadero. He’s worked for the North County Restaurant Group (NCRG) since 2018.
“In that time, NCRG owners Eric Peterson and Trevor LaSalle have entrusted me with the title of executive chef for their locations.” Deniz said. “Barley & Boar was our most recent project that intrigued me from the very beginning, allowing me to expand my culinary creations freely while also maintaining my sobriety of nearly four years.
“My greatest motivation in the kitchen and in my life is not only accepting the amount of time I’ve lost due to my struggles with addiction, but also using that idea to motivate me to be the best representation of myself that I can possibly be.”
Deniz’s second in command, Pheasant—who’s helmed kitchens at The Inn at Morro Bay, Robin’s Restaurant in Cambria, Cambria Pines Lodge, SeaVenture Restaurant in Pismo Beach, and Betty Restaurant and Bar in Seattle—says it’s an honor working alongside Deniz.
“Truly, the guy is a beast in the kitchen,” Pheasant said. “He works tirelessly to make sure all is in place for us. He is such a talented chef—no ego, no judgment, just a brother that likes to play with food as much as I do.”
General Manager Silva-Flores thinks both chefs are top-notch.
“Out of all my years in the industry, chefs Cordell and Sean are the best I have ever had the pleasure to work with,” he said.
And Silva-Flores has worked at many establishments, including Megan’s Organic Market and BarrelHouse Brewing Taproom and Speakeasy in San Luis Obispo, The Siren in Morro Bay, and San Diego’s Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens-Liberty Station, and Bassmnt and Parq nightclubs.
Opening Barley & Boar was a dream come true for Silva-Flores.
“I looked into it, and after meeting the … chefs and owners I knew that this place was going to be something special,” he said. “[Our] dishes are familiar, but with bold twists. From preparation to the final plating, everything is planned and has a purpose, and the chefs are always thinking about what is next.”
Deniz added that the team’s goals for Barley & Boar are simple: “To create an unforgettable experience for our guests and crew, to develop a core restaurant—one that we can all be proud of—in our small town of Atascadero, and to establish ourselves among the top five restaurants of the Central Coast.” Δ
Flavor Writer Cherish Whyte thinks Barley & Boar’s goals are already within reach. Contact her at cwhyte@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in 55 Fiction 2023.
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