THE SPOON TRADE in Grover Beach is the newest in an ever-expanding group of Central Coast restaurants to open in the collective Arroyo Grande-Grover Beach-Pismo Beach area. Two visits in, I can safely say it comfortably completes an EMBER-COMFORT MARKET-SPOON TRADE trifecta for amazing, quality food, daringly conceived and perfectly presented. From the tartare to the bavette, the fried chicken to the pork chop, and every gazpacho, warm salad, cheese dish and dessert in between, everything goes above-and-beyond expectations. Several restaurants locally have put octopus on their menus lately–and I have tried them all. The octopus at SPOON TRADE is hands-down the winner, nudging out my last proclamation of *Best Octopus Ever* by several marks. The bavette steak lands easily in my top ONE or TWO best pieces of beef on the Central Coast–a perfect bistro cut in a proud reduction cooked to World-class standards. Winelist is adequate, crowd-pleasingly succinct with 10-whites/10-reds representing a broad swath of terroir. Service is attentive but un-hurried, friendly but not cloying, relaxed but not slouchy. A welcome addition to our ever-growing cadre of restaurants in the area opened by the new generation of chefs with vision and a pulse. Easily and comfortably hitting The List at ♦♦♦
eatdrink101 