Set amid lush vineyards in the center of the Edna Valley, a new fine dining restaurant led by Michelin-starred chef Jeremy Fox seeks to broaden guests’ taste buds through hyper-local, seasonal dishes that change daily.
The Restaurant at Edna, opening at 2585 Biddle Ranch Road in San Luis Obispo on Nov. 5, is a new 50-seat eatery placing a spotlight on Central Coast fruits, vegetables, seafood and meat without the typical pretentious flares of fancy cooking techniques, Fox said.
Inside the intimate dining room designed by Emily Baker Creative, hardwood floors are paired with terra cotta tile, fluted concrete, limewash walls and brass lighting. A wall of windows overlooks the property’s grapevines and some of the Nine Sisters, while a private dining space opens onto a patio courtyard, a news release said.
Fox, a seven-time James Beard Award nominee who previously earned a Michelin star at Napa’s Ubuntu and Santa Monica’s Rustic Canyon, is guiding the restaurant as its culinary director. Previously, he penned two cookbooks — “On Vegetables” and “On Meat” — that hone in on seasonal, ingredient-focused recipes for the home cook.
The Restaurant at Edna’s dining room looks out at Edna Valley wine country on Sept. 24, 2026. The restaurant is part of a multi-pronged venture that includes a market, tasting room, dining and a craft distillery. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
He said the restaurant’s philosophy is built around being an organic, living place. There’s no explicit concept, allowing the restaurant to evolve and “keep the menu dynamic and not beholden to any ingredients,” Fox told The Tribune.
The restaurant represents one arm of the four-part venture Edna — a food and drink destination that contains the new dining room, a family-friendly market, a tasting room with regional wines and a craft spirits distillery.
Edna took over the former E&J Gallo tasting room that was listed for sale in 2024.
The Restaurant at Edna’s dining room looks out at Edna Valley wine country on Sept. 24, 2026. The restaurant is part of a multi-pronged venture that includes a market, tasting room, dining and a craft distillery. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com Michelin-starred chef to center Central Coast ingredients at new restaurant
When Fox first visited the Edna Valley, he was transported back to his time in Napa nearly two decades ago.
During his Central Coast trip, he met with an array of local farmers who came bearing gifts of sunchokes and fresh eggs. And even though the restaurant site was a construction zone, he couldn’t resist the brilliant view filled with ripe grapevines and Islay Hill in the distance.
“This is my wheelhouse,” he thought at the time, deciding to sign onto a project where he could generate excitement for local agriculture in the central California spot where all the ingredients are grown.
“A lot of the farms that we have been buying from in L.A. for the past 15 years are here,” Fox said. “So to be able to get Mighty Cap mushrooms and Morro Bay avocados and lavender … is really great.”
Executive chef Matthew Schaler and head chef Jeremy Fox pose for a photo inside the Restaurant at Edna, their new Edna Valley venture, on Sept. 24, 2026. The Restaurant at Edna features a market, tasting room, dining and a craft distillery. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
At the same time Fox is launching Restaurant at Edna, he’s working on reopening his restaurant, Birdie G’s, in Los Angeles’ Century City neighborhood.
He said the two restaurants are his yin and yang, describing the small eatery in the heart of the Edna Valley as extremely earnest without trying to be trendy.
New hyper-seasonal restaurant features a changing menu
The Restaurant at Edna’s menu will be in a constant state of flux, Fox told The Tribune.
“I like that every dish could be here one day, gone tomorrow,” he said.
The menu serves as a map of what’s best in California at any given time of the year. Every ingredient that appears on a dinner plate represents a shared respect and an emotional connection between the cooks and the farmers, Fox added.
Executive chef Matthew Schaler pipes filling into a lavender almond Paris-Brest at the Restaurant at Edna on Sept. 24, 2026. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
The ever-changing menu will also require the restaurant to build diners’ trust. An entrée or appetizer they loved the first time around likely won’t be around the next time they visit, he said. Instead, restaurantgoers will have to have faith that whatever they order will be good.
At the same, Fox insisted the Restaurant at Edna is not an intimidating art project where diners only show up for a special occasion. He called the food “olive branch cuisine” where locals can feel comfortable sharing a meal together in a beautiful dining room.
Diners will never be reduced to a table number or just an order popping up on a ticket machine, he said.
“We want to be a place where people are coming every night of the week. They get to know the people behind the bar. They get to know the servers, the managers, the host, the cooks,” Fox told The Tribune.
By the end of every dining experience, he hopes each guest feels like they have been “virtually hugged,” and are left wondering, “How do they make it taste so good?”
The Edna Salad pairs features the restaurant’s beet French dressing and a rotating selection of small and tender seasonal vegetables, herbs and flowers from the garden at the Restaurant at Edna, seen here on Sept. 24, 2026. The restaurant is part of a multi-pronged venture that includes a market, tasting room, dining and a craft distillery. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com What’s on the menu at new fine dining restaurant?
The menu will be a snapshot of the best in-season produce locally, executive chef Matthew Schaler said.
The opening menu contains laminated buttermilk sea biscuits served alongside house-cultured butter, the release said.
Laminated buttermilk sea biscuits are served alongside house-cultured butter at the Restaurant at Edna. The new fine dining restaurant at 2585 Biddle Ranch Road in San Luis Obispo opens on Nov. 5, 2026. Restaurant at Edna
One mainstay on the menu will be the Edna Salad, complete with beet French dressing, seasonal vegetables and herbs and flowers found in the restaurant’s garden. Schaler told The Tribune it’s an ode to his childhood love of salad bars, though this version is a “much more interesting and lighter presentation of all these flavors that I enjoyed as a kid.”
Schaler said his intention is to blend the familiar with the unfamiliar by giving guests flavors they’ve tried before but never in this format.
Entrées will range from a Mighty Cap mushroom ravioli served in a French-onion soup type sauce to a Petrale sole packed with Dungeness crab and yuzu hollandaise.
Other menu highlights include slices of prime California beef served with radish, caper leaves and a pat of Caesar butter, as well as pasture-raised chicken charcoal-grilled with grapes and verjus, the release said.
Slices of prime California beef are served with radish, caper leaves and a pat of Caesar butter at the Restaurant at Edna. The new fine dining restaurant at 2585 Biddle Ranch Road in San Luis Obispo opens on Nov. 5, 2026. Anya McInroy
The restaurant offers glasses of wine from Central Coast producers along with New and Old World vintages. Guests can also order classic and signature cocktails, beers and non-alcoholic beverages. Many of the mixed drinks contains citrus, botanicals and herbs grown on the property.
For dessert, diners can order a lavender almond and apple Paris-Brest. The choux pastry is layered with almond craquelin, lavender and Marcona almond praline and German buttercream — and dusted with lavender powdered sugar that uses lavender from a local SLO farm.
A lavender almond Paris-Brest is one of the Restaurant at Edna’s top desserts, prepared on Sept. 24, 2026. The restaurant is part of a multi-pronged venture that includes a market, tasting room, dining and a craft distillery. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
Schaler said he’s constantly seeking out interesting produce from growers in the area. Recently, he’s snatched up Jimmy Nardello peppers, highlighter yellow-colored beets and garleek, a hybrid between garlic and leeks.
“We want to feed you, we want to take care of you, we want everyone to get really excited when they walk in the building,” Schaler said.
Prices at the Restaurant at Edna will range from around $30 to $50. It opens Nov. 5. and is currently accepting reservations online.
The Restaurant at Edna, a new fine dining restaurant at 2585 Biddle Ranch Road in San Luis Obispo, opens on Nov. 5, 2026. Anya McInroy 
The Restaurant at Edna, a new fine dining restaurant at 2585 Biddle Ranch Road in San Luis Obispo, opens on Nov. 5, 2026. Anya McInroy
Hannah Poukish
The Tribune
Hannah Poukish covers San Luis Obispo County as The Tribune’s government reporter. She previously reported and produced stories for The Sacramento Bee, CNN, Spectrum News and The Mercury News in San Jose. She graduated from Stanford University with a master’s degree in journalism.
Dining and Cooking