After miles on a curvy backcountry road with no other cars, a white farmhouse-style building suddenly comes into view, marking our arrival at the Restaurant at Justin, the Michelin-starred restaurant in the steep hills of western Paso Robles.
It is not the most remote Michelin darling in California, but it’s definitely out there. Coming from downtown Paso Robles, you’ll spend about 25 minutes hugging hairpin turns and watching for wildlife – deer, foxes and wild turkeys are common here – as you make your way into this rugged wine country.
Paso Robles holds a special place for me and my best friend, who joined me on this recent dining adventure. We met on the Central Coast nearly 25 years ago, when there wasn’t much else to do but visit tasting rooms and learn about wine. Justin Vineyards & Winery was a 50-minute trek from where we lived in San Luis Obispo, but we could talk for hours. Although at times the drive down Chimney Rock Road was harrowing – I remember at least one occasion where I white-knuckled it through driving rain – the views and the wines made it more than worth it, especially back then, when tasting fees were nominal or nonexistent.
A view of the grounds at Justin Winery in Paso Robles, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Randy De La Peña/For SFGATE)
An employee gives visitors a tour at the Justin Winery in Paso Robles, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Randy De La Peña/For SFGATE)
Founder Justin Baldwin built the winery here in 1981 for its limestone-rich soil and the cooling breezes of nearby coastal mountains. At the time, there were only a few dozen wineries in Paso Robles, compared to the more than 200 today. The eponymous restaurant opened a decade later, right on the estate, back when Paso wasn’t exactly known for food. There were no restaurants for miles, and the proprietors simply needed a place to host hungry visitors.
In 2010, Baldwin sold the winery to Stewart and Lynda Resnick, owners of the Wonderful Company, an agricultural giant and global leader in growing almonds and pistachios. In addition to the restaurant, the company, which also owns Fiji Water and Pom Wonderful juice, got ownership of Justin’s production facilities and the on-site luxury inn in the deal, too.
But the Restaurant at Justin, the only Michelin-starred winery restaurant in the country, is the winery’s crown jewel. Inside, a minimalist dining room overlooks a garden so beautiful it looks plucked from a Monet painting. And beyond that, there are 70 acres of estate vineyards to cast your gaze upon.
Customers dine at the Restaurant at Justin in Paso Robles, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Randy De La Peña/For SFGATE)
Much of what makes it so special is due to Rachel Haggstrom, who came on as executive chef in 2019. Haggstrom has worked at hospitality leaders such as the French Laundry and the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco. But it’s her upbringing on a Temecula citrus farm that informs the core principles of her food, and even her first order of business when she landed at Justin – to expand the restaurant’s estate garden.
The farmstead now spans 26 acres and is home to a 150-tree orchard, edible flower fields and an apiary, and grows exotic fruits as well as vegetables and herbs. About 95% of the produce used in the menu is sourced locally, either from the estate garden or from Central Coast purveyors.
We noticed this early on in our tasting menu dinner ($225). A first course of estate tomatoes with toasted nori and lemon cucumbers was covered in fine tuile made from dried basil and grape leaves, giving it a dark moss hue, like a forest fairy’s crown. Jenny, my graphic designer bestie, thought for sure it was laser printed or cut. We later learned it was done by hand.
Estate Tomato & Elderflower with marigold, toasted nori and lemon cucumber. (Randy De La Peña/For SFGATE)
Creekstone Farms Ribeye Cap with bone marrow, olallieberry, cauliflower and espresso cocoa rub. (Randy De La Peña/For SFGATE)
Powdered grape leaves added color and depth to a thinly sliced brioche toasted in gobs of butter to adhere like crust to steamed California halibut. A thick, bold ribbon of beet seasoned with estate cabernet franc vinegar draped a course of Creekstone Farms rib eye cap, the most tender portion. Served medium rare, the prized cut came with ollaliberries and a tuile topper made from espresso and cocoa. We loved its playful side, a golden potato pave made to look like a Barbie-sized raised vegetable bed, its top brimming with broccoli, cauliflower and their flowers.
Throughout the evening, this thoughtful cuisine was matched by attentive staff, who worked at a clipped pace while still exuding warmth and ease. Pastry chef Saree Musick’s eye-catching dessert, Corn & Tomato, left an especially deep impression. Presented as a bright yellow ear of corn with an outer shell of white chocolate, the semi-savory final course cracked open to reveal layers of almond, brown butter and honey crumble; a vanilla cake base with fromage blanc; and corn mousse with tomato jam. On the side: roasted corn ice cream and a flourish of tomato tuile, of course. That sealed the deal for me: The Restaurant at Justin is sensational, and overdelivers on its Michelin star.
A pork chop is included as an extra course for the garden tour with preserved elderberry, beet and mustard condiment, and amaranth from the garden, at the Restaurant at Justin in Paso Robles, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Randy De La Peña/For SFGATE)
Back home in the Bay Area, I reached out to Haggstrom to learn more about her journey, and how a kid from Temecula came to work at the French Laundry. For starters, that citrus farm has been in her family for generations. Her grandfather planted it in the 1970s, and as early as grade school, Haggstrom was given vegetable seeds to plant and fruit to turn into jam.
“I mean, we didn’t have MTV,” she told me. “So for me it was fun to grab cooking magazines, take things from the grove or the garden and try to create something.”
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Culinary school was a natural step. After graduation, she landed in San Francisco and went to a book signing by Thomas Keller, determined to meet the French Laundry chef. Their interaction eventually landed Haggstrom a stage position at the famed Yountville restaurant. The experience left its mark. Consistency, attention to detail, communication and respect were big takeaways for Haggstrom about working with Keller 20 years ago. (More recently, the restaurateur has been sued over allegations of wage theft, an accusation his restaurant group denies.)
“There was a huge emphasis on the team and team appreciation, meaning your dishwasher deserved respect, not just the chefs, right?” she said. “At that time, you didn’t see that in all kitchens. There was a level of care and humanity and it was like a breath of fresh air.”
Executive chef Rachel Haggstrom preps a dish in the kitchen inside the Restaurant at Justin in Paso Robles, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Randy De La Peña/For SFGATE)
From there, Haggstrom took the California culinary world by storm, cooking under Ron Siegel at the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton and also at Wolfgang Puck’s defunct San Francisco restaurant, Postrio. While working at the luxe four-star Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach, she fell in love with the marriage of food and wine through a series of winery dinners. One of those partners? Justin Vineyards & Winery.
When an executive chef position opened at the Restaurant at Justin in 2019, she went for it. “I wanted to be able to cook food that was more meaningful as opposed to, you know, banquets,” Haggstrom said. The role was the perfect next step after years working in hotels, she continued: “I was back in this sort of alienated, off-the-beaten path place like home, and I was just going to keep my head down and do great work.”
Not long after, the Michelin Guide quietly began its expansion into San Luis Obispo County. In 2021, Six Test Kitchen in Paso Robles became the county’s first restaurant to earn a star. The following year, the Restaurant at Justin got the call.
“It was surprising, but also validating,” Haggstrom recalled. “Because you’re pursuing something just out of integrity and passion, and to be recognized for that level of purity, I was really appreciative.”
Corn & Tomato dessert with fromage blanc, brown butter, almond and honey is served at the Restaurant at Justin in Paso Robles, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Jessica Yadegaran/SFGATE)
Customers dine at the Restaurant at Justin in Paso Robles, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Randy De La Peña/For SFGATE)
The judges also awarded the restaurant a Green Star for its commitment to ingredient provenance and sustainability practices (this Michelin recognition is being phased out as of this year in favor of a broader initiative). More accolades arrived in 2023, when the Forbes Travel Guide recognized the Restaurant at Justin with a coveted five-star rating.
Maintaining “this level of work and pressure” takes a strong support system, and Haggstrom said she’s lucky – her family provides that. “It’s my husband and my daughter, who’s very patient,” she added.
Ironically, she came to small-town Paso to break away from big companies and “large-scale operations.” But this middle-of-nowhere restaurant on Chimney Rock Road is owned by a massive corporation with stewards who’ve found themselves in controversy over the years.
In 2016, the Resnicks cleared 100 acres of oak trees near the winery to construct a reservoir and a new vineyard. The move went against their permit. The local community was incensed, and the couple had to apologize, vowing to replant. They’ve also been criticized for their stronghold on water used for agriculture in the state.
A view of the grounds at Justin Winery in Paso Robles, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (Randy De La Peña/For SFGATE)
Haggstrom said she doesn’t feel like she works for a huge company, but rather a couple who have been supportive, believe in her ideas and allow her and her team to be creative.
“I feel so blessed and lucky to have this freedom,” she said. “It is what I longed for in my previous jobs; it is rare to be a chef for a restaurant that you don’t own and still have the creative freedom to push forward. Without the ability to pursue creativity, I don’t think that we would be where we are today.”
For my bestie and I, those adventures down Chimney Rock Road said something about freedom, too, back in the day. We’ll gladly do it again to enjoy one of the best and most remote meals in the state.
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This article originally published at California farming billionaires’ rural restaurant overdelivers on Michelin star.