San Diego Dining

Cowboy Star Restaurant & Butcher Shop

By Kevin Leap & Steven Persitza
Posted on Tue, Nov 18th, 2008
Last updated Tue, Nov 18th, 2008

Strolling into Cowboy Star Restaurant is a pleasant surprise. It is quite different of what you would expect. When some friends invited there for lunch, visions of BBQ, burgers, fries and ribs danced in our heads (and believe us, there aint nothing wrong with that) but instead we were impressed when we ventured into some upscale dining territory.

The Cowboy Star is an oxymoron on many levels. The front of the venue is pure cowboy with western gallantry and even has a “star” on its moniker. Then you enter and see cow hide upholstered seating and western décor. Before you can assume anything more, the rest of the restaurant comes into view. An elegant scene unfolds before you with linen tablecloths, sexy silverware and comfortable, deep booths. Trendy angles and lines filter throughout only to be accented by the western themed decorations (can anyone say desert dried cow-head bone), wood ceilings with high beams rise above you. A hefty wine cabinet lines one wall with its selection of vineyard opportunities. This is NOT your everyday “cowboy” hangout. To confuse you even more, big band music was playing. Think of the movie classic “Giant” and you will get a feel for the place.

Fish and Chips

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Keeping in tune with our delight the menu continued to impress with the eclectic dishes. Crab BLT’s, Bison Burgers, Salmon, Fish and Chips and a wide array of steak offerings made our mouths water. Our group of four decided to pick and share so we could all savor in the tastes. House-Made Bison Sausage (with quince mashed potatoes, caramelized onions & red wine jus…..think a fancy “bangers & mash” ala London pub), Pan Roasted Halibut (with fingerling potatoes, braised escarole and lemon oil), Fish and Chips (ale beer battered white fish, hand cut Yukon gold chips, malt vinegar mayonnaise and micro-cress, yet another pub delight…hmmm, this is a “cowboy joint, right?) and lastly, a Bison Rib-Eye (with wilted chard, roasted garlic and natural jus).

House-made sausage

Bison Rib-Eye

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The House-made sausage was a fun dish to savor and the mixture with the dense quince (pear) enhanced mashed potatoes made for a yummy treat. The sausage was a little overcooked though and we think the flavors would have burst out more had it not been. Definitely worth another go. The halibut was hands down amazing. The fish was delicately moist, with a handsome flaky texture that your fork easily slid through bite after bite. The fish and chips continued the momentum with its light, crispy exterior matched only by its delicate interior. The flavoring was perfect and flawlessly cooked. Last but not least was the Bison rib eye. Uh, wow. The meat, expertly prepared. The flavor, the definition of savory. The texture, moist and well-seasoned. A really great steak but seeing as how Cowboy Star also houses a butcher shop next door, it’s kinda not surprising the meats were so good.

Cowboy Star boasts an outside dining patio, seating at their fun no nonsense bar, or mosey on over to the seating in front of the open air kitchen where you can watch the chef work his magic. As we said, Cowboy Star was an unexpected pleasure and well worth the trip. There is also a butcher shop next door where you can take home some of their fine cuts of meat. Enjoy!

The Good – hands down the best fish and chips we’ve had in quite some time

The Bad – the wait staff could use a little more training on the menu items

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