Dine outdoors at Ciao Papi in Paso with happy hour every day, poolside at the classic River Lodge motel 

Hidden behind an 8-foot-tall white noise wall off Highway 101 in Paso Robles, a recently refurbished 77-year-old roadside motel serves up nostalgia with a modern twist and Italian food and cocktails on the patio.

"It's like a little paradise inside," Nomada Hotel Group Food and Beverage Director Brandon Trowbridge said of the River Lodge. "We have a lot of locals who come in and walk the property and say they remember what it used to look like."

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• Photo Courtesy Of Nomada Hotel Group
• JUST ADD EGG Served as part of brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Uovo Pizza comes with Cal Poly eggs, bacon, ricotta, and salsa verde.

Those locals, who've zipped by the vacant motor lodge for decades, can also sidle up to the Ciao Papi bar, which dishes out happy hour fare seven days a week from 3 to 6 p.m. Yes, that includes Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

The al fresco dining spot opened for business alongside the motel it inhabits at the beginning of the summer with chef Daniel Horn at the helm. The former Granada Bistro chef turned Nomada Hotel Group culinary director developed Ciao Papi's menu with the classics in mind.

Nomada's small-but-mighty Central Coast hotel empire includes a handful of boutique hotels between Paso Robles and Solvang, such as the River Lodge and Farmhouse in Paso, Granada Hotel and Bistro in San Luis Obispo, Skyview Motel in Los Alamos, and Hotel Ynez in Solvang.

While Horn's time spent in Siem Reap, Cambodia, leading a kitchen specializing in Khmer cuisine influenced Granada's menu, his time spent cooking with his grandmother in the Bay Area impacts the food at Ciao Papi. The California Culinary Academy-trained chef also worked in Utah and the Caribbean.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Nomada Hotel Group
• BELLY UP At Ciao Papi, bar patrons can sit poolside and snag one of several Italian inspired cocktails and snacks. The only catch is that the pool is for the River Lodge's overnight guests.

"He mentioned to me that during the holidays, especially for Christmas, they wouldn't have the traditional prime rib or turkey," Trowbridge said. "They would be making ravioli. ... And so it became a comfort food for him."

You can find that comfort in the polpette. The meatballs start with a sofrito—minced onions, carrots, and celery cooked down until it's almost like a paste. Beef, pork, and veal meld with that sofrito, garlic, herbs, and milk and breadcrumbs. They're roasted in the oven and then finished with a vodka sauce and served as an appetizer or atop Etto pasta for spaghetti and meatballs.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Nomada Hotel Group
• SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS Served on fresh, locally made Etto Pasta, Ciao Papi's meatballs come courtesy of chef Daniel Horn, who grew up cooking with his Italian grandmother. The blend of beef, pork, and veal; a sofrito of onions, carrots, and celery; garlic, herbs, and breadcrumbs are roasted and finished with a vodka sauce, basil, and parmesan.

Other simple but delicious pasta options include the cacio e pepe and a spring primavera with spring peas, ricotta, gremolata, and blistered tomatoes.

"We'll be working on a fall menu soon," Trowbridge said. "We wanted to open up with the classics and things we did really well."

Those classics come with a twist. The pizzas start with sourdough that's hand-stretched after spending 36 hours growing. With Tehachapi Grains flour feeding the sourdough starter, the dough gets to hang out and develop a savory, yeasty flavor. Allowing the flour to absorb all the moisture it can, the dough slowly ferments in the refrigerator until it's ready for the 600-degree oven.

"When you smell it, it should be sweet," Trowbridge said. "The flavor you get off the sourdough, it really can't be matched."

The pies are then charred to perfection. Tweaking the classic margherita by adding chili and honey to buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil, Horn also serves up the Funghi with Mighty Cap Mushrooms, roasted garlic, shallots, and arugula and the Ciao Papi Classico with salami, capicola, mozzarella, ricotta, and pesto.

On the brunch menu, Ciao Papi dishes out the Uovo Pizza with Cal Poly eggs, bacon, ricotta, and salsa verde. Trowbridge said it's one of his favorites, which he often makes for himself.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Nomada Hotel Group
• DINE OUT Ciao Papi at the River Lodge in Paso always serves its food and drink al fresco on a covered patio. "It's kind of like a little paradise," Nomada Hotel Group Food and Beverage Director Brandon Trowbridge said.

"We're trying to use as many local, not just suppliers, but purveyors as well," Trowbridge said. "We're using Spearhead Coffee out of Paso for our espresso, and then our gelato, we're using Leo Leo, which is also out of Paso."

Did anyone say affogato?

Alongside the Italian espresso, the bar serves myriad Italian-spirit based cocktails. Amaro, limoncello, Aperol, and vermouth are infused into the cocktail program. Trowbridge said the bar has a special vermouth menu—sweet, dry, cocci, and rose—which are served up as spritzes. Patrons can get their vermouth on the rocks or straight, served with sparkling water on the side and a twist.

"Very refreshing. They go great with the pizza or a salad, and they're low-alcohol," Trowbridge said. "They are lovely to have during this time of year."

As for the limoncello, they have imported, local, and are making some in house. The split between local and imported is reflected in the wine list as well, which Trowbridge said has about 50 percent local wines, a quarter of Italian origin, and a handful of go-to French wines that Nomada carries at all its restaurant and bar locations.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Nomada Hotel Group
• FRESH AND SEASONAL Burrata tops off grilled peaches, arugula, and pistachios, finished with a balsamic vinaigrette as part of Ciao Papi's summer menu.

"We're searching out Italian varietals that are being grown locally," Trowbridge said, adding that Paso grows a lot of Rhone varietals. "This isn't really the place for Italian varietals, but there are some," such as the vermintino from Giornata and a carbonic sangiovese from Union Sacre.

Diners can choose to imbibe poolside at the bar or seek a shaded refuge on the patio. Δ

Editor Camillia Lanham is craving affogato and the uovo pizza. Send tips to [email protected].