Lido Restaurant in Pismo Beach recently announced that Brian Collins is the new executive chef. Collins will carry on the legacy of former executive chef Evan Treadwell, who left Lido Restaurant this month for a new culinary opportunity.

Lido Restaurant and Lounge is situated on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, offering breathtaking views for your dining experience.

Featuring wine country, coastal cuisine, Collins will showcase the bounty of local ingredients from our area and prepare them with world-class style. The menu changes seasonally and is designed to be paired with our local, Central Coast Wines. Lido has won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence since its opening and supports the local wine community.

Enthusiastic about his new responsibilities as a head chef, Collins has some lofty goals in mind.

“I hope to add to the tradition of serving excellent, innovative food here at Lido,” Collins recently said. “I hope to build a solid team of passionate professionals to bring our guests a dining experience that is fun, inspired and truly memorable.”

Collins is convinced that the best tasting food is organically and locally grown and harvested in ways that are ecologically sound by people who are taking care of the land for future generations. The quest for such ingredients has always determined his cuisine.
Collins currently resides in Arroyo Grande, Calif. with his wife, Harmony, and their daughter, Emma. When he’s not manning the stoves, he enjoys family time, reading, guitar, and playing golf.

Raised on the Central Coast, Collins’ initial love of food was inspired by a dinner he attended in Rome at the age of 13. Years later, while working in the kitchens of local Cafes and Restaurants, a desire for a formal culinary training grew, bringing Collins to enroll in the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

Coinciding with a move that brought Collins and his young family from Shell Beach to Berkeley, was the gift of a book called “The Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook.” Collins spent five years cooking alongside Alice Waters and countless other chef-artists at Chez Panisse Restaurant and Cafe. In 2001, Gourmet magazine named Chez Panisse the Best Restaurant in America.

Working his way up from an unpaid intern to lead cook, Collins amassed a solid culinary foundation.

After five years in the Bay Area, Collins felt it was time to bring those ideals back to the Central Coast. In 2006, he completed a one-year stint as Sous Chef to Chef Pandee Pearson at Windows on the Water in Morro Bay. Brian then was on the opening crew at Lido Restaurant from 2007-2009 serving as Sous Chef to Chef Evan Treadwell and Pastry Chef Benjie Puga.

In the winter of 2009 the Santa Barbara wine country was beckoning. Collins served as the Chef de Cuisine at Full of Life Flatbread from 2009 to 2011, where he created weekly-changing menus cooked from a 20-ton, wood-fired hearth. 

Lido Restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week and is the perfect setting for any private event.

More information can be found at http://www.thedolphinbay.com/dining/lido-restaurant.php.