Seco

Seco Restaurant Review:

Smith Brothers Restaurants (Parkway Grill, Arroyo Chop House) is struggling to find a winning formula at this former Crocodile Café site. Seco offers a menu of moderately priced contemporary American dishes in a handsome setting with Arts & Crafts touches and a pleasant patio with fire pit facing the Lake Avenue shopping scene. Start with chicken liver crostino with salsa verde or kale salad in a honey-soy vinaigrette before moving on to pizzas, pastas, grilled salmon with yogurt sauce, lasagna, or a Kobe burger topped with Gruyère, caramelized shallots and truffle aïoli. Finish with butterscotch pudding or a bittersweet chocolate tart and pair it all with wines from a mostly California list with some good values.