My husband and I will meet friends from southern California for four days in SLO. We have been before and will do wine tasting. We are interested in finding good food- not necessarily fine dining- can be casual too. We have been to Mcphees and Bouna Tavola and enjoyed both. Anything new? Thanks,Diane

Diane,
These are not new by any means, but yummy! Try Mother's Tavern for great atmosphere,live music (great Cobb salad, burgers etc.) Also, for breakfast or dessert, the Madonna Inn (Copper Cafe)is not to be missed!

Have you tried McClintock's? Great huge hunks of red meat. Grrrrr. The mothership on 101 near Pismo Beach has good food IMHO. Burp!

McClintock's is way over-rated. Ate there twice and was totally unimpressed. The last time my steak was thin and brittle - not at all the rare steak I had ordered. Jocko's is the way to go for steak in the area. It's down in Nipomo.

The Gardens of Avila and Cafe Roma are a few of my favorite places for good food in the SLO area. Cafe Roma is located near the train station. Pete's Southside Cafe is also located by the train station and offers good, casual Mexican food.

Diane, Do not go to Jocko's, the food is VERY hit and miss. (Breakfast is good, but dinner is another story.)My husband and I used to eat there fairly often, but after three visits with so-so food and horrible service, we decided to never go back. For the very best steaks, you would need to go to a tiny towm called Casmalia to eat at the Hitching Post. There, the food is consistently delicious and the service is top-notch! This is where the locals have been eating steaks and seafood... yummy! A bit closer,try the far Western Tavern. IN fact, for a little "old west flavor" you could go to the Far Western Tavern(on Highway 1in downtown Guadalupe) for drinks and then drive 15 minutes to the Hitching Post! You would enjoy great food, superb local wine lists and a lot of local color!

Lynette

Bon Appetit magazine ranked Jocko's as one of the top 10 steak restaurants in California. Never had anything but a great steak there (20+ visits). It's not a fancy place though if that's what you're looking for. I'd agree though that McClinktok's is a tourist trap with lousy food. None of the locals eat there.

Visit Morro Bay for some good seafood choices. I like the Great American Fish Co. Touristy location, but really good seafood.

I'd have to agree with Gardens at Avila. My girlfriend and I recently had dinner there and were really impressed.

Cafe Roma and Pete's Southside were both good suggestions. Whenever my wife and I take the train up to SLO for the day, we make sure to leave enough time for dinner at one of these restaurants.

SLO Ice Cream puts Ben & Jerry's to shame! Stop in for a cone!

I wouldn't go out of my way to go to McClintock's. It was recommended to me (here), we waited over an hour and a half (in Feb) and the food reminded me of Ponderosa. I agree that it's WAY overrated!

Where is SLO ice cream? I've only been to Cold Stone Cremery while visiting the area.