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Buona Tavola
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian [Edit]
1037 Monterey StSan Luis Obispo, CA 93401
(805) 545-8000
- Hours:
Mon-Wed, Fri 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Mon-Thu, Sun 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Thu 11:30 am - 2 pm
Fri-Sat 5:30 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Romantic, Classy
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
151 reviews for Buona Tavola
Review Highlights
-
"The new back patio of the SLO restaurant is great." In 19 reviews -
"...Tortelloni stuffed with pumpkin and ricotta cheese in a sage and..." In 4 reviews -
"This probably is the best "date" restaurant in SLO." In 33 reviews
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151 reviews in English
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Review from Katie L.
5/16/2012 Seated via OpenTable 1 Check-in Here
Very cute restaurant!
Our server was awesome!! She is blonde and I believe her name is Amanda. She was so helpful and super attentive!!
Started with the butternut squash soup and Caprese salad. Mozzarella was perfect! Creamy and flavorful. They serve capers with the Caprese which was a little weird.
The olive tampenade to begin with is so freaking good! The mustard seeds in it is what makes it amazing!
Pumpkin and Ricotta Tortellini with mascarpone sauce. Super creamy, rich and delicious! I couldn't finish the plate! Not too sweet, just right!
Mama got the Shrimp and Prosciutti Anglotti with Saffron Sauce. She died right there in ecstasy!! She couldn't stop raving about it! Highly recommend! -
Review from Real M.
Havre de Grace, MD
5/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
I was in the area on my way to the airport and I saw this place, checked Yelp and decided to give it a try, I am glad I did. It is an Italian restaurant with a very traditional Italian restaurant feel. They have an outdoor dining area which was very, very nice. The service here was some of the best I have ever received. Every person I passed greeted me in some way and the waiter was fantastic. He found the perfect balance between being attentive but not overwhelming. Had an answer to every question I had (and I had a few since some of the menu is in Italian) without any hesitation. Water was filled as soon as it was empty, plates removed promptly, food good out in the perfect amount of time, the whole staff was on point.
On to the food, the menu has a pretty decent amount of selections and they seem to have really done well in pairing flavors and items throughout. They had a three course option for a pretty reasonable price which was tempting but I went with a bone-in ribeye that was out of this world. I'm not sure the reduction sauce they used but it hit the spot. All parties left full and very satisfied. Something else to note, they provide bread with an olive, mustard seed spread that was excellent. You can buy a jar as well and you can bet I did just that. Overall you are looking at 20-30 bucks a plate for top notch food and service a heck of a bargain if you ask me. -
Review from Nat Y.
Orange County, CA
3/31/2012
I am a fan of this restaurant, but I'm also extremely picky about which dishes to choose. Some of their basic dishes with just tomato sauce is seriously a rip off with a minuscule portion. I do think they are one of the best seafood-Italian restaurants in SLO. I always enjoyed their daily specials, since they incorporated sauces like butter saffron which complimented their fresh seafood selections. You will, however, pay a premium for their dishes, so if you are looking for more of a casual ambiance you should head to the other Italian options in SLO. Its a good option to take your parents who are visiting, or a first date.
Oh, and their chocolate lava cake with cream anglaise...if you ever, ever, hear them mention it as their special, don't hesitate to order it even if you're stuffed. You will thank me later. I used to frequent this establishment when I was in school, but I only ate it once. :( It caused a domino effect in the patio where one table ordered one after the other because the smell was seriously intoxicating! -
Review from Justin S.
San Francisco, CA
5/5/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Solid, two nights in a row. We were on a weekend road trip from San Francisco and Yelp pointed us here. Its really a great little restaurant and next time were down this way we will be sure to stop in for dinner..
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Review from Dixon S.
4/9/2012
We were here for our aniversary and I will say that although the place was extremely crowded, the service was good and the food excellent (probably explains the crowds).
Very nice place with a great patio dining area. I had the Chicken Alfredo pasta dish that came with a really good salad and some great artisan bread. It is a little pricey, but was well worth it for the food and dining experience. -
Review from Sharon H.
Ventura, CA
3/8/2012
My GF and tried this restaurant on a recommendation from our hotel. We were seated in the outside patio and were pleasantly surprised how toasty warm it was on a very cold night. Both the service and ambiance were fantastic.
She ordered the sea bass which was grilled with a little white wine and lemon and was delicious. I ordered the seafood pasta which was also wonderful. But I have to say the beet salad with grapefruit and goat cheese that we shared, was absolutely the best I have ever had. the waiter was very nice to advise that there was a $2.95 charge to split, so we just asked for a separate plate and it was more than ample.
I would definitely return, and would give this four stars if the wine selections were better.
The only down side was a very limited choice of wines by the glass, and the Chardonnay available was not that good. -
Review from Lucy S.
Paso Robles, CA
5/7/2012
I'm writing this review for the Paso Robles Buona Tavola. We haven't been to the one in San Luis Obispo yet but they are owned by the same family.
This restaurant is fabulous!! We're extremely picky about dining out and I'm more than happy to write an honest review if I don't like a restaurant. We have become regulars here because it is so wonderful. Their Northern Italian food is fresh and perfect and the service is also wonderful! You will not be disappointed dining here. Just be sure that you get there early or have reservations. It's very popular! -
Review from John L.
Torrance, CA
3/20/2012 Seated via OpenTable
Took my girlfriend here for dinner and it definitely did not disappoint! SLO county is known for it's small restaurant gems and I had to look hard for Buona Tavola. Being in downtown SLO, parking will always be a pain... but luckily there is a parking structure nearby Buona. It's right next to the Fremont theatre and Shins!
They took my really last-minute reservation (I called at 5 PM for a reservation at 7PM) and happily reserved a table in their romantic seating in the back.
We were greeted by a waiter with bread and butter. The bread was a bit too hard, but supposedly freshly made by the restaurant.
We ordered the Risotto and the Antipasta which were extremely flavourful. I wish I knew specifically what we got, but it's been a while.
PRETTY MUCH, the ambiance is what makes this place great. Coupled with good company and good food, Buona Tavola is definitely a great place for a date or a small group hang out. -
Review from Berklee L.
Oakland, CA
3/26/2012
My friend and I were in SLO for a girls' weekend, and this restaurant was recommended by a friend of a friend. We're so glad we started our weekend here.
The food was really yummy; I had the pumpkin tortelloni, and my friend had the halibut special. We also split the special salad with this amazing cheese imported from Italy called burrata, which was recommended by our server. It was even better than he described. We finished the meal off with the Tiramisu, which is the best one I've ever had. I usually don't even like Tiramisu, but this one was heavenly.
The wines were yummy. I don't remember which ones we ordered, but we had quite a few and liked almost all of them.
The ambiance was lovely; we sat on the back patio, which was nice and cozy thanks to the heat lamps.
I also need to thank our waiter, who went above and beyond our expectations. He drew us a map with suggested wineries to visit, spent lots of time discussing local wines, and was an all-around delight throughout the evening. We'll be sure to sit in his section next time we're in town :-) -
Review from Emily Y.
San Luis Obispo, CA
3/2/2012 Seated via OpenTable
This is my second time coming here in a long time. Came here with a date and were seated in the back patio. Very cozy, warm and romantic.
We started off with some red wine and the Bruschetta ai funghi trifolati, which were the mushrooms.
Amazing. I love mushrooms in general, but this appetizer was delicious especially with the sauce. Then we had the mussels...but they were eh. I didn't care for it. To me, it was bland. I love seafood, but the mussels and clams just weren't cutting it.
For the main dish, I ordered the Pappardelle alla San Pietro. Every ingredient in that dish tasted fresh and seasoned well. The wide ribbon pasta was cooked just right.
Service was nice, a bit slow but it was on a Saturday during President's Weekend. My date even surprised me with a late birthday chocolate gelato with a candle on it while I was in the bathroom. :)
Funny, he told me he can embarrass himself in public and I said how so? And he goes on to list a few things like knocking a glass of wine off the table. I just laughed.
Well before I knew it, I somehow knocked my glass of red wine off the table.That has never happened before in my life! He totally jinxed me!
I'd like to thank the staff again for cleaning up the spill and the broken glass right away.
Thank God, they didn't have carpet in there :) -
Review from Aj S.
San Luis Obispo, CA
4/14/2012
Delicious food.. the tortelloni was so good! Highly recommend... love the outdoor seating
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Review from Kristen S.
Glendale, CA
My husband and I were traveling to the SLO area the week after Christmas and on our drive in started looking for some Italian restaurants. My husband and I wanted a nice Italian dinner with more of a southern Italian influence. I looked at a few places and ultimately decided on this place. I was able to make a reservation through open table (awesome) and were looking forward to it.
We get to our motel :-/, I ask the guys up front (who looked like salt of the earth kind of people) if they liked this place and they said that the portions where too small and it was too expensive....I thought, PERFECT! If you hate it, then I will love it!
And we did, the food was so flavorful and the service was very good. We sat in the back patio area and were plenty warm. I would highly recommend this place, if I lived closer it would end up on my regular places to dine. -
Review from L A.
Los Angeles, CA
3/21/2012
Amazing food and ambiance to accompany it, not to mention great customer service. Food is locally sourced and menu changes regularly. Menu is extensive with lots of choices. Highly recommend reservation as the place is intimate aka small.
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Review from Sarah M.
Berkeley, CA
12/3/2011
My experience here was absolutely fantastic. Or, to copy an earlier review: Buona Tavola is now my favorite Italian restaurant outside of Italy.
The place was so packed that we were seated roughly five minutes after our reservation time at 7 PM. That five minute delay got us free bruschetta from the hostess. I loved the bruschetta, and my boyfriend won't stop talking about the olive tapenade that you get with the bread on the house.
My boyfriend likes meat. However, the meatiest entrees were $20+... sort of outside his budget. Instead, he got a cheaper dish-- fettuccine with braised chicken, duck, veal, and beef-- mainly because he wanted the meat. He actually liked the pasta more than he liked the meat! The homemade pasta here is really, really delicious. My risotto entree was (in my opinion) even better than my boyfriend's fettuccine.
Finally, we had the "special dessert", which was hazelnut-infused chocolate souffle on raspberry puree and vanilla creme, topped with raspberry puree and mint-topped vanilla ice cream. That was delicious.
I'm no good at writing food reviews, so I can't really give my meal the credit it deserves. The best I can say is that every dish my boyfriend and I tried at Buona Tavola was delicious, that the hostess and waitress bent over backwards to make us feel at home, and that I've never had a more romantic dinner. -
Review from Gabrielle F.
San Jose, CA
11/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
Once again Yelp came through to help me find a place to eat in a place that I did not know.
The restaurant was so cute a cozy, great for a little private time for me and my fiance. We made reservation through Open Table on their Yelp page and it was great! We even arrived 45 min before closing and they still gave us excellent service. The service and food was so good and we had a lovely dinner. Their menu was extensive and choices for anyones taste.
Not knowing the area I asked the waitress and waiter if they knew of a place to get my nails done and she recommended a whole bunch of places with different price ranges. She even asked the table next to us and we got into a great conversation with the couple. New friends! LOL
If we are ever in SLO we are definitely going to eat there again! -
Review from William P.
Huntington Beach, CA
1/11/2012
I will preface this review by stating that we went here on New Year's Eve and it was crowded. Now, that being said, the service was absolutely horrid. We made reservations for 7:30PM, arrived on time, waited outside in the cold until 7:50PM (no waiting area inside), then when they called us in and we squeezed through the waiter's station to the back patio area, they informed us that they made a mistake, the table was for another party (that arrived after us). We squeezed back through the narrow waiter's station, back outside for another 15 minutes. When we were escorted back in, the table was barely big enough for our party. They never asked us if we wanted drinks, appetizers, anything...just shoved the holiday shortened menu in front of us and left us to ourselves for another 15 minutes. We asked for the waiter, he came over, we placed our orders (including the pre-dinner champagne cocktail), then waited about 20 minutes before the cocktails showed up. The three courses followed in a very slow fashion. The food was very good, for the most part, but the portions were terribly small. Service continued to be slow, no clean up. Then we had to flag the waiter down again to order dessert, no offer of coffee (not on the menu that night), so I ventured to order a cappucino. Mistake...that took additional time.
When we are in the area again, I think we will give them another try on a week night not during a holiday. Other reviews seem to indicate the food is good and even suggest you might get decent service when they are not busy. -
Review from Sabina M.
San Luis Obispo, CA
8/26/2011
Buona Tavola is the ultimate date restaurant. Firstly because it's Italian (and how can that NOT bring to mind "Lady and the Tramp?"), but also because it's damn good Italian, and the patio area is simply gorgeous. For an upscale restaurant, it's not terribly pricey either... if I'm remembering correctly, it's roughly $12-18 an entree for dinner, which is about what the other places (Giuseppe's, Mamma's Meatball, etc) charge. The service is very friendly and polite, the atmosphere is charming and romantic, and as you're gazing at your beau across the table over the rim of your wineglass with a plate of steaming hot deliciousness in front of you, you'll feel like dancing slowly on a rooftop to "Misty" as the moonlight bathes everything in a silver gleam.
Ok maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration.
But seriously though, this place is awesome, and you should go there. -
Review from Frank K.
Concord, CA
9/12/2011 Seated via OpenTable
Fantastic Italian Restaurant in SLO!
I am from the Bay Area where there is an abundance on fantastic Italian restaurants, this one should be there, also!
My wife and I made reservations, found parking, which wasn't hard, and went to the restaurant (which is located next to the Fremont Theater).
The staff was excellent! I cannot say enough FANTASTIC things about them!
My wife and I were sat in the patio, which is beautiful at night with the small, white lights glistening everywhere. While we were trying to decide what to have for dinner.... a voice came out from one of the large green plants behind me, (no, it wasn't God), it was a young man who was part of the staff, and he recommended that we try
Tortelloni di zucca alla salvia e mascarpone, which is
home made tortelloni stuffed with pumpkin and ricotta cheese in a sage and mascarpone cheese sauce topped with toasted walnuts.
It was to die for! I will order this as my last dinner, before I'm executed, for sure.
I go to San Luis Obispo once a week for business, and this will be my 'go to' spot for Italian, hands down! -
Review from Michael T.
Fremont, CA
9/5/2011
This place is that good! I've been to many Italian restaurants esp. in Berkeley and San Francisco- this place is excellent.
I'll start off with their main dish- try the Pumpkin Ravioli. Absolutely excellent dish. I tried this dish at many other places but they can't beat! Moreover, their bread and dip is excellent.
This is a nice place if you want to watch the movies- just go next door! -
Review from Kent W.
Grass Valley, CA
1/8/2012
Disappointing. Bland, boring food. Good service. Olive tapenade wierd flavor. Caesar fresh & ok but not very much flavor. Pasta heavy and very bland.
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Review from Korinna P.
Grover Beach, CA
7/9/2011
If I woke up in Buona Tavola's garden patio without knowing where I was and ate the food served, I swear I would think I was tucked away in a cozy Venetian restaurant amidst zigzagged streets.
After coming back from Italy and having had the pleasure of indulging in true Italian cuisine from various regions, Buona Tavola scores so far up my dining ladder in offering true, unpretentious Italian cuisine where every ingredient is fresh and has a specific purpose without overpowering each other.
The ambiance in the garden is fantastic and the food - MAMA MIA!
My husband and I brought with us to Buona Tavola a beautiful Castello Del Trebbio Lastricato Chianti Rufina Riserva 2006 which we had purchased from the winery and held onto for a nice Italian dinner. We were both SO pleased that it was Buona Tavola who did justice to the wine as it would have been a waste elsewhere.
Our waiter, Lorenzo was fabulous and as with true Italian tradition of making dining an experience, rather than a task, he was not only informative but allowed us to truly enjoy every bite of our meal.
When you go to Buona Tavola, don't rush yourself. Feast and take pleasure in what is in my book, one of the Central Coast's most fabulous restaurants.
What we had:
Antipasti: Affettati misti (a fantastic way to start your meal - the prosciutto from Parma melted in my mouth and the combination of cheeses, spread, grilled bell peppers and salami were fantastic)
Primi: Fettuccine al sugo di carni miste (from the first bite, I thought, 'now this must have been cooked for 3 hours' - to die for!)
Primi: Tortiglioni del buon gustaio (hubby's)
Secondi: Veal in some sort of a sauce that was on the special menu for the evening (not my absolute favorite and was cooked a bit on the well-done side even though I had asked for medium, bordering rare, my husband liked it though)
Secondi: Filetto di Manzo (hubby's)
A couple of fabulous espressos followed by a couple of Lungarotti Vin Santos (a bit too harsh with dipped biscotti for my taste) to marry everything down
Overall, if you want to relive your northern Italian trip or decide to have REALLY good food that even the nonnas would be proud of - get yourself some special friends to dine with and set aside a few hours to live happily at Buona Tavola! -
Review from Doug L.
Atascadero, CA
12/28/2011 Seated via OpenTable
Great food. Funny waiter. MY daughters fell in love with the water boy. Great atmosphere. A real treat!
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Review from Suzie H.
Suisun City, CA
2/17/2012
Oh where to begin? The food was beyond fenominal!! The service was incredible and the ambiance was nice. Highly recommend. Prices are reasonable for what you get too.
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Review from Amanda L.
San Francisco, CA
6/24/2011 Seated via OpenTable
Ask for the outdoor seating! It's really cute. Lights and vines hanging from a tent-like ceiling, heaters, and dim lighting make a good setting for dates or nice gatherings.
They provide you with bread. We got 2 different types for our table. I ordered the capellini/angel hair pasta. At first it didn't taste like it had much flavor but it was supposed to be pretty light anyways. After I mixed it up and kept eating I got used to the flavor they were going for and liked it a lot. I have a small stomach so I barely finished half (I ate a lot of bread beforehand).
The servings are as expected. The service was really good. We asked our waitress to turn off the heater above us because it was too warm and she was very helpful. I like the outdoor setting a lot. Do dress up a bit though! At least a nice top with jeans! -
Review from Absolutely A.
Aptos, CA
3/27/2012
Tasty food. Great service. Beautiful scenery. Decent prices. Got their meat sauce (duck, chicken, veal) was tasty but meat was overcooked. Pasta noodles were perfectly cooked. Their mussels and clams starter was delicious!! The tomato sauce that they were cooked in had so much flavor. Caesar salad had thick slices of Romano cheese but the dressing lacked in flavor. I wish there was more of an anchovy flavor to it. But overall a great Italian spot in SLO
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Review from Geri O.
San Luis Obispo, CA
9/13/2011
The best Italian restaurant that I've ever been to, outside of Europe!
My parents drive all the way from the Bay to "visit" me...but I know that they are secretly just down here in SLO to eat at Buona Tavola!
The service is very good. Very professional, but without the hint of snooty-ness.
The handmade pastas are what shine on their menu. My favorite is the Agnolotti...delicious scampi filled delicate pasta pockets (like ravioli) in a saffron infused sauce. I don't think I've EVER had anything there that I've not been in love with.
Perfect for a romantic date night. I would recommend sitting in the rear "outdoor" patio. -
Review from Anna Marie G.
Capitola, CA
6/4/2011
I looked up Gluten-Free in SLO and this is one of the places that came up and it was not far from Quality Suites where I was staying.
I instantly liked the place and if it had been warm out I would have dined in their lovely courtyard, which could be considered a romantic setting.
My server was very attentive and knew the wine list well.
My first course was the cesear salad which lacked that special zing that the right amount of garlic and other typical flavors bring that this dressing is known for.
I was very happy to find that they carry at least two varieties of pasta shapes and that many of their sauces are gluten-free. I ordered penne with a sage & saffron sauce and added some fresh house-made chicken sausage. It was deliscious, well seasoned and creamy. I was very pleased with this dish.
Of the desserts, they either did not appeal to me or all contained wheat products.
I also had a glass of wine, which put my dinner bill over $30. Over all I was happy to get a lovely GF dinner at a nice place, but at that price I can't go there often.
I would eat here again and recommend it to others for dinner on a special occasion when you want to splurge.
~AM -
Review from Keith M.
Sherman Oaks, CA
3/4/2012
When my wife asked the waiter if there was anything he'd like to share with us, as in the daily specials, and he tells her that he "really liked her haircut," I knew that that this would be an odd experience. Busboy service was terrific; our water was refilled faster than Babu Bat could say, "you're a very bad man, Jerry." However, the food seemed to take an extraordinarily long time to arrive, and when it did, it was just okay. My buffalo mozzarella salad was very soggy, and my Mahi-Mahi was reasonably tasty, but the sides were way too garlicky. Our wine service was poor. The waiter neglected to see if we wanted more after finishing our mediocre half-bottle of Pinot Grigio. No managerial oversight, either. We were with our daughter and her friends, so it wasn't the time or place to make a scene, but rest assured, this place is not on my list of restaurants to revisit. Too many awesome places like Nomo and Ciopinot in town.
I'm writing this the following morning after multiple bathroom visits. Chef's last laugh? Nah, I don't believe in that stuff. -
Review from Mathew R.
Fresno, CA
1/27/2012
The Italian food here is real and tastes so amazing. Everyone here is so friendly and nice and never had to ask for a refill on my drinks. I will definitely be coming back here again. I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone
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Review from Connie C.
6/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
Definitely one of the better Italian restaurants that I've been to. It's a really small restaurant with a very nice patio in the back. Like eeryone said, the patio is beautiful and not your typical patio out in the cold- there's enough heaters around the room to keep you warm. However, if you tend to get cold easily, you will want to bring a sweater or wrap.
Anyways, food was delicious. My bf had their orrecchiatte with chicken sausage, and I had their seafood linguine. Both were delicious. This place is not stingy on their seafood and sausages! Our dishes were loaded with them, to the point where it felt like it was never ending. I kept tellin my bf that my pasta was never ending, no matter how much I ate, I still had so much left.
We shared their vanilla creme with chocolate and caramel sauce. It was good, but very rich. I was feeling the main course far more than the dessert.
Great place for a nice date. =) -
Review from Andy L.
San Antonio, TX
10/23/2011
Came here for lunch. Olive tapenade and bread were a strong and tasty start. Gnocchi was superb. There were 2 chicken breast entrees offered on the menu. We ordered one of them to split and received the other. Oh, well. It was still good. Excellent service, very nice ambiance.
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Review from Julie G.
Sherman Oaks, CA
10/28/2011
Just had a wonderful meal...excellent food, knowledgable server, well paced service. A gem.
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Review from Brittany C.
Los Angeles, CA
7/15/2011
No reservations and got seated pretty quick.
Food was decent.
Nothing any other italian restaurant doesn't have.
Service however was teribble, at least from our waiter.
The bus boy ended up taking care of us the entire night.
He got the tip.
For a wonderful italian experience I highly recomend my favorite restaurantin santa barbara, Bucattini's! -
Review from Jay P.
Clovis, CA
2/13/2011
My wife and I hit this restaurant on an absolutely exquisite evening. It's one of those places that makes you feel good just walking in. The front part of the restaurant is a traditional storefront and it feels like one of those romantic cozy big city restaurants with gorgeous picture window seats. But in the back is a lovely and larger courtyard that feels much more pastoral...more Central California coastal. We opted for this part of the restaurant, which turned out to be a good thing because our server was none other than the perpetually cheerful and competent Lizzie. She saw to it that we enjoyed ourselves all the way through the meal without being intrusive.
Highlights of the meal included the organic beet salad (huge chunks of earthy, sweet goodness in red and golden varieties) and the saffron half-moon shaped pasta stuffed with shrimp scampi. The former was as good as we've had of its kind anywhere. The latter was the best pasta dish either of us had ever tasted, and we've had them everywhere. Everything is housemade and no corners are cut.
We both thought the famous olive tapenade was overrated and too tangy and we have had better elsewhere. The focaccia bread was also uninspired and smacked to much of Wonder White bread. However, the rustica bread was crusty and chewy--a perfect combination and exceedingly authentic.
The wine list was actually not that overwhelming, but my $9.00 Rombauer Cab turned out to be a fine choice. I felt a bit bad about not ordering a local wine, but I am actually a bigger fan of the full-bodied reds from up north. No matter, the meal was heavenly from start to finish.
We are going to the Paso Robles location this evening--we need a saffron fix!
A highly recommended restaurant. Very capable service and very well managed. -
Review from Vareen O.
San Diego, CA
9/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
Food is really impressive and so is the service. Excellent wine selection. Call ahead to make reservations because the place is rather tiny.
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Review from Jenna T.
Santa Barbara, CA
11/22/2010
I am obsessed with the restaurant.
Buona Tavola is tied for my favorite restaurant in SLO, and one of my favorites of all time. Everything from food to the servie to the ambiance is incredible. I love the outside patio, and it is surprisingly quite -- you can't hear the traffic or screaming college kids downtown.
One thing I really like about this place is that you can make it as economical or expensive as you want. The dishes are actually very reasonable such high quality food. But of course, when I dine at BT, I like to go all out.
They have a great wine list, especially local wines. The waiters know their vino, and are great at recommending wine to compliment the different food you're eating. I love the pasta with the italian sausage, and recommend ordering it at least once. Appetizers and desserts are also both great, and I always get at least one of each.
This place is a definite must for both locals and tourists alike. -
Review from Adam T.
Oakland, CA
3/20/2011 Seated via OpenTable
Solid, not fabulous. Went here on a rainy Saturday. Ordered a glass of wine (not that reasonably priced, given that I paid $12 for a glass and can get the bottle for $20). We ordered an antipasti of the day, which was a selection of salamis and cheeses. It was good, but it doesn't make sense to me that the antipasti was portioned for one, so we had to pay for two portions to share (it was still not that expensive, but what kind of antipasti is just for one? really!). I ordered a pretty plain olive oil pasta - nothing to write home about, the flavors were solid and the tomatoes fresh, but I could have gotten this anywhere. The boy ordered pumpkin gnocchi which sounded cool, but the sauce was SO overpowering, you couldn't tell it was pumpkin, so the neatness kind of got defeated.
I normally score high, so this place would usually get a four star, but our waitress wasn't that friendly, seemed to look down on us just because we were young (yes, this does effect what I order, so if you're rude, don't expect me to spend as much and therefore to give you a smaller tip), and it was expensive, so it only gets 3. There are definitely better places in SLO, even if this is the best Italian. -
Review from Jeremiah S.
San Luis Obispo, CA
1/21/2012
My favorite restaurant in town. The service, wine, and food are amazing.
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Review from Issa A.
Millbrae, CA
11/16/2010 2 Check-ins Here
YUM!!! My mouth is watering just thinking about this place.
Make sure to ask for outside patio seating--warm or cold weather (there are heaters that keep you toasty).
The dish names are in Italian, which could confuse people but you should expect that when coming to a nice Italian restaurant :-P
I got a pasta dish with italian chicken sausage, sundried tomatoes, broccoli, tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese. I was trying to get something semi-healthy and it was a delicious choice. My girlfriend got a butternut squash ravioli dish that was amazing! I forget the dish name, but it had the word "zucca" in it.
Service was excellent also! And with my http://restaurant.com gift certificate, the two dishes and a caprese salad came out 27 bucks including tip!
Definitely will be returning here :) -
Review from Lori M.
Frazier Park, CA
12/15/2011 Seated via OpenTable
Fantastic service! Really attentive and knowledgeable. Menu is laid out in courses and individually priced for each course. Not your run of the mill Italian entrees. Everyone at the table was very satisfied. We will be back!!
