Latest reviews from San Luis Obispo
| 86 /100 675 CLARION CT “Had a weird sense of deja vu as I pulled up to this place and then even more so as I walked in. I didn't realize they took over the old Tap It Brewing location. Well, that's cool.
Decent sized tasting room with the beers listed up on the walls. A good selection, I think about a dozen different draft offerings, with mostly hoppy stuff but a couple lagers and a sour beer. They also have a cooler with cans to take home. Fortunately they'll allow you to do singles as well as 4-packs.
They also have a patio/beer garden area outside, but it was kind of chilly out and I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt so I sat inside. Some TVs to watch the MLB playoffs on while I tried my beers.
I got a few tasters of stuff I hadn't tried before. Enjoyable, as usual. Also grabbed a few cans to go and tick at home since it was quite crowded. Event still, really prompt service as they had plenty of people pouring beer behind the bar.
Definitely one of the best options for beer on the Central Coast, so pretty much a must hit if you're in SLO.“ |
| 88 /100 4070 EATHWOOD LN SUITE 110 “This place is just a short drive from Oak & Otter. It is in kind of a warehouse/business park district, but there is a day care center sort of deal right across the street, which is kind of weird but oh well.
The tap room is almost obnoxiously modern in terms of the aesthetics. They list the beers behind the bar with what I would describe as large Scrabble tiles. While it's nice that they list the prices for the different pour sizes, you have no idea what style the beers are or ABV unless you track down one of their printed beer lists.
They had two bartenders pouring on a pretty crowded Friday evening. I took a seat at the bar and was served promptly. The bartenders were very friendly and knowledgeable about the beers and provided a lot of help to some of the patrons who were there as part of an engagement party.
Pretty big variety of styles on tap. They do not do flights/tasters, but do offer half pours for a very reasonable price. My problem was mostly volume based--I just did not want to/could not drinking a ton of 6-8 ounce pours, so just went with a few of the things that looked the most interesting. Beer quality was quite good and I would definitely come back next time I'm down in SLO.“ |
| 74 /100 Woodstock's Pizza (Restaurant) 1000 HIGUERA STREET “Came here after seeing a show at the Fremont theater around the corner. We ate dinner kind of early and were hungry for a couple slices, and these guys are open late.
This place is enormous. Two huge dining rooms place some patio-type seating out on Higuera. You order at the main register/bar area and they can do full pizzas as well as some slices.
More than 30 drafts going here with the vast majority being Central Coast breweries like Firestone Walker, Figueroa Mountain, M Special, Barrelhouse, and Central Coast Brewing. If you are looking to get jacked up, they do $9 pitchers after 9 pm...this is a college town, after all.
Pizza is pretty good and they have a decent enough beer list. You probably won't find anything terribly interesting here from a ticker perspective, but you can get some good beer and good food.“ |
| 64 /100 The Frog & Peach Pub (Bar) 728 HIGUERA ST “I was unsure about adding this place because it's kind of a dive that doesn't really have a lot of interesting beer, but decided to add it because they do have a house beer that's brewed for them (it appears by Lost Coast Brewing), so it could be of interest if you're looking for that exclusive tick. It's also right across the street from Mother's Tavern and the Blast & Brew taproom.
This is much more of a typical dive on one of the main drags in downtown SLO. Ostensibly a "British" themed bar from the Great Britain flags on the sign out front, but mostly just a college town bar with cheap drinks.
There is a small stage near the door for when they do live music and a patio/beer garden area out back. About a dozen draft handles plus the usual suspects like Bud Light, in bottles. Drafts are mostly local-ish micros with stuff from Firestone, Central Coast, SLO Brew, Topa Topa, Liquid Gravity, and others.
Service is adequate and the prices are good. A decent enough place to go to a rock show or black out when you're 22.“ |
| 74 /100 Old SLO BBQ Co (Restaurant) 670 HIGUERA ST “One of two Old SLO BBQ locations in town. This one is in downtown so it's quite easy to visit if you're in that area as it's highly walkable.
So, this is a Central Coast-style BBQ place (read: tri-tip) and they also have a pour-your-own tap setup with about 40 drafts going. The vast majority of the beers are from the Central Coast, with many being from SLO itself.
A slightly confusing setup from the outside as you order your food at the window outside the restaurant. Then they have one side where the beers are (as well as some seating for drinking and eating), and a second dining area that is connected by a narrow walkway in the back (along the wall of taps).
Like many of the pour-your-own places, the pricing per ounce is not the greatest, but it does allow you to get a lot of ticks, if you are interested in that, since you can just pour yourself an ounce of two of each beer.
We mainly came here to eat and the food is pretty good. Reasonably priced and a solid portion. The beer selection is good, but not going to blow you away. But like I said, a good spot to rack up a lot of ticks from the area without having to drive around to all the different breweries.“ |
| 80 /100 181 TANK FARM ROAD, SUITE 110 “Business park/shopping center tap room located a short trip off of 101. I wasn't really sure what to expect here, but that's the excitement of degenerate ticking, I suppose.
Small taproom with plenty of seating. Some patio seating along the side of the space/building and in the parking lot (I guess we'll call that a patio). A huge list of beers. They do full pours, crowlers/growlers, and tasters. I went with a flight which was six generous pours. They ranged around $2-3 each.
They do offer food, but I was not hungry. The table next to me got some nachos which looked and smelled great.
Service was prompt and friendly. Had a very local and regular customer sort of vibe to it. Felt like a lot of the patrons and staff knew each other.
Found the beer quality to generally be pretty good with the stuff I tried. Nothing really blew me out of the water, but pretty good stuff. Would definitely come back here.“ |
| 74 /100 3419 ROBERTO CT., SUITE C “Tucked away in a business park just a short drive from Bang the Drum and not terribly far from Liquid Gravity. They have a little patio set up outside along the side of the building, but it was a cool and windy evening so I opted to sit inside the tasting room.
Everything is painted black, so it's definitely on the darker side but I didn't mind. Small bar where you order and there are a couple seats. Some high tops spread out inside as well. Really friendly and helpful service from the bartender.
They had maybe a dozen drafts as well as cans/bottles to go. I opted to just do a flight of five. The cider quality was just okay, but a couple I would definitely have again.
Maybe wouldn't make a trip out of my way to come here again, but a nice enough place to try some ciders and they have a good variety of offerings.“ |
| 72 /100 1234 BROAD ST “I was staying in a nearby hotel in SLO for a night (Saturday evening), so I first attempted to visit that evening. But they had a big Burlesque show occurring and there was a $10 cover charge. So I came back the next morning before leaving town since they open at 10am on the weekends for brunch. They had a DJ blasting pretentious, annoying tunes, which seemed very odd for a Sunday morning in such a small town. Okay then.
Anyway, beer-wise, they had 16 of their own tap, plus another 25 or so guest taps. Extensive. Custom flights of 4 available for $9.50 plus tax, which is a good deal. Libertine's house beers were pretty much entirely saisons/sours. Solid house beers; I wasn't blown away by any of them, but they were mostly all well-made, and I appreciate the effort that goes into them. Friendly service. So, beer-wise, it's a good stop, but ambience-wise, it really wasn't my ideal place to enjoy craft beers. Worth a stop when in town.“ |
| 78 /100 1234 BROAD ST “Rolled up on a weekday night and surprisingly a decent amount of people hanging out on the outdoor patio, a nice indoor space with huge bar that would be great to sit at if it weren't COVID times. Service was friendly and helpful, but seemed a little low on the uptake. Selection was great, plenty of variety amongst their styles, but also a few guest beers. Did not try the food, but would love to go back and check it out when things are more normal.“ |
| 80 /100 Old SLO BBQ Co (Restaurant) 670 HIGUERA ST “So I am not affiliated with this place but I like good beer and good BBQ.
You're on this site for the beer. It's a pour your own system - as much or as little as you want, no pre-purchased amount and around 40 taps (mostly local) to choose from. Honestly a surprisingly thoughtful tap setup and helpfully grouped. No whales or anything when I visited but the central coast is a good beer region and, like, Paso Robles is within a 30 or so minute drive so there's some really good stuff they get access to (my favorite: a boozy Mission Trail jerkum. Mission Trail is great).
The food - my google searches had this as the BBQ place I had to check out in SLO and, although their menu is a bit lighter than you're used to at a BBQ place, I decided to brave it and was glad I did. Some spectacular tri-tip and the beans were great.
So would repeat for both food and beer. This place is a winner.“ |
| 86 /100 1033 CHORRO STREET “Taproom qui a l'air de se la jouer prohibition-style puisque l'entrée est en fait occupée par un barbier. Pour accéder à la taproom il faut descendre un escalier pour ensuite pénétrer dans le bar situé en sous-sol à l'ambiance assez sombre, composée par de beaux murs en brique. On pourrait croire que c'est un bar à snooker en fait. Bonne variété dans les bières proposées, et la qualité est clairement au rendez-vous. Mention spéciale à la Double IPA qui est l'une des meilleures que j'ai pu boire de toute ma life (et pourtant j'en ai bu un paquet). Cette taproom mérite clairement qu'il y ait beaucoup plus de monde qui y passe, car c'était sacrément désert lors de notre passage... Bref, les bières dépotent bien alors allez-y !“ |
| 82 /100 California Fresh Market (Grocery Store) 771 E. FOOTHILL BLVD. “Liquor shop attached to California Fresh Market. Located at the back of the supermarket (with a separate entrance on the right side of the market). This place certainly has the best beer selection of any store in San Luis Obispo. One long row of cooler shelves filled with all sorts of beer from around the United States. Look carefully and you'll see some that are not so easily found in this area: Maine Beer, Jolly Pumpkin... Very strong on California beers. Rather light on European beers. Good service. No real need to go elsewhere in town.“ |
| 100 /100 Milestone Tavern (Restaurant) 972 E. FOOTHILL BLVD “Best beer selection in the county!! Great food, service and atmosphere!!“ |
| 70 /100 Eureka! Burger - San Luis Obispo (Restaurant) 1141 CHORRO ST “Eh. Better restaurant than beer. Beer selection was a bit on the superficial side although there were some good local taps. Damn tasty bison burger though.“ |
| 70 /100 Sidewalk Market & Deli & Liquor & Beer (Grocery Store) 1401 OSOS ST “On a Mother's Day we took the kids to the Mitchell Park to play. After a while I sneaked out to visit Sidewalk Market Liquor & Deli across the street. It looks like any other small street corner liquor store. It's filled with beer. Pretty nice selection of European, American and local beers. Some of the bottles/cans in cold. I have a feeling that some of the bottles/cans are pretty old ones. Reasonable prices.“ |
| 84 /100 1234 BROAD ST “Landed here during happy hour and it turned out to be one of the more affordable beer locations I’ve encountered on this trip. Incredible sours from their own brewery and a frankly ridiculous guest tap list of over 50 other beers. The food is delicious, comes in giant portions and is also at a great price point. Now that is a helping of fried pickles! Definitely head here if you’re in SLO.“ |
| 100 /100 Old SLO BBQ Co (Restaurant) 670 HIGUERA ST “The local hidden gem, Old SLO BBQ Co. was voted Best BBQ in the County 2016. They offer authentic Santa Maria Style BBQ, with fresh, local ingredients at a great value. Their staff are professional, fast and friendly, you can even order a free smile on the menu.“ |
| 72 /100 1033 CHORRO STREET “Small taproom in a basement below a barber shop. Just find the stairs on the left side of the barber chairs, and head on down. Ceiling of old wood, cast iron beams, rusty pipes. Brick walls. Seats for six or so at the bar and for maybe 30 at tables.and one big sofa. Shuffleboard game table at one end. About 20 customers on an early Thursday evening. A bit noisy. 16 taps, all BarrelHouse Brewing beers. Variable pricing for taster, glass, 32oz. growler, and 64oz. growler. Cooler full of bombers and six packs for sale, Flights of five 4oz. glasses. Beer was good to very good, with a good range of styles.“ |
| 80 /100 1234 BROAD ST “Stopped in on a late Thursday afternoon. The place was under construction, so this is a provisional rating. They will be having a soft opening in mid February and a grand opening near the end of the month..
The smallish tasting room has 12 taps, all house brews -- but the large restaurant area bar will have 72 taps. Good lord!
The prices are fairly high: 5oz. taster for 3 / 12oz. glass for $6 / 32oz. growler for $12-15. 26 bottles for sale, priced between $12 and $30. Double magnum bottles (three liter) for $110-$150. One is even named "Heaven is Expensive"
Tried three tasters and all were very good. The focus is on sour and wild ales, with a few saisons and IPAs
I had a nice chat with the very knowledgeable bartender, Spencer, and he told me about the plans for the restaurant. It seems that this place, along with Firestone Walker, will soon be the two absolute must-visits in the Central Coast area. I’m looking forward to coming back.“ |
| 78 /100 Eureka! Burger - San Luis Obispo (Restaurant) 1141 CHORRO ST “This place is a loud pub/restaurant rather than a craft beer bar. That said, they do have an interesting selection of beers. Two large menu cards: one is for the regular taps and one for rotating taps. Several gems to be found, too. I had Firestone Walker Bravo and (from San Diego emigre) Silva PoHo. I might have tried several more, but my group of friends was leaving. Food was good (burgers and the like), as was the service. As some have mentioned, it’s not really the cheapest place to drink. But the rotating tap selection makes it worth checking out.“ |
| 54 /100 Whole Foods Market - San Luis Obispo (Grocery Store) 1531 FROOM RANCH WAY “One of the most disappointing selections of beer of any Whole Foods stores I’ve visited. A few lines of interesting bombers, mostly CA stuff. Maybe 20 ciders. They do have a fair amount of local breweries’ (e.g., Tap It, SLO Brew) regular beers The rest (six-packs, etc.) is mostly beer you might find in any decent liquor store. I went looking for Libertine bottles, since an employee at Libertine said I could find them there,.... but nada. Again, a big disappointment.“ |
| 72 /100 1422 MONTEREY ST “Stopped by on a cool, rainy Monday night. Small taproom right up next to the brewing equipment. Bar seating for 8-10 people, and high round tables for maybe 20-25. Some unusual electronic/techno music on the sound system. Friendly server, who knew the beer and made some recommendations. 14 taps, with variable pricing depending upon the beer ordered. Taster/ Half-pint / Pint. Also serve in growlers. I had a few tasters and the quality was good to very good. No food, but there was a food truck outside and a couple of restaurants for take-away food just down the street. One problem is that they close pretty early. Another is that the toilet is about 30 meters away in another building complex. Anyway, this is one of the better breweries in town and I think I’ll be back.“ |
| 86 /100 1234 BROAD ST “Miałem okazje odwiedzić ten browar jeszcźe przed otwarciem w 2015 roku. Bardzo miła ekipa która zorganizowała mały panelik ich piw specjalnie dla nas. Świetne wild ale i gose. Bardzo polecam to malutkie miejsce w przepięknym miasteczku.“ |
| 72 /100 1234 BROAD ST “Made it here pretty late on a rainy night on my way back up to the Bay Area.
It was initially tough to find since the street was pretty dark and I didn’t spot street numbers of any signage immediately, but eventually got myself oriented. There’s kind of a small bar and tasting area in the main entry way with a large barrel and tasting area in the more warehouse portion of the space. They had a good list of beers on during my visit and a handful of new things I had not tried before. Small or full pours available of everything as well as some bottles. Pricing is a little bit high for me since a lot of their beers are very hit or miss. Very friendly woman working the bar and a couple other patrons as well, so chatted with the group while I tried my beers. A fine enough experience and they do at least make interesting stuff, but I wish the quality was more reliable.“ |
| 68 /100 1422 MONTEREY ST “a decent place that I didn’t even know was there til we drove by. nothing stood out, but solid across the board.“ |
| 76 /100 Eureka! Burger - San Luis Obispo (Restaurant) 1141 CHORRO ST “As others have mentioned the selection here is nice for the area. Still rather expensive for what you get. The beer board is a little better labeled than other Eurekas but not always totally clear. The staff seems to have a good grasp on what they have on tap.
I’ve never had more than a 15 minute wait to get a table for four even on Thursday’s Farmers Market night. Upstairs area is quiet and a little less busy.“ |
| 78 /100 Sidewalk Market & Deli & Liquor & Beer (Grocery Store) 1401 OSOS ST “Given the quality of other SLO bottle shops like Cork N Bottle and Sandy’s, I wasn’t expecting too much here.
They have a pretty good selection of local stuff like Tap It, Firestone, Figueroa Mountain, maybe some Central Coast Brewing as well. Lots of the big name imports like Unibruoue, Chimay, etc. Decent amount of German stuff, too. Nice options of the bigger, further reaching micros as well. The deli portion of the store looks promising as well, but it was later in the day when I visited and I wasn’t hungry. Seems to be run by a Greek family. If you’re looking for bottles and maybe a quick bite, this is probably worth a stop.“ |
| 68 /100 Sidecar (Restaurant) 1127 BROAD ST “Pretty modern place that’s mostly a bar and burger joint. They do a lot of specialty cocktails here, including a lot of variations of Moscow Mules, which is pretty cool as it’s one of my favorite drinks.
Around a dozen taps, I’d guess. Nothing that would really make you think twice, though nothing bad. They do have some stuff from the smaller breweries in the area like Dunbar, Libertine, Tap It, etc. Neat, I suppose. Food here is kind of expensive. You’re gonna end up spending $25-$30 for a burger and beer by the time you’re done and include tip and all that jazz. Not a bad place, just not necessarily what I am looking for on a routine basis.“ |
| 72 /100 Original Spike’s (Bar) 570 HIGUERA ST “Kind of a divey place on the outskirts of town. Not very much life when I visited, but it was kind of a random time on a Sunday night of a holiday weekend. So I guess I get it.
Pretty decent tap list full of mostly local, central coast offerings from places like Libertine, Firestone, Central Coast, Tap It, etc. they also have all the big boys like Stone, Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, and maybe a few other things from San Diego. Pricing and service were good. Though it seemed like one guy was running the whole show when I was there. I’d probably consider hanging out here if I was in the area more than just passing through, which is typically the case.“ |
| 74 /100 950 ORCUTT RD “This is a pretty neat little tasting room. Has sort of a backyard feel to it. A bit of a garden and picnic table set up outside and a small indoor tasting area with some tables and a couple of bar seats. Well done in terms of the decor.
During my stop they had six beers. I, of courses tried all of them. The Hefeweizen and strawberry wheat beers were probably the best. The gluten free IPA was certainly the worst. Beer quality could use some work, but certainly wasn’t atrocious. The two girls working the bar were friendly, helpful, and we’re pretty quick on the service. Pricing was okay as well. I’ll try to stop in again in the future to see if things have gotten better, particularly since it is a nice little place to hang out.“ |
| 70 /100 Cork N Bottle (Beer Store) 774 E FOOTHILL BLVD “Visited September 14, 2014.
This is about a mile from the freeway on the northern edge of SLO. Not really close to any of the other beer spots but that’s fine, since San Luis isn’t a very big town anyway. This looks like any other dumpy liquor store but they have a restaurant inside. It’s a small separated area that has a bar, or at least they have some beers in the fridge behind the counter. Near the back of the store is where the beer is kept. I didn’t see anything so interesting that I just had to buy it so I bought a diet Coke. What I did see in the store was some Green Flash, Coronado, Ballast Point, lots and lots of Stone and Firestone Walker, Figueroa Mountain, Saint Archer, Rogue, Bruery, Mammoth, Deschutes (Mirror Mirror and Black Butte XXVI), Anderson Valley, Mendocino, and Lagunitas. Not much in the way of imports but there were a few of the bigger names. Again, I didn’t see a lot that really made me want to buy anything (since Mirror Mirror is expensive as hell now) but they do have enough to keep the college kids busy I’m sure. Also, I see on their facebook page that they at one point had some Sam Adams Utopias for sale.“ |
| 74 /100 950 ORCUTT RD “Visited September 14, 2014.
Thanks to Thome50 for the heads up that this was open. Turns out that they’ve only been open about 2 weeks now. They’re on a very small system (1.5 bbl) and brewing quite a bit to just satisfy demand for the tasting room. I really don’t understand the mentality of "lets start small and see how it goes" when a) 1.5 bbl is too small for any amount of demand and b) you know damn well that there are 500 breweries around CA and that you could sell the equipment easily if you needed to. Whatever. So far the beer isn’t bad so I’m sure they’ll upgrade to a larger system eventually. I actually heard about these guys a few months back when I saw a bottle of theirs at a liquor store in Riverside called La Bodega. That’s the only store they distributed to and it’s 250 miles away. Interesting. I guess the brewer is from Riverslime and wanted to spread the word in his home town. During my visit they had four beers on tap (the other two had kicked the day before). Naturally I tried the flight. They also have bottles of some of the other beers for on premise. I went with a bottle of hefe which wasn’t bad. They also had (and I scrolled past) a chipotle IPA and a smoked porter. What I tried on tap were the wee heavy, the barleywine, the smoked porter, and the bourbon porter blend. The blend is an interesting concept as they bourbon barrel age a smoked porter and then blend that with a chocolate porter. Or something like that. It wasn’t bad, though I didn’t get much bourbon from it. Guessing what they’re actually doing is using bourbon and oak chips. Looking at their website I see that they mention mead but don’t actually list anything. I wonder if they’ll be doing some meads. Could be fun. Very friendly people. I enjoyed talking with them while I worked my through my flight, despite sitting next to some Steelers fans (boo!). The place is very nice. Plenty of patio seating outside and the tasting room allows a lot of sun light in. As the name implies (I assume it’s related to the De Niro movie) they have some drums sitting around. Naturally there was some kid banging away at one of them when I arrived. I would definitely consider stopping in again when passing through if the beers improve a bit.“ |
| 88 /100 1422 MONTEREY ST “If you’re touring around San Luis Obispo for the day - like me - save yourself the time and calories and prioritize Central Coast Brewing for your beer stop. Other brewpubs in the area are fine, but Central Coast Brewing is more than fine. It’s good. It also feels less like it’s catering to wandering pedestrians, and more like it’s linked to a real community of happy beer drinkers. One reason is its location. Instead of occupying premium real estate wedged between two trendy stores, Central Coast has been exiled far off the main shopping avenue into a nondescript light commercial/industrial space. Signs are sparse and modest, but Central Coast doesn’t need much for advertising. By the time we arrived it was evident we had found it, thanks to the knot of people milling in and around the balcony area. Only then did we see their humble sign sticking out from the well manicured road-side grass. Up and around the stairs, past more beige and blasé offices and then we were finally into the brewery itself. It’s clear that the brewery - and its fans - have outgrown the premises. Beer brewing equipment and long rows of bottles and buffers and other alchemical brewing goods are practically within reach of visitors, who sit at tall tables, just feet from the serving bar. One very busy bartender quickly took my order, assembling samplers of beer into glasses, and served them on a clever piece of wood that lets the drinker lift the whole apparatus up and over to their table of choice. The beer ranges from quirky to good. You’re obliged to try the chai blonde ale, which will either delight you, or raise an eyebrow or too. I personally fell in love with the dark, meaty and smoky 16th Anniversary Ale. But whatever you pick, you’re going to get a great beer, and a fine remedy to a day walking around and ogling all the unaffordable goods you wish you could have (speaking from personal experience.) Also, it seems that that vendors occasionally set up shop with tents and grills, though I can’t speak to what their regularity or schedule looks like, but I did appreciate the aroma of carnitas and Mexican spices wafting in my direction. My girlfriend and I stayed well into the night, drinking beer after beer, having a good time, and wishing our day trip to San Luis Obispo would last just a little longer. Creating that kind of feeling is the mark of a good brewpub.“ |
| 84 /100 1422 MONTEREY ST “Stopped by for a few tasters during a visit. Had a few nice beers, including their 15th Anniversary BB Smoked beer. I chatted up the bartender, Jason, who was very knowledgeable about the beers and the brewery. When we touched on the subject of Berliners, he poured me a sample of a test batch Berliner they did (and it was damn good). They do 4 oz pours of everything, and also have cans, bottles, and growlers of most things to go.“ |
| 70 /100 Sidecar (Restaurant) 1127 BROAD ST “Visited January 19, 2014.
I stopped in hoping to catch the end of the Niner Seahawk game. This is one of the few times I’ve wished that a bar had the game on. Im guessing other people felt the same way as during peak dinner hours only a handful of tables were filled. I went to the bar and figured I might as well have a beer even if I can’t watch the game since from the sounds of if (as surmised by the barrage of text messages I was getting) the Niners were falling apart. They have about 15ish taps, half of it uninteresting, and the other half good options. This is the second time I’ve turned down the Kreuzberg Blonde. I wanted to ask for a taste but they seemed understaffed and getting even a single beer was tough. I wasn’t hungry so I didn’t eat but the burgers that I saw looked good and as I’ll undoubtedly be back in SLO at some point I’ll have to try the food. The prices are high ($8 for a drink and $14 for a burger). Just looked at their menu and saw the descriptions of how the meat is cooked. Looks like their definitions are a bit off, but at least they’re honest about it. rare: center is bright red, pinkish toward the exterior portion medium rare: center is very pink, slightly brown toward the exterior portion medium: center is light pink, outer portion is brown medium well: center and outer portion is brown well done: uniformly brown throughout Be warned: order rare.“ |
| 80 /100 Sidewalk Market & Deli & Liquor & Beer (Grocery Store) 1401 OSOS ST “Visited January19, 2014.
This was a very pleasant surprise. When you walk to the back you’ll find a ton of beer. There are some shelves along the walls and some shelves out in the middle as well as some fridges. They’ve got all the locals like Firestone, Tap It, and Figueroa Mountain. They’ve got all the regional brands like Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas, Ballast Point, Bruery, and Deschutes. They also have some of the more common imports like Chimay, Weltenberger, and Schneider. Imagine the selection of a Bevmo crammed into a small space and run as a mom and pop shop. Actually the employees (presumably owners) were unloading their minivan and hauling in cases of Pepsi when I showed up. They were both very nice. I would definitely be a regular here if I lived in the area.“ |
| 52 /100 Trader Joe’s - San Luis Obispo (Grocery Store) 3977 HIGUERA ST “Visited January 19, 2014.
Another winner. This is not far from the Bevmo in SLO and near the road to go out to Tap It. They have four sets of shelves with beer on them (mostly in 6-packs) and a small shelf with some singles from broken 6-packs. Not a very large selection especially with how much of each beer they have on the shelf. The usual suspects are all present: Stone, Mendocino, Full Sail, and the house beers. This is probably the first time I’ve seen Hangar 24 in a Trader Joes. I also spotted Sierra Nevada and Lagunitas in the mix. Really not much to pick from and I wouldn’t drive out of my way for this knowing what was here (even from within San Luis Obispo).“ |
| 66 /100 Cork N Bottle (Beer Store) 774 E FOOTHILL BLVD “Not too far off of the freeway, somewhat on the northern end of SLO, not really near anything else (beer-wise, anyway). They have a deli as well as a little bar, but the bar seemed to be mostly macro taps--believe I saw a Natty Light handle. But, they did have a number of good bottles on the bar (mostly BA Firestone stuff). Bottle selection is just okay. The micros are mostly local (Firestone and Tap It) beers, with an odd amount of Mendocino Brewing bottles. Lots of macros, wine, and liquor. Seems like just a neighborhood or Cal Poly liquor store more than a great beer place, but they do have some decent options. One thing that annoyed me was there were not very clear prices on many of the bottles.“ |
| 84 /100 Sidewalk Market & Deli & Liquor & Beer (Grocery Store) 1401 OSOS ST “Sidewalk is quite the little sleeper liquor store in town. Not that there are many great “bottle shops” in SLO…infact most are tiny little liquor stores. But what sets Sidewalk apart is the owner’s passion for providing the best beer in town for his customers. Once you walk in go straight to the back where there is a big selection of local beers as well as the big dsitro stuff. Plenty of shelf beers, but he has 3 dedicated fridges for IPAs and specialty bottles. As far as I know it’s the only place in town that holds onto beer for proper aging and releases them when he can. There are still bottles of 2011/2012 Parabola and Sucaba in his display case. 4-pks of Bourbon County as well! They arguably have the best shawarma in town. They also have homemade falafel, hummus, pastries, deli sandwiches and a variety of other Mediterranean food. Sidewalk is always the first place I go to when looking for a new release. The owner is extremely nice and tells you straight up when things will be on the shelf. I’d rather come here and support the small guys then drive across town to the BevMo.“ |
| 82 /100 1422 MONTEREY ST “Central Coast Brewing, or CCB as the locals call it, often gets overlooked because it’s not located directly downtown like some of the other bars, and brewpubs are. I’ve been coming to CCB for the last 3 years and have experienced a huge improvement - not only their staff, but beer recipes too. Aaron, Jason and crew are doing a marvelous job at producing above average IPAs (Lucky Day, Terrace Hill, Daisy Chain…) and Belgian style beers. They also have been acquiring plenty of bourbon barrels with the help of Firestone Walker (so I am told) and making excellent BA stouts and experimental beers that are just as good as anything distributed in the area. Aaron mentioned that their production has increased by a large margin in the last few years. This place should not be skipped if you’re driving through the 101. They don’t serve any food, but Splash Café, Franks, Santa Cruz taqueria and plenty of other nice food places are close by to bring in while you drink a beer, watch a game, etc. They also have a BBQ space on the side that gets used by local vendors from time to time.“ |
| 76 /100 Eureka! Burger - San Luis Obispo (Restaurant) 1141 CHORRO ST “Selection is pretty good overall, however it is excellent compared to other places in the area. SLO town is lagging on the craft beer movement, for better or worse.
Good service and food. The place is usually pretty crowded, especially during the school year.“ |
| 74 /100 Original Spike’s (Bar) 570 HIGUERA ST “Great, down-to-earth bar for the locals, but good for those passing through as well. Lots of good brew on tap and a decent bottle selection. Their food is tasty and large portions. I love this place!“ |
| 66 /100 Original Spike’s (Bar) 570 HIGUERA ST “Sits right along one of the more popular streets in downtown SLO. Parking can be a bit of an issue, depending on when you’re there. The outside of the bar is rather unassuming. The inside is somewhat small and doesn’t boast a lot of distinguishing décor or ambiance. The service was attentive and knowledgeable. A decent number of wall taps featuring some of the most current, especially West Coast beers. They offer an "around the world" program that contains 40 beers. A pretty enjoyable place overall.“ |
| 74 /100 Original Spike’s (Bar) 570 HIGUERA ST “This place probably has the best beer selection in the city. The standard taplist is pretty average but they will occasionally get a good keg or two on special, usually from Sierra Nevada or Firestone. Usually pretty crowded on weekend evenings.
The service can be slow at times but the servers and bartenders enjoy talking about beer are always pretty social.“ |
| 84 /100 1422 MONTEREY ST “Sits back just far enough off of Monterey Street for it to be easily missed if you’re not specifically looking for it. A pretty unassuming place that sits down a bit from a short strip mall-type construction. It is a small place. The inside had a small bar with seating and a couple of tables, all sharing the same area with the brewery. Outside seating features a long narrow, stainless steel bar, patio umbrellas, and director’s chairs. There are a couple of small tables as well. Outside seating puts you back far enough away from the street that you’re not part of it, but you can still people watch. The mountains make a scenic backdrop for some serenity while you sip your brew. Flights of all their beers are available in any number of tastes you’d prefer. Their variety of beer choices is pretty impressive. The quality of their beer is much better than average. Their service is competent, accommodating, and pleasant. No food here and the bathrooms, while clean, are at the end of that short strip mall-like construction. Very enjoyable, peaceful place to visit.“ |
| 80 /100 1422 MONTEREY ST “Really cool place. The bartender is very knowledgeable and talkative. The tasting area is right next to the brewing area, and he is fine with you wandering around. They also have "brew your own" nights and teach homebrewing. A few barrels in the back as well. About 12 taps running, including a BA stout when I was there. A surprising number of bombers for such a small operation. I only tried the black IPA and the BA stout, both of which were good, not great, but I would hang out there for sure if I lived in the area.“ |
| 68 /100 1422 MONTEREY ST “I’ve been to this place several times now. The second time was pretty disapointing as they had just reopened (cant remember why they were closed) and only had a handful of beers on tap. They normally have a dozen taps, most of which range from meh to alright. I do appreciate them experimenting and trying to do something interesting but it’s really just a glorified homebrew operation. I guess now that they’ve been open a few years I should go back and see if they’ve imnproved.“ |
