Buona Tavola — Restaurant in San Luis Obispo

🌟 My Experience We celebrated a momentous occasion—college graduation!—at Buona Ristorante in beautiful San Luis Obispo, and it was absolutely unforgettable 🎓✨. From the moment we arrived, the ambiance was warm, elegant, and buzzing with joyful energy. It truly felt like the perfect spot to mark a milestone surrounded by family, laughter, and incredible food.

🍽️ Delicious Food Every single course on the prix fixe graduation menu was a culinary delight! We started with the Bruschetta al Pomodoro, which was bursting with fresh tomato and basil flavor 🍅🌿, followed by a crisp Insalata Tricolore that was both refreshing and savory 🥗🧀. For our primi, we loved the rich Orecchiette alla Salsiccia, the velvety Tortelloni di Zucca, and the handmade pasta was clearly crafted with love. The secondi offered even more magic—our table especially raved about the Saltimbocca Alla Pia and the flaky, flavorful Salmone alla Griglia 🐟🍋. And dessert? Pure heaven! The Tartufo di Cioccolato was rich and decadent 🍫, and the Mousse della Casa with fresh strawberries was the perfect sweet ending 🍓🍮.

🙌 Outstanding Service Huge kudos to Jackson, our main server, who brought so much warmth, humor, and grace to the evening 🙌💙. He navigated our large party like a pro, making us feel cared for and celebrated every step of the way. His knowledge of the dishes, pacing of the courses, and genuine hospitality added a special sparkle to our experience ✨🍷.

🎉 Atmosphere & Vibe The entire restaurant had a joyful, festive vibe—ideal for graduation night! 🎈🎶 The white tablecloths, soft lighting, and hum of happy conversation made it feel both upscale and cozy. You could truly feel the pride and care the team puts into making every guest feel at home and honored on their special day.

💬 Final Thoughts & Recommendation Buona Ristorante gave us a night to remember—phenomenal food, heartfelt service, and a setting that elevated our celebration to something truly special 💫🍝. Whether you’re marking a milestone or just in the mood for top-notch Italian fare, this gem in San Luis Obispo is a must-visit. Mille grazie to Jackson and the entire team for making our graduation dinner so...

MUST TRY!!! I may be biased as I used to be a team member at this restaurant back from 2006 to 2008, but this spot has my favorite type of Northern Italian cuisine on the entire Central Coast of California. I have eaten at Buona Tavola SLO countless times throughout the years, yet I have never once had anything, but an exceptional experience, superb service by each team member, freshly and deliciously prepared meals. So many years later (almost 32 I believe), this restaurant's quality has not changed one bit. Even under the new ownership, they strive to make you feel like you are in Italy by offering the most unique and authentic food items such as Bruschetta ai funghi trifolati, Insalata di Mare, Minestrone Soup and Tagliata di bue salutare - some of my favorite items. Unexpectedly, prices are surprisingly affordable considering the fact that inflation is outrageous right now yet Buona uses the freshest seasonal ingredients + many items are shipped straight from Italy.

For our main course we opted in for Fettuccine al sugo di carni miste and Pesce del giorno alla griglia - both 10/10. As for dessert we chose Crema Di Vaniglia Della Buona Tavola and of course, the famous Tiramisu. My husband dreams of Buona's Tiramisu quite often. We try it at every restaurant we go to that offers it, and nothing compares to Buona Tavola's one. Service by Hailey G. was fantastic as she welcomed us and made us feel special. The main busser was so friendly - loved him, too! Thank you to the new owner and management for making sure that old patrons still receive outstanding experience when visiting this authentic Italian restaurant. Like Antonio Varia used to say: "I cook with love and I feel love in the air" vibe is still here and I am so thrilled to be able to...

My girlfriend and I were excited to try this restaurant for the first time. The nice hostess led us to our table and offered to send us water while we looked over the menu. After a few minutes, the manager came to us and offered us beverages, and we asked for waters (as we still hadn't received any). He took our orders, and we politely denied when we asked if we wanted any salads or appetizers. Soon afterwards, our waiter came with bread and left. We had hoped that maybe he would have noticed we had no beverages, let alone empty glassware, on our table and hoped he would come with something shortly. After waiting about 15 minutes, another waitress came with our dinner plates and offered us cheese to top them off. When she left, we were astonished and found it almost comical that after about 30 minutes seated at our table we received nothing to drink with our meal. We hoped to take the opportunity to ask politely for water when someone came to check how our meal was, but we were not waited on once until our plates were finished. Our meals were average at best, and it was discouraging to watch as larger groups were being attended to often and hearing waiters offer them refills every ten minutes. The waiter finally came with our check, however it was not our bill. That was an understandable mistake, however we were already upset with the service and just wanted to get out of there. Once we had paid and left the restaurant, my girlfriend and I wondered if we received different service because we had not paid additional for specialty beverages, desserts, etc. The larger groups who ordered desserts were constantly being checked on. We would rather spend our money at Giuseppe's a few blocks down next time...