Cowgirl Cafe — Restaurant in San Luis Obispo

The short of it is that Cowgirl Cafe is a great diner where the food is honest, the coffee is good, there's always an open seat and you're welcomed like family. The service here is really outstanding. I've been to just about every place in SLO. If you're living here and have a thing for diners, GO HERE, you can thank me by tipping them well. If you're passing through and you just want an honest restaurant that's going to treat you right on the way to or from somewhere, do not hesitate to stop here, its literally just off the 101. IMPORTANT FUNNY NOTE: Sometimes the front door is hard to open because the kitchen vents create a vacuum, makes people think it's closed. If you're having trouble they will help you!!

More details below (because the owners read this stuff too!).

The name "Cowgirl Cafe" is a little misleading because you might conjure up images of line-dancing, loud country music, bar fights and peanut-shell covered floors. That's what kept me from trying this for so long, what a mistake on my part! There is no bar but the kitchen view counter seats feel like a bar. The decor is "western" but what it actually is (to me) is a very friendly but quiet place to grab some food that feels like a home away from home. A place I truly feel welcome. Always a lot of seating, and the chef is rumored to be coming from a high-end hotel hospitality background -- it shows. Seriously that club sandwich I get is outstanding! It represents what I miss most about the US when I travel outside of it: An honest, independently owned mid-range diner with great food that punches way above expectation, coffee that's exactly what you want (if you like diners), a kitchen you can see and people (I'm looking at you Kayla) who remember your name when you come back making you feel like you're a part of this community.

This isn't a knock: In SLO I can find ultra-gourmet restaurants or chains that are pretending to be the same --but sometimes I just want to sit down at a counter, have a decent cup of joe and a sandwich. I want to support a locally owned business, not a similarly priced IHOP or Denny's and I definitely do not want fast food. I want to go to a place with people who care about what they do but I don't need the prefixed menu with optional wine-pairings. I just want a place I can walk into as I am and be accepted. I want a sandwich that my grandmother would make for me if she came back to life. That's...

Cannot recommend. Thinking they would be a bit busier, I called and placed an order. Ground beef and mushroom omlett (add 🥓 and 🥑...I'm a carnivore) They said between 15 and twenty minutes. I got to the restaurant about 25 minutes after I ordered. There was NOBODY waiting to be seated and three tables had patrons. Waited another ten before anyone even said hello. Stated I was there for a pick-up order and gave her my name...GUYS...she left and never came back... Another 15 minutes (still no new patrons, but one table cashed put). Finally, the server, who has zero communication skills and apparently has not smiled in 48 years cashes me out. Thinking I'm getting my food I do the right thing, leave a tip.... NOPE...NO FOOD STILL...when I finally get my food....this was not an omlett. AT ALL. somebody scrambled some egges and fried them flat and folded them over... not one ingredient was in the eggs. Then they burnt some ground beef and mushrooms and poured it over the egg catastrophe...DO not waste your time or money here. The food was not only scrapped off of a smoldering grill, there was zero flavor in the two bites i mustered the courage to...

On my journey to find good breakfast burritos because I’m on a burrito binge, I decided to try the breakfast burrito at Cowgirl Cafe. The experience overall was great! Staff greeted me and was very kind throughout the entire service. They came often to check on me, the meal, or to top off my coffee. The food it’s self was great! I got the breakfast burrito with sausage being my meat or choice. I got a home fries as the side and asked for a short stack of pancakes. The burrito tasted great! It was a good size and the sausage and egg mixed well. The sausage in particular was real good! The home fries were AMAZING! Highly recommend that and getting (I think it’s called) pepper sauce or salsa. Tasted amazing. The short stack pancakes were nice and fluffy. They come cowgirl size which means they were nice and thick! Definitely would...