Lure Fish House — Restaurant in San Luis Obispo

Happy hour choices are amazing. Our wonderful server was also a former Hawaiian transplant & served us with great Aloha spirit. While Lure is a chain, their great Pupu selection is Ono. If one is Akamai, then one should run here for their amazingly Happy Hour. The last time I had Pupus this good was decades ago in Honolulu itself. They offer Ono-licious eats that harken back to my halcyon days, when I was at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. We are now Pismo locals, but with our past Hawaiian backgrounds, we are well versed in island eats and Pupus. Getting here early before the rush [~4pm / Monday], not only gets one some serenity, but one of the first cracks at the expansive & Oh so ono Happy Hour menu.

Here is what I/we ordered, ranked in order of being Ono.

1. Tuna Ponzu- a savory CA take on Tuna Poke. It actually improves on the past local HI formula, with the addition of creamy local Avocado, Crunchy Taro Chips, and a tangy/citrus/ spicy sauce. It was amazing and was recommended by our great Akamai waitress from Maui. Mahalo Makena!

2. Charbroiled Oysters- while they use local Morro Bay Oysters, somehow they blow Morro Bay chefs out of the water with their more traditional take on BBQ Oysters. It is a hybrid of Brooklyn style seasoned with butter, garlic, paramesian, breadcrumbs, & parsley, along with the flare of being Charbroiled, which adds some smokiness. It is really hard to outdo the best of Morro Bay, but somehow they outperform. If one loves local Morro Bay Oysters, this is a must. The Oysters are cooked enough to not be overpowering, and more like baked clams.

3. Basil Clams- While it should not matter all that much, the cast iron pan that these clams come out on, help keep these sweet clams hot and succulent. These clams furnished a sweet note and the Basil helped temper or moderate the seafood taste. It had a sort of like a Thai inspired savoriness to them. With some lemon, the clam broth furnished yet another great way to use one's bread up. The Clams went well with the Oysters. Ironically, the clam shells were so nice, it was a shame to throw them out. While I knew they could not be Pismo Clams, I imagined that they likely could take like what I dream that they could taste like. After all my years living in the SLO area, these are also by far the best bivalves that I have had the pleasure of consuming.

4. Calamari- While I am a Calamari lover, the pieces offered did not fill my stomach, nor mouth all that well. While very tasty with the furnished sauce, the size was rather anemic. They did not have the great hearty chewy mouthfeel of similar offerings on the Morro Rock oceanfront places in the Bay, but the sauces were much better. Fortunately, it was quite tasty.

5. Sliders- Of course, something in a Happy Hour feast has to come in last, and their take on the sliders proved that turf is not a strong point here.

Refreshment:

Orange Season Beer- While I was not sure of the exact brand, I was given a nice tall frosty glass of this refreshing beer. It had citrus, hops, and some bitter notes. Ultimately, it helped cut through the heavy seafood, garlic, and buttery notes, and cleaned the palate between HH bites. It was also pleasantly discounted. While fashionable, I rather not distract my palate with complex cocktail/wine flavors, nor fog my mind with too much alcohol.

Salad: Strawberry Salad- It was one of my Honey's favorite tasty & healthy Vegan salads that she had in a long time.

Deserts:

1- Chocolate Cake with hot chocolate sauce, sitting next to a nice cold scoop of Vanilla bean ice-cream- This was almost a desert that can get one into a legal mess and could be worth fighting for. Lawyers on both sides of a divorce could fight on the merits of who will win the custody of either the cake or the ice-cream. My honey was granted almost 90% of the cake to consume at will.

2- Strawberry Basque Cheesecake-light and...

I guess I am just always disappointed whenever I come here. Me and my mom have been coming here atleast once a month since it opened to have lunch together and my mom loves the one in Santa Barbara! The food we get is always lacking. We keep trying to give this place a chance and try different things.. I tried the Tequila lime shrimp pasta and was disappointed. The whole table tried it and we all agreed it was bland. I didn't even taste lime, so I grabbed the lemon they gave me and went to squeeze the juice out and only got a singular drop of juice. It was like the lemon had been sitting for so long that it dried out. Tried the shrimp cocktail and we barely got any horseradish. We got the baja fish tacos and it was missing the sauce, the waiter was on it though and noticed it immediately! We got the Sally sand dabs and the lemon caper sauce was all oil and there was something about the oil that tasted unpleasant.. It was also really dry. I once again had everyone at the table try it and they all agreed. The shrimp tacos were okay... I tried the parmesan potato cake as a side once because it sounded super good and it was just meh. You are paying good prices for mediocre food. I will say though, the pop rock shrimp is always amazing. Thats probably why we keep coming here lol. This last time I dined here we ended up waiting over 50 minutes for our entres. It was so bad to the point where a family of 5 that was sat before us finished before our two top table. Tables that were sat after us got their food, paid their bill, and left before us. We almost got a ticket because our 2 hour free parking almost expired! Our server was also the bartender and she barely even checked on us. I think the other servers were being more attentive since they kept smiling and looking at us like they noticed something was wrong. I thought maybe she was slammed with drink orders, But I kept looking over at the bar and there was maybe 2 or 3 drinks for the whole hour 45 minutes we were here... and she wasn't the only bartender there were 2! She also forgot our bread and we ended up having to ask for it to be brought. She was nice and friendly at least. I understand that dishes have different cook times, so some entrees will be ready before others. I atleast would have liked some sort of reasoning behind why it took so long, like I understand sometimes the kitchen will make mistakes but nothing was said. I also would have thought if the food takes that long to make, it would come out piping hot.... It was just a little warm as if it was sitting under a heating lamp. We were really nice about it, but being someone who works in the service industry I am super suprised that there was no accomodation for all of this. I'm not looking for a freebie but quality customer service goes a long way especially when a bill for only 2 people is...

Great first time at Lure this past weekend. Overall, great experience. Arrived to the restaurant at our reservation time and were warmly greeted and seated close to their oyster bar. Restaurant was clean, staff professionally dressed and attentive. Restrooms were clean and roomy.

House Bread Basket- 10000000/10 Bread loaf served with butter. Bread was super flavorful and crusty but soft on the inside. Served with whipped butter. We asked for seconds. No shame. It was fantastic! Also used to sop up the sauce from sand dab entree. Ridiculously good!

Oysters - 8/10 I tried Kumamoto and Minterbrook. Both varieties were fresh and flavorful. Served with the fixings. Minterbrook variety is a bit more meatier and bigger in size. I prefer my oysters on the smaller side like a Beausoleil. Will have to try the Evening Cove next time. I’ve tried the Grassy Bar oysters before since they hail from Morro Bay- those are also pretty good!

Harvest Chopped Salad- 100/10 goodness! Absolutely delicious! They knocked it out of the ballpark! The dates and beets take it to another level… did I mention grated manchego cheese? Soooooo good!

Hamachi Crudo- 8/10, fish was delicious and tender. Grapefruit overpowered the dish a bit but it’s served on the side so it’s optional. Yuzu Ponzu was on point with just the right amount of Fresno chilies.

Sally’s Sand Dabs- 10/10 So delicious! Crispy on the edges and so tender inside! Perfect amount of capers and sauce. Yum! I paired it with a Parmesan potato cake and a pineapple coleslaw. Next time, I’ll definitely order it with sauteed spinach and the potato cake. I don’t think the coleslaw went with it but not a reflection of the quality of food- just bad side choice on my part.

Pacific White Sea Bass- 7/10 seared a bit longer than what I would like- a bit overcooked. Overall, good flavor and great crispy top. Paired with cilantro rice and cilantro corn salad. All good. Tatar sauce was delicious as well.

Key Lime Pie- 10/10 perfect consistency, tart but not too tart, topped with whip cream and grated lime peel. Graham cracker crust was super flavorful and buttery. Oh so good!

Sticky Toffee Pudding- 10/10 served ala mode with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Tried really hard not to clean the plate. Some of the best if not the best sticky toffee pudding I’ve ever had!

Go for the bread, chopped harvest salad, sand dabs, and finish off with either dessert and you won’t be disappointed!

Kudos Lure Team! Will...