Mistura Restaurant — Restaurant in San Luis Obispo

We stopped in here for dinner on the road on our way from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. We were looking forward to getting out of the car, stretching our legs, and enjoying an upscale meal.

Mistura looks cute on the inside, but thanks to COVID, we sat outside. There's a cute alley behind the restaurant with outdoor seating from a variety of restaurants, so we had others around us, but at a safe distance. It felt like a cute summer's night.

The menu was full of things that sounded incredible. Nearly every cebiche sounded great, as did every tiradito. We were really hoping for a cebiche sampler so we could try a few, but there wasn't one on the menu nor could we get one by asking. Same thing for the empanadas and tiraditos. We struggled to choose one in each category, but did so, and hoped we made good decisions.

The beef empanada came out first, and it was cold. Not even room temperature, but outside cold. It looked and tasted like something you'd get some a deli counter, or like something you'd get at the grocery store that you're supposed to put in the oven for awhile before eating. There were also three on the plate, which was frustrating, as there are three empanadas on the menu, so it seemed like it wouldn't have been a stretch to turn that plate into a sampler. The bright part of the dish was the spicy sauce drizzled on top.

Next we got the alpaca tiradito. We were both pretty excited to try alpaca, as neither of us had tasted it before. The presentation was incredible, the taste was just... ok. The alpaca was so thin that it lost all of its flavor and was completely overpowered by the citrus dressing in which it was served.

Last, we got the cebiche mancora, which was described as fresh catch of the day served with leche de tigre, yams, and choclo in a lava bowl. It was a good cebiche, but not exceptional. There was a single yam coin in the bowl and a "choclo on the cob" piece, which made both nearly impossible to share. Most of the flavors were there, the only odd thing was that the fish was cooking as it was touching the hot bowl, so the early pieces were PERFECT in terms of texture, but the later pieces were overdone.

The dishes were your standard Peruvian tapas size, and also, your standard upscale restaurant prices, so by the end of the meal, we were about $100 in but not really satisfied with anything we ate. We decided to cut our losses rather than continue ordering.

Overall, I was disappointed. I love Peruvian food and was excited to try this place, and I wish it had delivered at a higher quality. That said, especially in COVID times, I really appreciate every single person who served us, cooked our food, and made the experience possible. Rounding...

This restaurant used to be a very good restaurant. Now it is an extraordinary restaurant - the best in SLO. Starting with the wonderful drinks, the creative and the delicious appetizers and main courses, and the exquisite desserts, this restaurant is amazing. We started off with cocktails and beers. For me, the highlight was the really good Passion Fruit Pisco Sour. I could have had several, but since I was the designated driver, I had only two. I tasted two other unusual cocktails which were also excellent - Jani and Lychee Chilcano. We shared three great appetizers: Apasionada (A Peruvian scallop sashimi), Pio Pio (a moist chicken empanada, and Bolitos y Palitos (yuca (not yucca) sticks and croquettes filled with Queso Fresco). The scallops were my favorite - melt in your mouth delicious. For main courses two of us shared Arroz con Mariscos (Peruvian Paella) which had a very good flavor and was plenty for two of us, but it could have had a few more mariscos, Paiche (a tasty white fish from the Amazon served beautifully with roe and sweet potato (a little on the small side compared with other entrees)), and Pollo a la Brasa (chicken marinated in beer) which I was too full to try, but which my son in law loved. The desserts, which were as tasty as they were beautiful to look at, were created by acclaimed pastry chef Florencia Breda. I loved my cute and delicious little raspberry and lemon puff (not sure what to call it). I have run out of superlatives, but it will take a lot of visits to this restaurant to try all of the items that appealed to me on the menu! Congratulations to the owner/Chef,...

What a gem in SLO! The menu at Mistura is a wonderful compilation of talent coming from Italian and Peruvian influences. We started with the Colorao, Cauliflower Tempura which set expectations to a whole new level. The smoke in the Chicha Morado Sauce is reason enough to return, as is the glass of Malbec I started with.

The De Mi Tierra salad is fresh made from Peruvian organic quinoa, cherry tomatoes, edamame, cucumbers, mango and cranberries that combine for a great bite and it is absolutely shareable. The entree was the Muy Machito, which is the catch of the day alongside a selection of crustaceans all in a lightly spiced Aji Amarillo sauce accompanied by a architectural pyramid of Peruvian white rice. A tremendous dish enjoyed by us both.

To finish you have to review the incredible pastry offerings from the insanely talented Florencia Breda. Happily they are arranged in a glass case so you can decide which one (or more) you need. Trained in Italy, Ms. Breda lends her flair to deliciously turned out dessert offerings. Her take on the classic tiramisu is impeccably presented flavored cream over a light base with a whimsical silhouette of a gondola in dark chocolate added like a shadow to the side. If you prefer very small bites, the perfectly made gems of chocolate are just the ticket. Small batch, hand painted, these will keep you coming back. Happily they can also be taken home in a six or 12 pack box for later consumption.

It was an incredible afternoon and Mistura needs to be on everyone’s list for...