Big Sky Cafe

Favorite go to restaurant in SLO. Not too expensive and good quality food. Wide selection of well spiced fusions of american and other cuisines. Not too pretentious. Great for lunch or dinner. I don’t think I’ve been there for breakfast.

My partner and I were very explicit that my child’s food should contain no milk, and was assured by the waitstaff that it would be cooked without it. His scrambled eggs were prepared with milk and he vomited repeatedly during our 4 hour drive home. Either the waitstaff did not talk to the kitchen staff, or the kitchen staff believed our child’s dairy intolerance was made up. Sadly, an 18 month old is the one who bore the brunt of the mistake.
Our other child has a severe peanut allergy that causes anaphylaxis. In almost 14 years of parenting her, we have never experienced a restaurant assuring us her allergen was not in the food only to see her become sick from it.
Also if Big Sky is going to market themselves as «vegan friendly,» they should have vegan menu items available before 11am.
I gave 3 stars because despite our horrid experience, the location and ambiance are nice and I’m trying to be accurate.

Big Sky is a very large open restaurant with all wooden tables, booths, and some high top tables in the bar area. They sell wine by the glass and beers on tap and have a very artsy menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s very loud so keep that in mind if you’re wanting to have a romantic quiet evening, this probably is not the place for you. The entire front is open like a large garage door with a small outside patio area. They bring you bottled water or more accurately tap water that they use recycled Chimay beer bottles to serve. Way to recycle. Richard had pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, and bacon as a side. He really enjoyed the scrambled eggs and the bacon, however said that the pancakes were heavy, yet with good flavor. I had vegan pozole and the fruit plate. I did order the potatoes, because I wasn’t feeling fruit today however since the server heard me say Vegan I’m assuming he forgot and thought that I automatically meant healthy. The pozole was amazing and I know that amazing is used way too often, but I could taste each of the ingredients from the Chiles de Arbol, de ancho chiles, the garlic. I could taste the cumin and the onion and I’m trying hard not to believe that chicken stock was used but who knows at this point I don’t ask questions. The Hominy had great texture and I only kind of wish I didn’t opt for the tofu, which was the substitute for the poached eggs. I could have just left it out all together, because it’s as if they just dumped tofu right out of the package on top. I really wish I could have had the coffee cake and/​or the cornbread muffins but both include eggs and milk, however Richard gleefully devoured both and said that they were near perfect. I actually would like to give them extra kudos for refusing to sell Justin wines who are currently trying to carve out a bunch of trees for higher profit.
So why just three stars well I have to say that the service could have been better, the order was taken wrong, my son’s pancakes were just OK… spot on on flavor but totally missing the boat on texture. My pozole tasted great and they really want to cater to vegetarians and vegans, however dumping raw tofu on top is clearly not the answer. I will come here again but be more educated on the menu and ask the right questions as well as secure the server’s understanding of what I’m ordering.

Great restaurant, had lunch with girlfriend. I didn’t even know about this place till I read that they pulled Justin Wine from their menu. We decided to check it out because of that, and we are happy we did. We will definitely come back.
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Like this place for breakfast, they have black beans, a staple for me! Always great service.

Decided to try here because an out of town friend is vegan. Several choices on the menu to meet everyone’s desires — vegan to meat. Our party of 7 (two kids) shared some dishes. The food, drinks, service, and atmosphere were very good. Everyone was happy with the food and service. We plan to return :)

Big Sky café is in a great location in SLO. The service is friendly and quick. I loved coming to a vegetarian friendly restaurant, but unfortunately the reason why I gave this place a 3 versus ⁴⁄₅ star is that I found the food to be bland. There was little taste to the various dishes we tried. I completely get being a vegetarian/​vegan friendly place you want to cater to that taste bud, and I tried adding in flavors for that kick I was looking for. Overall its a nice spot to grab a quick bite, they’ve got local wines that were lovely, just know the food is for a lighter taste palette.

Great breakfast. Got in right away with table of 7. Good weekend specials on menu. I had Devil’s Mess Scramble. Couple others at table had the Chorizo Scramble. The Crab & Spinach Benedict was very good. Lots of fresh fruits and veggie options on menu from the local farms.
Finished brunch with a fresh trio of beignet and coffee. This meal will hold us to dinner.

Best semi-​casual restaurant in SLO.
Fresh, healthy meals that are made with attention to detail. Portions are large enough to share for a quick lunch while shopping, but delicious enough to make sharing completely out of the question…
«Sorry babe. I love you, but… if you even look at those polenta fries again you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.»

When my family came here for dinner, my sister was asking me, «Why are you getting the Vegetable Tangine with a side of Red Pepper Bisque?» the assumption being that I should order something with meat. I was thinking that if all the rumors of Big Sky Café’s greatness were true, then the dish would be delicious even without meat. I was right! Everything from the chickpeas to the zucchini was absolutely exquisite! However, what was most memorable was the size of the couscous. They were the size of black-​eyed peas!
My dad had the paella, my mom the Grilled Pesto Shrimp & Sweet Pea Risotto, and my sister the Braised Lamb Shank «Buenos Aires» with Zucchini Latkes. I had a taste, and all the dishes were phenomenal. If you’re inclined to go the seafood route, I’d choose the Shrimp and Sweet Pea Risotta. If you prefer surf and turf, go for the Spanish Paella. and the Braised Lamb Shank was falling off the bone tender!
When I got back to the table, my sister had made the executive decision to order a dessert. To be honest, the dessert ordered in my absence was in a crème brûlée kind of cup, and there was whipped cream on top, but I didn’t find out what it was called. It might’ve been the Seasonal Fresh Fruit Crisp, but I don’t want to misrepresent the experience. My sister remarked that for $ 5, the dessert was phenomenal. (that is to say, it is delicious for $ 5 but that you should share the dessert instead of hogging it all to yourself)
The bill came to under $ 100 for 4 people. For dinner, I think that’s pretty good. All the entrees and dessert were excellent. If I lived in SLO and were not just a passing tourist, I think I would go to Big Sky every week!

This is my best friend’s favorite brunch spot in SLO and I can definitely see why. We came on a Saturday around 11 am and there was surprisingly no wait. We were seated immediately and brought water and their complimentary basket of warm cinnamon cake and corn muffins. This was my second time here and I couldn’t remember what I’d ordered the last time but decided to expand out for the benefit of my fellow Unilocalers.
I picked off the weekend menu section and decided to get the Crab Cakes and Spinach Benedict. I love crab cakes and spinach so why not together?! When my dish came, I wanted to dig in immediately but had to capture the beauty of the dish. The lightly fried blue crab cakes were placed on top of a bed of wilted spinach. On top of the crab cakes were poached eggs with hollandaise sauce. Now I’m a slow eater but even I blew through this dish!
Our server was pleasant and checked in on us occasionally. When he came to pick up our empty plates, he brought us our check quickly after.
Would I come back? Absolutely. In a heart beat. My best friend has amazing taste in food but since she doesn’t eat seafood, it’s up to me to sacrifice myself to try that side of the menu :)

Tucked away on a side street just out of view as you stroll down the main thoroughfares of downtown San Luis Obispo, is this hidden gem, just waiting for you to find it. Of course, Unilocal!reviews led me here, based on my desire for cleaner eating options (raw and/​or vegan).
Stepping in to this café is like life slows down a little, just so you can relax. You grab your own menu, show yourself to your own table and they give you a few minutes to yourself before they start the Q and A routine. I loved it. No «herd ‘em in, herd ‘em out» here!
The waitress was very polite, pleasant, and helpful. And the décor inside the restaurant had the feel of a Mediterranean villa. Very cozy, but not at all crowded. Only thing that could be better is if the whole thing could have been outside! Lol.
So, consistent with the theme, I ordered the Mediterranean meza platter, with baba ganouche, olives and lettuce, and several varieties of very flavorful bean/​lentil/​chickpea pastes to be eaten with hot pita bread. It was awesome! And for $ 16, I had enough that I couldn’t finish it! And I’m a big eater. Coupled with the delicious hibiscus tea, I was in heaven. If I’d been on a different diet, the meal could also have come with lamb, which I suspect would have topped off the plate marvelously.
I thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant, and would go back in a second!

This place is a must if you love breakfast and you’re in San Luis Obispo. Whenever we’re staying nearby we always eat here.
The staff is always very attentive and very friendly. The complementary bread basket is almost worth the visit in itself. During my last visit I got the crabcake eggs Benedict. I got this dish because I’m from the East Coast, Maryland to be specific, and this crab cake was made with blue crab (so I’m kind of a blue crab snob).
This is BY FAR the best crabcake I’ve had outside of the East Coast. I also love the potatoes here, they have perfect blend of spices, onions, and peppers.
The chicken sausage pesto scramble is also a wonderfully tasteful dish.
I can’t see anyway I’ll ever stop coming here for breakfast every time I visit.

My favorite spot for breakfast/​brunch. My recommendation, the vegetarian pozole with a poached egg and cornbread is amazing!
Lots of options if you aren’t a meat eater. Fresh and delicious food with lots of items to choose from. Great service and fun ambiance.
Call ahead of time it gets busy!

When we asked where we simply had to go for dinner in SLO, multiple people said that Big Sky Café was the best! And I couldn’t disagree!
We had great service — very helpful and friendly. We had a lot of questions and got some great suggestions. Fun fact — they start out with warm corn muffins, so bear that in mind when ordering. It’s really easy to over-​order when everything is so good!
We started with the Vegetable Spring Rolls. They’re rolled in fresh salad and come with cabbage, turnips, cucumbers, carrots, tofu, mint, and basil all sliced the long way. And of course two different Southeast Asian dipping sauces. I’d definitely try these if you’re looking for something healthy and light, yet appropriately filling.
I really wanted to try the goat cheese croquettes, and was excited that they were included in the Mediterranean Meze Platter. It came with baba ghanouj, spinach falafel, hummus, flash fried chevre croquette and cannellini bean & basil salad accompanied by grilled flat bread. It was HUGE! Definitely couldn’t finish it all.
We also had the Vietnamese Vermicelli bowl with steamed rice noodles with mint lemongrass dressing, with carrots, green, onion, crushed peanuts, garlic crisps, local cucumbers, with roasted Portobello. The bowl was huge and you have to mix up the ingredients yourself since they want you to see how fresh they are. On the menu, it says that this dish is spicy, but it’s actually doable for someone who can’t handle a punch. I really don’t like spicy food, but this was totally manageable — it’s more that it has spices, and not that it’s spicy.
For two, this was way too much food — but I’m glad we had this much variety. It would’ve been really hard to settle on just two items.
I’d definitely love to come back here to try other menu items. And since we were getting ready for a long drive, we didn’t get a chance to try out their extensive wine menu. They had it written in chalk all behind the bar — really cool effect!
In summary: definitely come here! Great service, lots of variety and exciting flavors, and really relaxing vibe. We came on a Sunday afternoon and it was pretty quiet, but it seems to be packed on weekend nights.

I believe there has been an ownership change and the last time I was there the orange juice was NO LONGER FRESH Squeezed… sad to say… we did get seated relativity quickly on a busy Sunday. I think the wait for a table was less than fifteen minutes.

We found this on Unilocal as we were cruising up the coast and hunting for breakfast. It’s very cute inside with a courtyard feel right down to the stars on the «sky» painted ceiling.
The menu is eclectic and everyone from vegans to meat lovers will be happy.
I had buckwheat pancakes which were delicious and we orders beignets for the table. Just like New Orleans.
Lunch menu looked great too, we will come back.

I loved the fact that I could custom order a vegan breakfast without hesitation. My entrée had a nice fresh sprig of rosemary. Vegetarian and carnivores also have a variety of choices. They offer Heinz Organic ketchup and Stevia sweetener sticks too.
The place is decorated with local stain glass artistry and sante fe style throughout. Has a nice coffee/​espresso bar and wine by the glass. They have outdoor patio seating (two tables) and they allow dogs outside.
Service was entirely friendly and accommodating (excellent actually).

Came at an off hour at 4:30 and had a early dinner. Got seated really fast and had the jalapeño cornbread and water before we ordered.
I got the Mediterranean Meze platter and everything was delicious. I got realllly full off of it and my stomach is void so if that helps weigh the fullness of this meal at all. My boyfriend got the Mac and cheese. It was pretty good and the kale salad was good healthy touch. Overall happy with my meal.

This place was a nice surprise. We were in the area for our yearly camping trip and decided to stop by SLO to grab some lunch. I found Big Sky café on my Unilocal app and saw the great reviews so we decided to check it out. Parking was pretty challenging since it was a Sunday afternoon so we had to drive around a few times before scoring a spot several blocks away.
There was a small line when we checked in with a 25 minute wait. There were several seats available at the bar so my family and I grabbed the seats and didn’t have to wait a minute.
There are tons of choices but I was stumped and ended up ordering a burger, my brother-​in-​law ordered the thai shrimp salad (SO GOOD!), my husband ordered veggie spring rolls (delicious) and vegetarian tacos (YUM!). My burger was good but I should have ordered something else because their salads and tacos were solid. I felt bad because I kept trying to steal bites of my husbands dishes.
Service was quick and I loved the cornbread that comes with your meal. Prices are very reasonable and everything tastes fresh. Can’t wait to return when I’m in town.