Multicultural Cuisine of SLO
San Luis Obispo is chock-full of restaurants and several eclectic, fusion ones at that, but there is a lack of diversity when it comes to cuisine from countries outside of America. Most of the restaurants here specialize in burgers, barbecue, or pizza, but fail to branch out into food that is not American. Out of the seven people I talked to, four of them said that either their favorite type of food is Thai food or that one restaurant in SLO they really enjoy is Thai Classic. It’s a good thing that Thai food is so popular because there are several Thai restaurants scattered throughout SLO, including two downtown, one down Broad Street, and one near the Amtrak station.
Photo of Thai Classic in Downtown SLO taken by author.
It turns out that a lot of people do not know about the many restaurants in SLO that serve ethnic foods. They also have been to very few, could not remember if they have or which ones, or have not been to any at all.
Tavin Boynton, a Graphic Communications major, said, “I haven’t been to many [ethnic restaurants] actually. I have been to Petra, which is the Greek place and it was good! I’ve been to Luna Red, which is a Spanish restaurant and that was really good. It was really tasty and they have small tapas plates.”
Photo of Luna Red in Downtown San Luis Obispo taken by author.
Although SLO has several different options for multicultural dishes, residents are still left wanting more. Cuisines of interest include Mexican, Japanese, and German origins.
Anna Kashtanova, a Nutrition major, said, “I really really like Thai food and sushi. I like Goshi in downtown San Luis Obispo. It is a sushi restaurant that is phenomenal. I really wish [SLO] had another ramen shop.”
Of course, San Luis Obispo cannot have a restaurant for every single culture in its very small town, but they are certainly doing well with what they do have to offer. However, there is always room for improvement. Mary Failing, a communications student, said that she wished SLO had Korean barbecue and more authentic Mexican restaurants.
You can check out all of the places I have mentioned on the interactive map below. Also included is an Indian restaurant, Taj Palace, located on Foothill Boulevard and Broad Street. I would have to say Indian food is one of my favorite types of cuisine so the fact that there are Indian restaurants in SLO is fantastic (as is the food).