Granada Hotel & Bistro

Hi there… we are business professionals traveling up to Carmel and decided to stop in this charming little town. Beautiful hotel… Very Clean… however…Staff need much more training… They don’t offer to help with baggage… and there is no PARKING available so you have to drive to the parking garage. At $ 400 a night a valet would be awesome! Once they get these issues corrected … I would raise it to five star! They need more on-​site management.

My girlfriend surprised me with a nice date here and it was wonderful. Romantic setting and very fancy food. However it was a bit pricey. Overall really good food/​wine/​setting.

This is really a tapas bar, definitely come here for the appetizers, wine, and drinks (or dessert) but the main course is skippable.
My family had the bacon wrapped dates, the granada chiacutery for appetizers which were very good and for our main course we had the burger, pork chops and the mussels and clams (which I had as a main course) which were all okay but not worth coming back for. The bread pudding dessert was also good but I’d be interested in trying something else if I were to come back. We also had drinks which were all very good. The service was also very good.

We came here for my sister’s bday lunch and I was definitely less than impressed. It has a really nice outdoor sitting area but it took forever to get seated even though it was later in the afternoon. The menu is composed of overpriced salads and sandwiches. We tried the bacon wrapped dates but I didn’t like the taste at all and I wish I had a dipping sauce to cover the taste. My mom ordered some ahi tuna salad and then my sister and I ordered Cuban paninis. Everything was very meh. The only thing that tasted good was our root elixir lavender drink. Most importantly the waitress annoyed the shit out of me. She looked afraid and flustered each time she took over order like as if we weren’t snobby enough to eat there.

A very cool place for Sunday morning brunch. Enjoyed sidewalk atmosphere and quaintness. Staff was very cheerful but not overbearing. Fresh French press coffee is delicious! Limited menu but enough options to satisfy. Eggs Benedict was superb. A plus: there was no wait!

This rating is for the bar only.
I really like the atmosphere here and the bartenders are very knowledgable. They have a huge drink menu and their old fashioned is really good. I only ordered a half glass of wine but they mistakenly served a full which they let me have anyway. This is a perfect spot to come for an after dinner drink.

Stopped in for an afternoon drink. The bar was empty so we took a seat. The bartender and manager spent the next 5 minutes counting their tip money. Eventually we were given water and menus, but no service. A group of girls came in and took over the rest of bar and got immediate service. We left for another place where we could get served. We can’t recommend and we won’t be back.

HOTEL REVIEW:
Ok, here’s the deal: San Luis isn’t known for their dope hotels. It’s true. Nothing too luxe, minus Granada. This is a dream hipster blog entry. An old mansion converted into a hotel with rich wood furnishings, high end bath items (including toothpaste), vintage rugs and of course a killer hotel and bar downstairs. My room, probably the tiniest was TINY! Honestly, if I was bigger or had anyone with me, this room would not be awesome. I couldn’t move much in the shower, let alone shave the legs. I’ve stayed at the ACE in NYC which I thought was ridiculous and this comes close. You do chose your room as rooms are limited (I think they may only have 6 – 8 rooms) and this one is the cheapest.
I can say though, I’ve slummed in San Luis and this is a step up well worth the extra $ 60-​$ 90 price tag than some of the other hotels. Also to note, my small room wasn’t the most quiet — between the outdoor fountain and the air conditioner making funky noises, sleep wasn’t the most sound.
Service is to the max and you can enjoy breakfast (not complimentary) in the upstairs lounge area or in your room (at no extra charge). Coffee is free, internet is free; always great things. My $ 8-​$ 10 protein smoothie was a tad bit watery, not gonna lie, but still delicious. The bed comfy and again, so far, a step up above the rest.

Great food! We had started with the deviled eggs topped with salmon and caviar, flat bread, pork chop and short ribs, and to finish had the lemon budino and ice cream of the day. All I can say is that everything was delicious and perfectly seasoned. My pork chop was still moist and served on top of the spetzle, I could have eaten more… If only my stomachs didn’t receive me into thinking I was full… But overall, food was delicious! And one of the Chefs even came out to greet us and bring us our food since we were the first ones between dinner service. The ice cream of the day was to die for! Sweet Potato ice cream with bruleed marshmallow… Still wanting more. I really did want to order a second… Will definitely be recommending and coming back !

Love this place. Décor is intimate, cozy, & romantic (if you bring your partner — or just fun with friends). Cocktails are always unique & delightful. Food is fresh & innovative, & staff has been spot on with their suggestions. Great spot in SLO for a grown-​up vibe in our charming college town.

Always a five star dinner at Granada. The service is great, and the food is to die for. My favorite appetizer is the medjool dates wrapped with bacon and stuffed with blue cheese!!! Yum! And for dinner I had the pork chop, which was cooked perfect, and had a great balance of flavor.

Bad service, skippable salads, oversauced Brussels sprouts, bland salmon, and pricey. Hard pass.

Granada is amazing! Love the renovations and the service is exceptional. We love Hawkins and man bun!

Went to their 6 course dinner for New Years ever. So delicious! The service was excellent as well. Highly recommended

Just the ceiling alone is worth a visit. The wine list is small but well thought out and the staff made excellent recommendations. The food was delicious and the portion size was generous. The ceviche and ling cod was out of this world. I will be back!

I was very excited to eat here as when we approached the restaurant, the décor was inviting and ambiance very nice.
Three of us ordered the hamburgers, another the chicken and we all shared the bacon and dates, deviled eggs, fries and bread as appetizers.
The hamburger was good but nothing very remarkable about it. The appetizers were ok. I was disappointed in the food.
My friends also got drinks and they thought they were ok.
I won’t be going back again.

Good service, great atmosphere, and how shall I say this, an adventurous experimenting kitchen and bar with inconsistent results. Well one is consistent, I (we) didn’t like it, a failed $ 300.00+ culinary evening out only partly redeemed by the great atmosphere and friendly staff. The chef, based on the menu, seems to have a love of playing with peppers and chilies and other ingredient paring/​matching in ways that our group found just did not work out well. Our table had two of their flagship pork chop dinners, one perfectly cooked, tender and juicy, the other more like tire rubber, the steak knife provided could barely even cut it. The recommended petrole sole dinners were tiny, oddly pared, and I think smaller than a salad. Deviled egg appetizer was a not so great deviled egg topped with smoked salmon lox and tiny accent of caviar, at $ 3 per egg half it unfortunately didn’t work.
I personally ate about $ 75 worth of food and left pretty hungry, and didn’t taste a single thing made me think yum or feel was delicious. Nothing really had that delicious gourmet flavor the prices would indicate you were going to get.
High points, bacon wrapped dates, and homemade ginger beer based cocktails (but cocktails seemed weak otherwise).
Will not be back for food, maybe will return for wine and a cheese and meat appetizer plate to enjoy the great evening atmosphere.
Some might find food quite enjoyable, and interestingly fun, but we did not.

Cute atmosphere, but disappointing. I was drawn in on a Sunday afternoon to the cute patio. However, everything else was a let down.
It took a long time to get our drinks and when our French press coffee came out it was very watery.
My friend wanted the Classic Eggs Benedict from their menu and the server followed up by asking how she want them cooked. Aren’t classic eggs Benedict prepared in the same classic way every time?
I ordered the steak salad and deviled eggs which left a lot to be desired. The salad was made entirely of arugula and the steak was overdone and four small slices. I left still hungry.
A bigger issue, is the odd prices of the menu. It doesn’t appear that the prices are appropriate. The duck confit was cheaper than the steak salad and $ 9 for only three Devils eggs. I have no problem paying $ 17 for a steak salad, but I expect it to be filling.
The server was almost over-​polite and it was a bit awkward to be addressed by her, since she seemed to be talking down to us but over compensated with a fake childish voice.
We noticed almost all the tables around us had issues as well. One check was wrong, one woman didn’t like her soup that she wanted a bowl of and instead got a cup, and they served a man a beer in a water glass.
Seems management has a lot of work to make this place match the ambiance.

My wife and I are SLO locals and we’d been looking forward to our first dinner at Granada. We went for our 2 year anniversary.
The upstairs seating is odd. Large, low, squishy chairs that make it odd to eat you meal with a knife and fork. My wife and I were sat at a table that only allowed us to sit next to each other, not across from each other. A bit weird.
The food was a huge let down. My wife had the salmon and I had a terribly over cooked steak. It was served in a bowl, yes a bowl, on top of potatoes and green beans. Have you ever tried cutting a steak in a bowl? I have, now, and I ended up having to cut the pieces of my wife’s plate.
The server was not present enough to be considered actually impolite, but it was certainly not the best service.
SLO has so many amazing restaurants in this price range — Novo, Blue, Luna Red, Foremost — and at each of them my wife and I have finished our meals raving about what we’d just experienced. Granada left us feeling hungry and disappointed.

A delayed review from a prior stop over in San Luis Obispo. Parking was tough and being hungry a search for a place wasn’t on the list. This restaurant/​hotel was across the street and had open seating, let’s give it a shot!
Servers were attentive and since this was off lunch hour, it was pretty quiet. Was in the mood for seafood and the server suggested a spread. Started with the bacon wrapped dates with the main being cioppino. The bacon wrapped dates were a flavor bomb of sweet, Balsamic vinegar dressing and the saltiness of the bacon with blue cheese were just a bit over the top for me.
The cioppino was a gorgeous presentation of sea foods. Similar to the appetizer, the flavors were more forward for my palate. To balance the saltiness, I went whole hog and went for a sweet dessert. I was almost expecting it to be too sweet though it did compliment the prior dishes. Timing was dead on. :)
This is one of those styles that while tasty, just misses my desires for a bit of subtleness in the profile.
Still recommend a stop if you are in town. Prices are at the upper mid-​range.
Food quality –4
Taste– 3
Service– 4
Overall cleanliness– 4
Value– 3.5