SLO Coast Diner

Stopped here with 12 people for a quick bite while on road trip. They had great service and were surprisingly quick!

They make my coffee how I like my women: strong.
Found this place in a convenient spot right off of the 1 and Oso Valley Road. A tour bus broke down in front of it (and obscured our view) so we were a little confused at first.
Some notable food we had was strawberry lemonade, and I got some egg thingie I forgot the name of but it was awesome and the right price. I would definitely go here again.

Really friendly staff, the owner is very helpful, too.
Food was good (diner-​y but good), prices were good.
Will be back when I’m in the area :)
edit — I had this review in my Drafts for probably at least a half a year. This visit was sometime in 2013.

We got seated right away and the waitress brought our drinks right away. The group placed there order and I got the chicken fried steak And eggs. The food was good the only thing as portion is a bit small.
At Denny’s you get a bigger portion and about the same price.

Had the opportunity to visit again, within 3 weeks of my last visit. I was all set to order the bacon breakfast burrito, but the ham and cheese pileup caught my eye! The Pileup is a hash dish, this version has a bunch of chopped ham, cheese, eggs (I ordered scrambled), along with your choice of potatoes — either hash browns, country potatoes, or red home fries, and one slice of toast (or a biscuit). I had the red home fries and they were cooked through (one thing I don’t like is undercooked potatotes). The dish was extremely tasty — I added Tapatio hot sauce, but that wasn’t a necessity. Only complaint was that the ham had some burned sides to it (but I’d rather have it over cooked than under). Also, I’d like two slices of toast. A really filling breakfast! (Next time I’ll try the burrito).
Service was excellent, again! Our server made sure to keep our coffee (great flavor, btw) always filled, and the hot chocolate my youngest ordered was refilled as well.
I spoke to one person about what I think is the biggest problem here — the fact that despite being right next to a major highway, SLO Coast Diner has no exposure, due to extensive overgrowth of trees and shrubs. The woman I spoke with said that the local city will not allow them to cut the brush down, and will not have it done themselves, and the city gave no reasons why. What?! How does that help the local economy? Makes no sense to me and I told her they should get a petition going for locals to show support for the business.

Pleasantly surprised! I had my standards set pretty low for this place, considering where it’s located and the exterior appearance, but I think this place is a must-​visit if you live in SLO or are looking for something off the beaten path.
If you’re looking for something trendy (Big Sky, Splash Café, etc.), this is not going to be your place. If you’re looking for something comfortable and family friendly, but with better grub than Denny’s (and great grub on its own), you’ll enjoy SLO Coast. The 60’s mix on the radio, the water glasses shaped like Coke cans, the big cozy booths… there’s a lot of retro lovin’ going on here.
I thought the meals were a good value, considering that I was able to get a veggie-​packed scramble on top of hashbrowns with 2 eggs and toast for $ 7.65. Coffee was simple and delicious, with real creamers. I’m in love. The gravy that they use on the biscuits and scrambles is CRAZY good. Save the calorie counter for another day and give it a try! The food comes up hot, fresh, and made exactly how you would want it to be… that homey diner feel is hard to accomplish sometimes, but SLO Coast is nailing it.
The service is 5 stars. Extremely nice wait staff who will make small talk and make you feel welcome. Almost like eating at someone’s home. I had a really great time and look forward to coming back in the future.

We didn’t even get as far as tasting the food :-(. This was the first time I’ve ever had to go to my car while at a restaurant and dig into my snack bar stash while I waited for my meal!
Granted it was parents weekend at Cal Poly so everyplace was super crowded for breakfast. We got seated right away, but it took at least 15 minutes for someone to take our order. Then, after waiting for one full hour and being positively famished, we simply gave up when the table next to us, who had been waiting even longer for their food, was told that the cook was just getting their order on the grill. They also got up and left. Again I know it was busy, and that «they make everything fresh», but come on, how long can it take to make eggs, pancakes, and waffles? And can’t a cook work on multiple orders at a time? I’m quite sure this cook worked on one ticket at a time.
I’ll never know if the food is good here or not because I’ll never go back.

First off, you can tell what used to be here (think large chain «diner» with «slams»), but they have done a terrific job remodeling… fun place… great colors!
Then, the people… super welcoming. A waitress and then the owner greeted us coming through the door and had us sit anywhere. We were given menus and the owner came over and chatted/​joked with us for a couple minutes. We got our coffee and cream (yes REAL cream mini-​moos) right off the bat, great start for a coffeeshop/​diner.
I was torn in choosing my food from the menu only because i love eggs Benedict, and (what i decided on) biscuits and gravy (with eggs and hash browns). The scratch-​made biscuits were huge and fantastic… the gravy was thick, creamy, sausage’y, yummy.
Waitresses were super attentive and friendly. The owner was funny and one of a kind, occasionally singing and entertaining patron’s babies… made me want to work there! We enjoyed our food and breakfast experience… and i’m pretty sure we ate before the people standing in line outside Louisa’s Place… and ironically, as we left we saw another patron with an «I [heart] Louisa’s Place» bumper sticker.
So, I have to go back to try the eggs Benedict and the scratch made corned beef hash… and i’ll make sure someone else orders B&G so i can have some of theirs too!

Stopped here for breakfast and was greeted with a wonderful smiling face. We were immediately seated. Service is awesome. We enjoyed the variety of the menu offerings and I settled on the meat lover omelet with hash browns. The food is good and a nice amount as expected, but the service is exceptional. One additional item to ask for when you come here, ask to see the scrap books. They are scrap books of old San Luis Obispo history’s and trivia, great for the local and traveler alike. This is a great place to stop and the price is right !!! I highly recommend this establishment for the care and service you get.

Fun little place with good food. Corn beef hash was great, so that’s what is suppose to taste like. Clean location with nice staff.
Fun music selection, a 60’s/ 70’s mix that day.
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Will be going back.

This is a great place. I think it is relatively new, at least it was recently renovated.
The eggs were perfect and the portions weren’t offensively large. I think that is a nice thing in the super size era we live in. The service is friendly without being obtrusive and the owner takes a genuine interest in make sure you are happy with your experience.
The SLO CD is located in in an odd place on Calle Juaquin behind the Gas Station, so if you aren’t careful you could mis it, but search it out. If you like the old school coffee shop experience, you will enjoy this joint immensely.

Had an overall fantastic time! The owner was awesome and made me a custom milkshake! All of our food was delicious. It was the last place we ate on our Cali coast roadtrip, and it was surely my favorite! Goooooood home-​cookin!

Our daughter attends Cal Poly so we are always looking for great restaurants in the area when we visit. She just finished her second year so I don’t know how we have missed this one! Thank goodness for Unilocal which guided us here.
All 4 of us loved it! The diner ambiance is right up our alley– the choices were amazing, and my low carb diet just had to fly out the window for one meal. Luckily for me, our server warned me I was ordering too much food. I ordered the pecan & bacon waffle with the biscuit and gravy which were both amazing.
Basic breakfast with eggs bacon and home fries extra crispy to order was excellent. The service was great — very friendly and focused on keeping our water glasses and coffee cups full.
What really made it special, on top of the great food and good service, was the owner Alex who spent a lot of time with us. He kept checking on us to make sure everything was okay and even wanted to know if I would like extra gravy on my biscuit!
He was a great story teller and gave us a liitle bit of his history as well as that of the restaurant. It is rare these days to get such good service and owner attention in the high end restaurants, much less a diner. We loved everything about the place and can’t wait to go back. Thanks Alex!

Just a great Diner! The food and the service was great!

Awesome, friendly service! Great homecooked food! Get the bacon pecan waffle. Now. Do it. Now.

While there are still some minor staffing issues, the overall food quality is quite superb! Most things are house-​made, including the biscuits and gravy. My ultimate favorite is the Corned Beef Hash! No, it’s not the typical «dog food» style of the canned crap, this is THE REAL DEAL! Oh, I was in heaven when I had it.
Prices are very reasonable, and the portion sizes are small to moderate (reflecting the price fairly) — perfect when one does not want to over-​eat (and over-​pay). I still miss the Farmer Brothers coffee, but everything else more than makes up for that.
Often there is a home-​made baked good, made special for the day (or two), and it’s top quality stuff. This is the only place my family and I eat breakfast, as we keep giving other places a try, but just keep coming back to SLO Coast Diner.
Go ahead and give it another try! The specials are still there (but now $ 7, which is still a steal), and the crew is friendlier and Alex seems to be finding his groove.

Went for a lovely weekend drive up the coast and found this gem of a diner right off the highway where we filled up with gas. My wife and I were greeted by very friendly staff and my breakfast burrito was excellent! They make their own salsa and it is way better than the salsa given to you at other diners, perfect for the burrito. Also, my wife ordered the biscuits and gravy… best I’ve had since a vacation in the south! Definitely a must the next time we’re in the area!

Stopped by this place on the way up the coast and loved it! They have classic biscuits and gravy (biscuits made by hand by one of the new owners) that is out of this world. Prices are very good and the staff is friendly and funny.

Very friendly and attentive service. Food is good with a very homey feel to it. Cost is very reasonable. Portions aren’t huge but are appropriate. We’ve tried the place three times and we will definitely continue to come here again.
My wife loves the sausage patties. Hashbrowns are good but you need to specify crispy unless you like em kinda of mushy.

My husband and I went here on our honeymoon looking for Zaki’s Golden Waffle. We were a little bummed when we found out it was under new management, but decided to try it anyway. We were very happy we did.
I had the almond waffles topped with strawberries and whipped cream, and my husband had one of their combo meals that had eggs, sausage, hash browns, and biscuits and gravy.
Everything was very yummy and we both agree that you can’t get anything bad for breakfast here.