A pretty good restaurant, but does take a long time to order your food and wait time is a problem to, off of my experience the restaurant was good but very pricy for little amounts of food. Interior is fancy and I do recommend coming here if your near Avila beach.
sheila m.
Went there about a month ago as it's on the way home from dog beach and had an amazing meal. Been going for years but it's been hit miss. Lately, just hits The veggie hash is wonderful and the Caesar.
Jules
Delicious dishes featuring vegetables sourced directly from their on-site garden across the bridge. Dessert was also tasty and topped with house-made whipped cream.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
gerhardp
The salad was very tasty. The main meal, steak, mash potato and vegetables where all served quite warm and not luke warm or cool.Great to enjoy a meal and have the food stay that warm during the entire meal. Steak, mash potatoes and vegges where excellent. Desert was excellent. We have been here 3 or 4 times and always look forward to eating here. Would not even think of going else where for dinner.
Lynn R.
Looked forward to a nice Valentines Dinner. The facilities are nice but that was basically where it ended. Be prepared to walk a distance to get into the restaurant on a busy night. If you are limited walking it can be a bit of a challenge plus signage regarding parking and where the restaurant is located is iffy. They had a $70 special menu which looked OK. I ordered off the regular menu, a "12 ounce rib-eye steak" with scalloped potatoes and asparagus. That was $58. I broke my long time rule of never ordering steak in a restaurant but I figured for $58 it would at least be a choice cut but should be prime. It was not. I ordered medium but by the time it arrived it was more to the well done side and completely cold. It was by no means a good cut of meat and not at all favorable. My companions wanted me to send it back to warm up but I did not because the last thing it needed was to be further cooked. I managed about 1/2 of it before giving up. The scalloped potatoes were hot but smothered with black pepper which was OK but intense. Service was good, the wine overpriced, the facilities acceptable. I know better than ordering steak in most restaurants so I guess it is my fault to a degree. The others in my party had other menu items and seemed to be good with it but nothing was up to the price. For such a nice location it is sad that the restaurant did not live up to the ambiance.
april
My husband & I love this place! Tucked away in the hillside, the resort is a beautiful setting. The restaurant seems like a great little secret because it's away from the downtown SLO and Pismo Beach crowds. Chef Josh is fabulous at his craft and I have to say, if you ever see Lobster Risotto on the menu, do NOT pass it up! Sooo good! It seemed like there was more lobster than risotto! The staff is welcoming and friendly, knowledgeable with wine pairings and suggestions.
DexterK
We were the 2nd couple to be seated for Valentine, the 1st couple was seated in the front room on a table for 4. We were seated in the 2nd dining room in the middle table of three couples tables. Now who wants to sit at that table??? I asked for another table by the window but we were told no, these tables are preassigned. Maybe I should have pulled out a twenty like in the old days in Vegas. We sat in this middle table for the next 45 minutes to see couples seated at the windows, the booths and 3 other tables for 4's. Kind of tells you how accommodating they are. Business must be fantastic. This was our second Valentines, service was great and the food was exceptional but making customers feel welcomed and appreciated is something that is probably more important to me.. Not all customers like sitting in the middle seat on a SW airline plane.
Jordan
Made a reservation. No hostess at the stand when we arrived. She showed up after 3-4 mins and checked us in, then walked away without a word. A little off-putting at the start, but then our waitress showed up and guided us to our table. Food was very well prepared and tasted fresh. Beet and bacon salad was excellent. Ambiance was upscale and excellent. I would return for special occasions.
DannyE
We has an excellent experience and the food was fantastic. Our waitress was exceptional! The only hiccup was the restaurant did not have our reservation in their system. I showed them my confirmation email. They had no issue seating us.
Rose
After waiting an hour for our appetizer the general manager ended up taking our food order. The cheese plate was good but it was not what was listed on the menu, the chicken pasta was also not what was described, it had peas instead of tomatoes and onions. It was also pre cubed chicken and not a chicken breast filet like you'd find at most farm to table restaurants. It was odd the menu didn't match with what we were served. The steak was ordered rare and was wayyyy over cooked and pre-cut for some reason. Then for breakfast the chicken and waffles was chicken wings instead of chicken breast and both the chicken and waffles were overcooked. The coffee was good and the servers were nice but all in all a very disappointing dining experience.
The food was excellent and plentiful. Neither my friend nor I could come anywhere near finishing it. The service was top-notch. The noise level was a little high because there was a large and boisterous party sitting nearby. But I suspect that most nights it would be very quiet at this cozy retreat. Highly recommend!
Franklyn G.
Had a night in the rain visiting the mineral spring hot tub just as we wished for and finished it off with a nice glass of wine and dinner which was 10 ft away after leaving the hotubs .
GinaJ
Awesome dinner. Wife tried 3 course menu everything was great! I had beet salad and short Rib and both were awesome. service was top notch and Chef was out and about in the dining room talking to everyone. We will be back
SusanB
I just ADORE Sycamore Mineral Springs. We stayed the night in a room with our own mineral tub. We had dinner and breakfast and they were OUTSTANDING. The food is delicious, wonderfully cooked, healthy and hearty. The new chef there, Joshua Jones, is such a great cook. If you can get to Avila, go!
Jr M.
I haven't been to the Garden at Avila for many years and I was looking forward to sitting in the beautiful setting for lunch. The setting and the service did not disappoint. Very friendly and attentive staff. The food however was not as successful. I had the chicken caesar salad. While it tasted ok, the portion was sooooo small. Something you would expect in a dinner salad. My friend had the same thing and her portion was a little larger, but still small. So inconsistencies. My other friend ordered the Beet Salad and it was so heavy on the beets and little else. She ended up taking home a bowl of beets. Not what you would expect in a salad. So definitely go and enjoy the ambiance but I would try something other than the salads.
A pretty good restaurant, but does take a long time to order your food and wait time is a problem to, off of my experience the restaurant was good but very pricy for little amounts of food. Interior is fancy and I do recommend coming here if your near Avila beach.
Went there about a month ago as it's on the way home from dog beach and had an amazing meal. Been going for years but it's been hit miss. Lately, just hits The veggie hash is wonderful and the Caesar.
Delicious dishes featuring vegetables sourced directly from their on-site garden across the bridge. Dessert was also tasty and topped with house-made whipped cream.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The salad was very tasty. The main meal, steak, mash potato and vegetables where all served quite warm and not luke warm or cool.Great to enjoy a meal and have the food stay that warm during the entire meal. Steak, mash potatoes and vegges where excellent. Desert was excellent. We have been here 3 or 4 times and always look forward to eating here. Would not even think of going else where for dinner.
Looked forward to a nice Valentines Dinner. The facilities are nice but that was basically where it ended. Be prepared to walk a distance to get into the restaurant on a busy night. If you are limited walking it can be a bit of a challenge plus signage regarding parking and where the restaurant is located is iffy. They had a $70 special menu which looked OK. I ordered off the regular menu, a "12 ounce rib-eye steak" with scalloped potatoes and asparagus. That was $58. I broke my long time rule of never ordering steak in a restaurant but I figured for $58 it would at least be a choice cut but should be prime. It was not. I ordered medium but by the time it arrived it was more to the well done side and completely cold. It was by no means a good cut of meat and not at all favorable. My companions wanted me to send it back to warm up but I did not because the last thing it needed was to be further cooked. I managed about 1/2 of it before giving up. The scalloped potatoes were hot but smothered with black pepper which was OK but intense. Service was good, the wine overpriced, the facilities acceptable. I know better than ordering steak in most restaurants so I guess it is my fault to a degree. The others in my party had other menu items and seemed to be good with it but nothing was up to the price. For such a nice location it is sad that the restaurant did not live up to the ambiance.
My husband & I love this place! Tucked away in the hillside, the resort is a beautiful setting. The restaurant seems like a great little secret because it's away from the downtown SLO and Pismo Beach crowds. Chef Josh is fabulous at his craft and I have to say, if you ever see Lobster Risotto on the menu, do NOT pass it up! Sooo good! It seemed like there was more lobster than risotto! The staff is welcoming and friendly, knowledgeable with wine pairings and suggestions.
We were the 2nd couple to be seated for Valentine, the 1st couple was seated in the front room on a table for 4. We were seated in the 2nd dining room in the middle table of three couples tables. Now who wants to sit at that table??? I asked for another table by the window but we were told no, these tables are preassigned. Maybe I should have pulled out a twenty like in the old days in Vegas. We sat in this middle table for the next 45 minutes to see couples seated at the windows, the booths and 3 other tables for 4's. Kind of tells you how accommodating they are. Business must be fantastic. This was our second Valentines, service was great and the food was exceptional but making customers feel welcomed and appreciated is something that is probably more important to me.. Not all customers like sitting in the middle seat on a SW airline plane.
Made a reservation. No hostess at the stand when we arrived. She showed up after 3-4 mins and checked us in, then walked away without a word. A little off-putting at the start, but then our waitress showed up and guided us to our table. Food was very well prepared and tasted fresh. Beet and bacon salad was excellent. Ambiance was upscale and excellent. I would return for special occasions.
We has an excellent experience and the food was fantastic. Our waitress was exceptional! The only hiccup was the restaurant did not have our reservation in their system. I showed them my confirmation email. They had no issue seating us.
After waiting an hour for our appetizer the general manager ended up taking our food order. The cheese plate was good but it was not what was listed on the menu, the chicken pasta was also not what was described, it had peas instead of tomatoes and onions. It was also pre cubed chicken and not a chicken breast filet like you'd find at most farm to table restaurants. It was odd the menu didn't match with what we were served. The steak was ordered rare and was wayyyy over cooked and pre-cut for some reason. Then for breakfast the chicken and waffles was chicken wings instead of chicken breast and both the chicken and waffles were overcooked. The coffee was good and the servers were nice but all in all a very disappointing dining experience.
Restaurantji Recommends
The food was excellent and plentiful. Neither my friend nor I could come anywhere near finishing it. The service was top-notch. The noise level was a little high because there was a large and boisterous party sitting nearby. But I suspect that most nights it would be very quiet at this cozy retreat. Highly recommend!
Had a night in the rain visiting the mineral spring hot tub just as we wished for and finished it off with a nice glass of wine and dinner which was 10 ft away after leaving the hotubs .
Awesome dinner. Wife tried 3 course menu everything was great! I had beet salad and short Rib and both were awesome. service was top notch and Chef was out and about in the dining room talking to everyone. We will be back
I just ADORE Sycamore Mineral Springs. We stayed the night in a room with our own mineral tub. We had dinner and breakfast and they were OUTSTANDING. The food is delicious, wonderfully cooked, healthy and hearty. The new chef there, Joshua Jones, is such a great cook. If you can get to Avila, go!
I haven't been to the Garden at Avila for many years and I was looking forward to sitting in the beautiful setting for lunch. The setting and the service did not disappoint. Very friendly and attentive staff. The food however was not as successful. I had the chicken caesar salad. While it tasted ok, the portion was sooooo small. Something you would expect in a dinner salad. My friend had the same thing and her portion was a little larger, but still small. So inconsistencies. My other friend ordered the Beet Salad and it was so heavy on the beets and little else. She ended up taking home a bowl of beets. Not what you would expect in a salad. So definitely go and enjoy the ambiance but I would try something other than the salads.