This place is amazing. Service is excellent and the staff acts like they are genuinely concerned…read morethat you have a good experience. But then there's the food. And then there's the pisco... I have eaten at a few Peruvian restaurants, and once upon a time even worked with a Peruvian kid whose mom cooked food out of her home for the family to sling as a side gig, so I have an idea of Peruvian food. I'm not an authority, I just have an idea. And while there are common denominators, everyone does it their own way, and Kiko's way is to lend a fine dining twist to the traditional cuisine, without feeling pretentious. The energy goes into the flavors and preparation, and every dish is unique. And then there's the pisco. I went on a dive into pisco years ago, and it never stuck. I had some fantastic stuff from the aforementioned friend's family, but I never found anything that compared, so my infatuation waned. Well, who'da thought Kiko's also distills their own pisco? I had to try it, and it was lovely. Is lovely. While pisco is its own thing, I'd analogize their pisco to a very high-end blanco tequilla- buttery smooth, a hint of vanilla, with the base flavor of the grapes forward on the palate. I liked it so much I bought a bottle. And yes- they sell their house-distilled, world-class pisco in bottles! Unfortunately I don't live in SLO, but I visit as often as I can. This place is now on my list of restaurants I must visit every time I'm in town. I left the best for last- their pisco sours are off the hook! Whatever they do to give it that textured head is crazy good.

I love this place! Kiko's is on my must visit list of places every time I visit SLO…read more Service 10/10 All of the staff, servers, bartenders, managers, bussers... all of them are so nice and welcoming. The service staff is extremely knowledgeable about all items on the menu. I've even seen regulars stop by the kitchen window to say hi to the back of house staff and they all seem very friendly too! Ambience 10/10 The decor is incredible. I love all the Peruvian inspired decor. I heard they even got some of their decor from Peru. It's so cute inside! But I always like to sit outside by the creek and enjoy the sounds of running water and the lovely central coast air. They have heating lamps. Food 10/10 Incredible! I've had authentic Peruvian food and loved it. What they do here is more their own twist on authentic Peruvian food and I love that. It's so creative and delicious. There's an olive sauce that they put on some items on the menu... I dream of this olive sauce. If you like seafood, definitely try their octopus appetizer or ceviche. For the main I just tried their surf and turf and I already want to go back again for more. Dessert 20/10 The dessert deserves its own rating because have you ever heard of sweet potato flan? Neither had I. Now I have had it and no other flan will do. Beverages 100/10 As a person who doesn't drink, I often feel a little left out when friends order delicious looking cocktails and my options are soda, which I don't drink, or mixer with soda water as a mocktail that will be charged almost as much as a cocktail. I love that more and more restaurants are actually incorporating mocktails and have an artisanal mocktail menu. I tried their zero proof passion fruit mocktail and was honestly blown away. Thank you to Kiko and staff for making each visit special.

Came here for dinner Friday night at 8pm for 2 with no reservation. We parked in a nearby free lot…read morebut they said they validate if you park in the structure. We were walk in, the hostess offered us seating in two bar areas and also made room in the front room for us. We sat at a table in the front room. It had nice ambiance and nicely decorated with plants. Our server was super sweet and helpful. We ordered a Paloma which was great but I heard the pisco sours are good and homemade. Wish we tried one but next time! The service was so fast. When we got our cocktail the food arrived! We ordered the señor lomo which was their lomo saltado. It was sooo good. The sauce was so flavorful and the filet mignon was very tender. It came with a lot of veggies, fries and rice too. Also ordered the escabeche which was a sea bass with similar delicious sauce and veggies. It had mixed colored roasted potato's underneath. Fish and the dish was soft and equally flavorful and delicious. I would say the sauce was slightly lighter than señor lomo. They had a platter of desserts on display. Wish we could have all of them. They all looked pretty and delicious. We tried the papaya creme brûlée. Thought it mostly tasted just like creme brûlée. Highly recommend. It is one of the best Peruvian places I've been. Kinda pricy though, each dish was about $40.

I came during graduation weekend but I haven't stopped thinking about Mistura since I left town!…read moreI'd been here once before this visit and was excited to come back..Mistura CLEARLY knows what it's doing, from the moment you walk in, the entire environment changes and it feels like you're in a new place! From the hostesses to the bartenders to the chefs, everyone knows how to create a beautiful experience for the guests! In the past I've tried the afrodisíaco dish and was blown away but I wanted to excite myself with a different dish so I chose the Mixto dish and wow! The flavors just burst in your mouth with how bright they are, the dish is set under Ceviche but this is so much more elevated than your typical view of ceviche dishes! My boyfriend ordered the Dragon Lake cocktail and absolutely loved it! The ingredients are so well incorporated you don't find yourself tasting a drink with overpowered liquor that drowns out the other ingredients! He's a bartender so he appreciates a well made drink! On his end he loved his plate although I didn't catch the name of it, it was beautifully plated and it showed through with the taste of each bite as well! This is a MUST visit if you're ever back in the SLO area.

Loved the Rosita and Fizzy Lifting pitchers! Delicious and refreshing in the summer! Absolutely…read morerecommend! Our server was awesome too and, sitting outside, it was a great experience.

My boyfriend went to SLO and raves about Luna Red. I finally got to try it with him and cannot…read morerecommend the Del Mar paella enough! It was large, hearty, and fresh. Amazing flavors. They have weekly specials on certain nights which are fun. The Pollo Frito was crispy and delectable as well. Service was attentive and warm. Great for groups and special occasions!

My wife wanted to visit a nice restaurant with a view for our anniversary. I opened Apple Maps and…read morechecked the pismo beach area and Ventana Grill was the first restaurant that stood out to me based on location, therefore, I made a reservation. Note that the parking lot, depending on which day you go, can fill up very quickly. The location is right off of the 101 and easy to find. We checked in and was seated within 10 minutes at a booth that overlooked the beautiful views of the Pismo Beach coast line. Our server, a younger black woman, who told us her nickname was 'TiTi', if I'm not mistaken, was wonderful. Her personality and hospitality was infectious and exceeded 5 stars. She brought us fresh hot corn and flour tortillas with a small cup of brown sugar butter and three different salsas to try. Everything was delicious. We ordered the surf and turf special which was a jumbo shrimp on top of a filet mignon that rested on mash potatoes and a creamy/savory white sauce. We also ordered the lobster Mac and cheese. Everything was exceptionally good. My only takeaway would be that I found the food, especially the lobster Mac and cheese to be pretty salty. Definitely excited for my next visit.

This restaurant has a beautiful beachfront location with gorgeous ocean views, making it a great…read morespot to enjoy a meal with family. We had a reservation for a birthday dinner and arrived about 30 minutes early. We were told we'd be seated closer to our reservation time, which was completely understandable. However, as we waited, we watched several groups (including walk-ins without reservations) get seated before us. Even after our reservation time had passed, we had to check in with the host again before we were finally seated, despite there being plenty of empty tables. The service at the front definitely could have been handled better. The food, on the other hand, was very good with a great variety of options. I loved that they start you off with freshly made tortillas, cinnamon butter, and salsa to share. I ordered the Campechana de Mariscos, which was fresh, generously portioned, and perfect for sharing. We also had the Molcajete, and it was delicious! It came with a great mix of steak, chicken, chorizo, jumbo shrimp, nopal, and cheese. The portion was generous and easily enough for two people. Other dishes we ordered also included the pozole, chicken nachos, and lobster mac and cheese. Everything was delicious as well! The mac and cheese especially. For drinks, I tried the Golden Hour nonalcoholic cocktail, and unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend it. It tasted like watered-down ginger beer with no carbonation and only the faintest hint of pineapple. It was more on the bitter taste. Overall, this is a great restaurant for the ocean views and flavorful food. The portions are generous, and there's something for everyone on the menu. The only downside was the host service and the unnecessary wait despite having a reservation. I'd still come back for the food and the scenery.

We were looking for a place to get dinner, and in talking with the rep at Derby Wine Estates…read moreearlier today, and he suggested the Junction. Tapas, wine? What's not to like? We snuck in without a reservation, and got seated immediately. A quick look at the menu indicated that this place was full Spanish as far as food. It took us a few minutes and we elected to go with the Chicken and Chorizo Paella, and an order of the Empanadas. The Empanadas come in a flight of 4, so it was two per person. They were quite tasty, and came with a small dish of a creamed hot sauce, which worked great with the empanadas. The Paella came out - it was a 30 minute cook time. The spices and the chicken and chorizo worked so well together. We had to find a wine that would work with this, and we went with a Derby Tempranillo. It was light enough to work, and cut the grease in the dish like a laser. We finished up with a Limoncello Tort, which was tasty. Ambiance is kind of mondernesque, with interesting power and gridwork overhead, and some sound deadening panels on the walls. There is a lot of art, so take some time to look around and appreciate it.

Junction brings elements of Spain to you with flavors and tapas that just hit the spot…read more The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating, they allow dogs in the back and provide them with water bowls. The restaurant has romantic and has a very rustic environment. Service was amazing, Luke was absolutely amazing and great with suggestions, he was overall just an amazing person to host us. He made sure to be check on us as often as possible he could and brought out the food in great timing. The junction paella- was very delicious, the depth of flavor was amazing and the Spanish chorizo was delicious and the chicken was really good. The rice just had these amazing flavors and had some heat as well. The mushroom empanadas were just amazing, the dough was crisp and buttery, the mushroom mix was so very delicious and the sauce they gave was such a perfect complement to the dish. The patatas bravas was my favorite to be honest... it's such a simple dish but it's just so good. The sauces and crispy textures of the potato were just delicious. Me and my wife came here at the end of our roadtrip And it's about 4 hours from where we live lol... but we enjoyed it so Much we would make the trip just to eat here again.